Backend Software Engineer PHP

Are you a software engineer who loves building complex, user-focused products? And do you prefer working in a team where quality, collaboration and a healthy dose of pragmatism go hand in hand? Then we are looking for you.

You will join an established proptech player in the heart of Rotterdam, with an office high up in a tower and a view that speaks for itself. Three things make this role stand out: building CRM products used daily by thousands of professionals, a modern backend stack (PHP with DDD/CQRS, Kubernetes on GCP) in which AI tooling is already a fixed part of daily work, and an informal engineering culture without egos or politics.

About the company

Our client is a leading digital player in the real estate market, based in the centre of Rotterdam. Through a number of platforms, they connect millions of home seekers with rental professionals every month, both in the Netherlands and beyond. It is a mature, financially stable organisation that has held on to the agility and informal atmosphere of a scale-up.

They work in small, autonomous teams that switch gears quickly and spar a lot with each other. The culture is informal and pragmatic: no egos, no politics, but a strong engineering mindset with plenty of freedom and room for collaboration. Decisions are made on substance, close to the people doing the work.

You will work within the CRM cluster, made up of two closely collaborating teams that each work on a CRM product used daily by thousands of real estate agents and rental professionals. Both products share the same challenge, making the rental process smarter, faster and better, but approach it from a different angle. During the interviews, we explore together where you fit best.

What will you do?

You become part of the CRM cluster and work on new functionality, improve existing features and contribute to the technical quality of the codebase. Concretely, that means:

• You build backend functionality in PHP, working with Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and CQRS.
• You work together with direct colleagues on both designing and delivering technical solutions.
• You ship code in small iterations through a mature CI/CD pipeline.
• You take part in code reviews, refinements and technical discussions, where your opinion counts.
• You pick up tech debt where it hurts and contribute to a healthy, maintainable codebase.
• You actively work with AI tooling (Cursor, Claude) as part of your daily workflow, from code generation to speeding up spikes.

What you build

One product is a mature CRM package for the real estate industry. It supports agents in managing their housing portfolio, client contacts and rental processes. The system is mature and continuously developed further, both in functionality and in architecture, with the team actively exploring how the product can be radically renewed.

The other is a candidate-management platform. Agents use it to receive responses to rental listings, screen candidates and make selections. The ambition: from lead generator to a full partner in funnel optimisation, which means more intelligence in the selection process and increasingly data-driven features.

The tech

Both teams work with PHP (DDD/CQRS), Docker and Kubernetes on GCP, and tooling such as PHPStan, CS Fixer and Deptrac. AI tooling like Cursor and Claude is not an add-on here but a fixed part of the daily way of working, from code generation to speeding up spikes and supporting architecture choices. That acceleration is only increasing.

Who are you?

• You have at least 3 years of experience as a software engineer and feel comfortable in a medior or senior role.
• You are strong in PHP and have an affinity for structured backend architecture; experience with DDD or CQRS is a plus.
• You work precisely and think about the long-term impact of your choices.
• You take ownership: if you build something, you also make sure it works well in production.
• You are familiar with Docker, Git and CI/CD and feel at home in a modern devops environment.
• You use AI tooling actively in your work and are curious about how to apply it further.
• You communicate clearly with your teammates and dare to ask questions as well as take a stance.
• You are familiar with agile ways of working and know how to contribute effectively within a scrum team.

What do we offer?

• A market-based salary depending on your level and experience: the medior scale runs from EUR 3,300 to EUR 4,750 and senior from EUR 4,750 to EUR 6,900 (gross, based on a 40-hour week).
• A solid pension scheme: the employer covers 70%.
• Flexible working hours and the option to work partly from home.
• Growth and training opportunities, so you keep developing yourself.
• A laptop of your choice (Mac or Dell) to work on.
• An inspiring workplace high up in a tower in the heart of Rotterdam, with sweeping views over the city.
• Shared lunches, Friday afternoon drinks and great team outings.
• A weekly bootcamp and a discount on a sports subscription.

Interested?

Do you recognise yourself in this role and would you like to learn more about the team and the products? Then I would be glad to get in touch.

Call or WhatsApp on +31 6 83 93 19 68 or email r.sadloe@haystackpeople.nl for an informal conversation. No CV at hand? A quick call is enough to get acquainted.

Why this is interesting now

Both products are being actively developed and even radically rethought, so you join at a moment when your technical choices genuinely shape the direction. Do you want to build software that thousands of professionals rely on every day, in a team where your opinion counts and AI is already part of the toolkit? Then this is your chance.