Laravel / PHP Developer at First Focus in Nelson, Nelson, New Zealand

Some developers enjoy spending years working on the same application.

Learning every corner of the codebase. Fixing the same bugs. Sitting in the same sprint planning meeting wondering if this could have been an email.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This just isn't one of those jobs.

At First Focus, you'll work across a constantly evolving portfolio of customer solutions, business applications and internal platforms. One week you could be building new ERP functionality. The next, integrating a CRM, designing APIs, modernising legacy applications, introducing AI-assisted features or helping another developer solve a problem that's refused to cooperate since the All Blacks last lost the Bledisloe.

Every project is different. Every customer has different challenges. Every week you'll learn something new.

Who is First Focus?

We're one of Australasia's leading managed service providers, trusted by more than 1,000 organisations to keep their businesses secure, productive and growing.

Technology is what we do, but relationships are what we're known for.

While many people know us for managed IT services, we've also built a talented software engineering team that designs, develops and supports custom applications, integrations and business systems for organisations across a wide range of industries.

Our developers aren't hidden away maintaining a single internal product.

They're solving real business problems, working directly with consultants and customers, influencing technical decisions and building software that genuinely makes someone's working day easier.

If that sounds more interesting than spending another year adding fields to the same form in the same application, keep reading.

About the role

We're looking for an experienced great Laravel / PHP Developer to join our Technology team on a 12 month fixed term contract.

You'll contribute across multiple customer engagements and internal initiatives, working with modern PHP, Laravel and Laravel Filament to deliver robust, scalable business applications.

You'll have the opportunity to influence architecture, mentor other developers and help shape technical direction while remaining hands-on with development.

No two weeks look exactly the same, and that's exactly how we like it.

What you'll be doing

• Developing, enhancing and maintaining Laravel applications across multiple customer environments and internal platforms.
• Building scalable ERP and CRM solutions.
• Designing and developing RESTful APIs and third-party integrations.
• Building intuitive administration interfaces using Laravel Filament.
• Optimising MySQL and PostgreSQL databases for performance and scalability.
• Contributing to architecture, design decisions and engineering standards.
• Implementing and improving CI/CD pipelines and deployment practices.
• Working with Docker and cloud platforms including AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
• Exploring AI-assisted development where it delivers genuine customer value.
• Participating in code reviews and sharing knowledge across the engineering team.
• Mentoring developers and contributing to a collaborative engineering culture.

About you

You'll probably have most of the following:

• Extensive commercial experience with PHP and Laravel.
• Strong experience with Laravel Filament.
• Experience designing and consuming RESTful APIs.
• Excellent SQL skills across MySQL and PostgreSQL.
• Experience with Git, CI/CD and modern development workflows.
• Docker and containerisation experience.
• Exposure to cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
• A solid understanding of software architecture and design patterns.
• Experience with Vue.js or React.
• Experience working within Agile teams.
• Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• A natural curiosity and genuine enjoyment of solving business problems.

Experience with ERP, CRM or financial systems will be highly regarded.

Why you'll enjoy working here

At First Focus, one of our core values is Wow the Customer.

For us, that isn't about flashy presentations or over-promising what technology can do.

It's about building software that solves real problems, communicating honestly, delivering quality work and leaving customers thinking, "That was easier than I expected."

It's one of the reasons our customers stay with us for the long term, and why our engineers get trusted with interesting work.

You can learn more about our values on the About Us page of our website at firstfocus dot co dot nzhttps://www.firstfocus.com.au/about-us/.

What you'll get

• Competitive salary of NZ$160,000 to NZ$175,000, depending on skills, experience and values.
• Free access to Uprise, including confidential 1:1 coaching with qualified psychologists or counsellors.
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements that support genuine work-life balance.
• Never Stop Growing. Up to 10 paid study days each year, certification exam fees covered and salary increases for approved certifications (conditions apply).
• Regular social events, team celebrations and a genuinely supportive culture where people enjoy working together.
• A wide variety of interesting projects across multiple industries.
• Modern technologies and engineering practices.
• The opportunity to influence architecture and technical direction.
• A collaborative engineering culture where ideas matter more than job titles.
• A team that enjoys solving problems together and celebrates success together.

Ready to apply?

So...if you've made it all the way to the bottom without thinking, "That sounds exhausting," we're off to a pretty good start.

If you're excited by variety, enjoy working with genuinely good people and like building software that customers actually appreciate, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today. We'd love to show you why so many of our people end up staying far longer than they originally planned.

Neurodiversity: First Focus welcomes applications from Neurodiverse candidates. We recommend & appreciate disclosure along with the application so that a copy of our Neurodiversity Statement can be provided outlining the flexible options we can offer to best showcase your skills.

AI in Recruitment: We use AI-assisted recruitment tools as part of our recruitment process. These tools do not make hiring decisions. Candidate information is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 (NZ).