PHP Mastermind: PHP programmer at StudyPortals (Position filled per 1 September 2010)

StudyPortals B.V. is publisher of a set of pan-European study-choice websites. Apart from its flagship website MastersPortal.eu; it has launched PhDportal.eu, BachelorsPortal.eu and ScholarshipPortal.eu is in development.
On MastersPortal.eu, students can find and compare Master´s studies across the borders of the European countries. Propelled by a booming market, the need for such an information source is large: We currently receive over 900,000 visits per month. Universities can list their information for free and use effective advertising services; we provide best-value results. MastersPortal.eu has quickly grown to over 800 participating universities in 37 countries.

StudyPortals started out a little over 3 years ago. The team consists of 15 people spread over 4 countries, with the centre of our operations in Eindhoven. The company has recently won the New Venture award: most promising innovative and social start-up in the Netherlands.

Driven by its large potential and supported by Venture Capital, StudyPortals plans a significant expansion, more than doubling its capacity, with a quadrupling of its funds utilised so far. We are looking for a highly-skilled PHP programmer to help us build the technology required for this expansion and further professionalise the development team.

Description

The current CMS powering the StudyPortals websites contains nearly 40,000 lines of, object-oriented, PHP5 code. We are looking for a highly skilled PHP programmer that can help us to extend this system with new and exciting features. Your responsibilities will range from front-end, user interface, development all the way back to developing on the core of our system. Since you will also be working on the user facing part of our websites, we expect you to be able to produce semantically correct (X)HTML and CSS.

Apart from working on our content management system, you will also work with our database of academic programmes. This database is constructed using MySQL (InnoDB) and as a part of your day-to-day operations you will need to query this database and extend its structure. In this respect, having detailed knowledge of general SQL, and InnoDB specific features, is of great importance. Database performance is a key requirement for our system.

You will have a great deal of independence within the development team. You will work on large projects and bear responsibility for the results of these projects. Your personal input during all stages of development is greatly appreciated.

Requirements

• You have 1 to 4 years of work experience, you can be a fresh graduate if you can convince us of your professional maturity
• Apart from a proven track-record in creating advanced PHP5 applications, you have a background in stricter, object-oriented, languages such as C# and Java
• You have impressive problems solving skills and pride yourself in finding the best solution for any technical problem you might encounter
• You have a drive to improve both yourself and the quality of the work you deliver; you like to be at the cutting-edge of the technologies you work with
• You have previously worked in a team of software developers and thus have working knowledge of SCM tools such as Subversion and various teamwork and bug-tracking solutions.
• You know how to create high-quality, semantically correct, (X)HTML and CSS and are able to apply next-generation concepts in your web applications
• Experience with JavaScript, or any other prototyped language, is a big plus
• You have a pragmatic attitude and are able to think on your feet
• Fluency in English, both oral as written, and excellent communication skills
• Ambition, energetic and an entrepreneurial drive, you can work well independently but also in a team and you are fun to work with

We are looking for a person with at least a Bachelor´s degree, typically in Computer Science. If you are the person we are looking for and have enthusiasm for what we do, but you have a degree in a different kind of field, please do not hesitate to apply.

• A fulltime position
• Competitive salary including a good bonus scheme
• Informal, entrepreneurial, international and flexible atmosphere where self-initiative is highly appreciated
• Apart from your contribution to the company, your personal development has high priority
• Main office in the centre of Eindhoven, 5 minutes from the central station
• Interesting extras such as a laptop of your choice and a personal development budget
• Possibility to grow along with the company
• The opportunity to be at the base of a state-of-the-art website which is revolutionary in study choice information for the entire European Market