Lead Back-End Developer
Twilo Creative Limited
Fully remote (UK-based) · In-person team meetups in Leeds twice monthly
Full-time
£50,000 per year
About Us
For over a decade Twilo Creative has delivered bespoke websites and applications for clients. Recent builds include a consumer loan funnel with eligibility checking and an enquiry CRM, a vehicle configurator for a global automotive brand, a multi-site platform and brand repository for an international restaurant group, custom software, and many more applications of all shapes and sizes.
One person leads each department here and carries full accountability for their area. This role owns development: you lead a small team including a Front-End Developer and a Back-End Developer. The department’s delivery, security and standards sit with you, whoever does the hands-on work. Day to day you’ll work closely with our Designer and Operations Manager.
We work fully remote and meet in person in Leeds twice a month.
The Role
We’re looking for a Lead Back-End Developer who can be a key contributor to the business and an integral part of the team. This is a senior, decision-making role at an agency: someone who leads the development team while working in a continuous feedback loop with our Designer and Operations Manager.
You’ll be hands-on across our websites, applications, and custom internal systems, with real ownership, from building bespoke tools that solve genuine business problems to setting the technical direction for the development team. Fluency with AI tools such as Claude and/or Codex is central to our workflow. If you like variety, autonomy, and seeing your work make a direct impact, you’ll feel at home here.
What You’ll Do
- Lead back-end development of web applications, websites and e-commerce
- Build custom Laravel apps from the ground up, for example finance and forecasting tools, document storage and repository solutions
- Design and build APIs and manage third-party integrations
- Own the department’s security and quality standards, reviewing work against them and making sure systems stay patched and protected
- Make and guide key technical and architectural decisions
- Plan and run development sprints, directing and unblocking the other developers day to day
- Work in close, continuous collaboration with our Designer and Operations Manager
- Write clean, maintainable code and test it end to end: load the page, click the button, and check what happens downstream before calling anything done
Experience
- A senior developer with substantial commercial experience, including in a senior or decision-making capacity
- Experience leading other developers: organising work, reviewing code, setting standards
- Agency experience, with a strong track record of client contact and communication
- Client and project management experience: comfortable owning relationships and delivery
- Strong PHP skills with deep, hands-on experience in Laravel
- Uses AI coding tools such as Claude or Codex as a core part of how they build, demonstrated at interview. This carries equal weight to framework knowledge, and applicants who can’t show it won’t progress.
- Experience building custom business systems and tools from scratch
- Solid understanding of servers and infrastructure, able to oversee deployments and step in when needed
- A security-conscious mindset and experience keeping systems patched and safe
- Experience handling personal and financial data securely and in line with UK GDPR
- Sound judgement on architecture, performance, and code quality
Person Description
- A natural collaborator, used to working with clients
- Proactive: anticipates what’s needed, takes initiative, and drives work forward without waiting to be asked
- An excellent communicator who works professionally and builds strong working relationships
- Sees past their own ticket: understands the front end, the user journey, and the knock-on effects of their work
- Holds themselves to high standards that match the company’s own
- Reliable with process and deadlines: able to follow procedures and deliver on time
- A key contributor and integral team member, comfortable making decisions at a senior level
Benefits
- Life cover
- Income protection
- Private medical insurance
- Fully remote working
- 32 days’ holiday including bank holidays
Sound like you? Apply now with your CV. We’d love to hear about the systems and tools you’ve built and are proudest of.
Pay: £50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Life insurance
- Private medical insurance
- Work from home
Application question(s):
- Tell us about the AI tools you use and how they're integrated with your daily workflow.
Experience:
- Senior Developer: 10 years (required)
Work Location: Remote
