We exist to be the go-to companion, empowering everyone to transform their free time into 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 different products across leisure themes — Stays, Wellness, Adventure, Gastronomy — we allow people to enrich their lives with moments of sharing, emotions, 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 more than ever a fundamental trend in our society, and it’s exactly what Smartbox offers.

Smartbox is seeking an exceptional and passionate back-end Software Engineer to contribute to the success of their Dublin HQ IT team. If you're ready to take on a massive challenge in a company where you can make a significant impact, we want to hear from you.

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

Location

Dublin, Dublin (Hybrid)

Department

IT

Employment Type

Full Time Regular

Minimum Experience

Mid-level

PHP Software Engineer

Job Description