Junior Backend Engineer – Drupal & Symfony

About the Role

We are looking for a Junior Backend Engineer with foundational knowledge of PHP, Drupal and Symfony to join our technical team supporting the development, maintenance and improvement of a health information platform.

The ideal candidate does not need to be an expert in Drupal or Symfony but should have a good understanding of backend development and some practical exposure to these technologies through professional work, personal projects, coursework or open-source contributions.

You will work alongside experienced engineers to maintain existing functionality, troubleshoot issues, implement enhancements and gradually take on more responsibility for the platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the maintenance and development of backend features on a Drupal-based platform.
• Develop and modify Drupal modules and backend functionality under the guidance of senior engineers.
• Work with Symfony components and PHP to implement and maintain application functionality.
• Support API development and integration with other systems.
• Assist with debugging, troubleshooting and resolving application issues.
• Work with databases and backend data structures.
• Participate in code reviews, testing and deployment activities.
• Assist with Tier 2 and Tier 3 technical support as technical responsibilities transition to the team.
• Follow established coding, security and documentation standards.
• Work with senior engineers to understand the existing codebase and system architecture.
• Document technical changes and contribute to knowledge transfer within the team.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Basic to intermediate knowledge of PHP.
• Some practical knowledge or exposure to Drupal, preferably Drupal 9/10.
• Basic understanding of Symfony and Symfony-based application development.
• Understanding of REST APIs and backend application development.
• Basic knowledge of relational databases and SQL.
• Familiarity with Git and version control.
• Basic understanding of software testing and debugging.
• Ability to read and understand an existing codebase.
• Good problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Willingness to learn and work with an existing production platform.

Desirable

• Experience developing or customising Drupal modules.
• Exposure to Symfony 6+.
• Experience working with Drupal APIs.
• Experience with Docker or Linux environments.
• Experience with Drupal configuration management
• Experience with Drupal version upgrading 
• Experience with applying core and contrib patches
• Exposure to CI/CD and application deployment.
• Experience working with health information systems or other complex web platforms.

Experience

• 0–3 years of relevant experience is acceptable. Candidates with strong academic projects, personal projects, internships or open-source contributions demonstrating relevant skills are encouraged to apply.

What matters most: a solid backend foundation, some exposure to Drupal/Symfony and the ability and willingness to quickly learn and work within an existing codebase.