PHP Software Engineer

About Smartbox Group:

We exist to be the go-to companion, empowering everyone to transform their free time into meaningful experiences. At Smartbox Group, we believe that real-life experiences help us thrive, connect, and become the best versions of ourselves.

With nearly 15,000 products across leisure categories — Stays, Wellness, Adventure, and Gastronomy — we enable people to enrich their lives through shared moments, эмоtions, and unforgettable memories.

Present in 11 countries, Smartbox Group employs over 700 people across Europe and works with more than 40,000 trusted partners, including hotels, restaurants, wellness centres, and outdoor activity providers.

Living more than owning, sharing more than having — this is a fundamental trend in our society, and it’s exactly what Smartbox offers.

We are looking for a PHP Software Engineer with at least 4 years of experience to design, build, and maintain scalable backend systems.

This role goes beyond traditional backend development. You will be expected to actively leverage AI tools and workflows to improve productivity, code quality, and delivery speed — and to continuously evolve how you work.

You will contribute to core services, APIs, and integrations, while helping shape a more efficient, modern engineering approach within the team.

Your Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain scalable backend services and RESTful APIs
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code
• Contribute to system design and distributed architecture
• Maintain and evolve applications using modern PHP (7/8) and Symfony
• Monitor production systems to ensure performance and reliability
• Investigate, report, and resolve bugs and production issues
• Participate in code reviews and maintain high engineering standards
• Prepare and release application versions through CI/CD pipelines
• Continuously improve systems by addressing technical debt and enhancements
• Maintain and improve technical documentation

AI-Enabled Engineering Responsibilities:

• Actively use AI tools (e.g. Claude, Copilot, generative AI) in day-to-day development
• Leverage AI to accelerate coding, debugging, testing, and documentation
• Critically evaluate and validate AI-generated outputs for correctness, security, and maintainability
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive engineering tasks using AI
• Continuously improve personal and team productivity through better AI usage

What We Are Looking For Core Engineering Skills:

• Strong experience building and maintaining RESTful APIs
• Solid expertise in PHP (7 & 8) and frameworks (preferably Symfony)
• Good understanding of OOP and software design principles
• Experience with relational databases (e.g. MySQL)
• Familiarity with Git, CI/CD, and Docker
• Experience with automated testing (e.g. PHPUnit)
• Ability to debug, profile, and optimise performance
• Understanding of distributed systems and backend architecture
• Familiarity with logging and monitoring tools (e.g. ELK/Kibana)
• Exposure to Kubernetes or container orchestration
• Understanding of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban)

AI Fluency & Mindset:

• Practical experience using AI tools in software development (e.g. code generation, debugging, workflow support)
• Ability to critically assess and refine AI-generated code
• Demonstrated use of AI to improve development speed and efficiency
• Curiosity and willingness to experiment with new AI capabilities
• Mindset of continuously improving how work is done using AI, not just adopting tools

Ways of Working:

• Comfortable working in remote and multicultural teams
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work independently
• Clear communication skills in English (written and spoken)
• Proactive mindset with a focus on outcomes and continuous improvement

What We Offer:

• 🌍 Transparency: Clear, fair salary bands and career levels
• 🏡 Hybrid Work: 2–3 remote days per week + up to 20 days working abroad per year
• 📚 Growth Mindset: 4 Growth Days, Growth Leave, and a dedicated training budget
• 🎁 Flexible Benefits: Tailor your package across health, wellbeing, and learning
• 🌈 D&I Commitment: Parental leave, D&I Day, and gender equity in rewards
• 🎉 Unbox Your World: Smartbox experience days + paid sabbatical after 5 years
• ✅ Essentials: Health cover, pension, additional leave, and more