PHP Developer Hiring Trends in Portugal

This report was last updated on Aug 31, 2025

Bence Gedai

Founder

I analyze live hiring data and tech job trends across Europe to give CTOs and Product Leaders a strategic edge. By tracking tens of thousands of open roles each week, I uncover which skills, roles, and locations are in highest demand — potential competitors, typical time to hire, talent pool sizes, and more to help you prioritize hiring, benchmark and stay competitive in a fast-moving market.

Key learnings from this report

The Software PHP job market in Portugal has shown significant fluctuations, with a peak of 100 new job openings recorded in week 33, underscoring strong demand for Software PHP Engineers.
A total of 6,098 instances of PHP technology highlight its dominance in the job market, along with key frameworks like Laravel and Symfony, indicating critical skills needed for Senior Software PHP Developers.
The majority of job openings for Software PHP Engineers, accounting for 80%, are concentrated in Lisbon, with 6,950 opportunities, followed by Porto with 20% and Braga with 3% of the total roles.
The talent market demonstrates a competitive hiring landscape, evidenced by a notable number of job openings relative to the size of the talent pool, making recruitment strategies crucial for CTOs in Portugal's tech sector.
Recruitment cycles vary, with a median time to hire of 33 days, indicating the need for hiring managers to adjust strategies to attract and secure top Software PHP Engineering talent effectively.

Number of roles opened and closed for PHP Engineers in Portugal in the last 3 months

The Software PHP job market in Portugal has exhibited significant fluctuations over the past 12 weeks, with a notable peak in new job postings. The highest weekly count reached 100 openings in week 33, highlighting a strong demand for Software PHP Engineers. In contrast, the number of closed positions also reflects an active market, with a maximum closure of 158 jobs in week 24, which indicates competitive recruitment dynamics. Unlike other tech roles in Portugal, the demand for Software PHP Developers shows strong resilience, suggesting recruitment strategies tailored for CTOs in Portugal's tech sector should prioritize this demand while addressing the notable fluctuation in hireability.

Who else is hiring for software Engineers in Portugal:

Company name	Country	Industry	Founded	# Job openings
KCS iT	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	2008	152
Canonical	United Kingdom	Information Technology & Services	2004	119
Decskill	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	2014	81
Indie Campers	Portugal	Leisure, Travel & Tourism	2013	76
Match Profiler	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	1999	67
Inetum	France	Information Technology & Services	1970	54
Adentis Portugal	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	2016	49
Ankix	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	1999	48
PrimeIT	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	2006	43
Irium Portugal	Portugal	Information Technology & Services	2019	43

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Talent pool vs job openings for Software Engineers in Portugal

How competitive it is to hire Software Engineers in Portugal

The talent market for Software PHP Engineers across Europe presents varying levels of accessibility, particularly when assessing the balance of job openings against the available talent pool. In Portugal, there is a significant demand for Software PHP Developers, exemplified by a robust number of job openings relative to the size of the talent pool. When compared to countries like Germany, which has a lower job-to-talent ratio, and Spain, where the demand also exceeds available talent, Portugal stands out as a competitive landscape. However, with the increasing demand in Italy as well, hiring talent in Portugal may still be challenging for tech leads and recruitment teams. As such, understanding these dynamics is crucial for CTOs and hiring managers when formulating effective recruitment strategies in Portugal's tech sector.

Seniority distribution of PHP Engineer job openings in Portugal

Seniority Distribution of PHP Engineering Jobs in Portugal

The seniority distribution for Software PHP Engineering jobs in Portugal indicates a dominant presence of Mid-Senior level positions, accounting for 46% of the job market. Entry level roles follow, comprising 25% of the available positions, while Associate level jobs represent 5%. This distribution highlights the demand for experienced professionals within the software PHP developer hiring trends across Portugal's tech landscape.

Preferred employment type for Engineering roles in Portugal

In Portugal's engineering job market, the predominant employment type is Full-time, comprising 94% of roles, followed by Contract positions at 5%, and Part-time opportunities at 1%. This distribution indicates a strong preference for stable, long-term employment models within the sector, which may inform recruitment strategies for CTOs and hiring managers looking to attract Software PHP Engineers.

Time to Hire Distribution for Software in Portugal

How long does it take to hire Software Engineers

The time to hire distribution for software jobs in Portugal indicates a market with varying hiring durations. The majority of candidates, approximately 39% of all hires, are secured within a time frame of 25 to 30 days, suggesting recruitment efficiency in filling PHP Engineer roles. However, it is noteworthy that 29% of hires take longer than 35 days, revealing potential challenges in attracting top talent. This highlights the necessity for hiring managers, including CTOs and Engineering Managers, to adapt their recruitment strategies for Software PHP Engineers to stay competitive in the evolving tech landscape.

Expolore reports from other European Developer talent pools

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The software engineering job market in Netherlands Veldhoven is characterized by a total of 23 new software developer roles posted in the last 12 weeks, resulting in a net gain of only 2 positions after accounting for closures.

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Insights for hiring Ruby on Rails Engineers in Italy

The Software Ruby on Rails Engineer job market in Italy exhibits a notable talent pool size with a significant number of job openings; recent trends indicate a fluctuating landscape with 11 new positions emerging, contrasted by a closure rate of 14 roles, revealing recruitment challenges.

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Most popular cities in Portugal to hire Software Engineers

Top 5 cities in Portugal to hire Software Engineers

The location distribution for Software PHP Engineer job openings in Portugal reveals noteworthy trends. Lisbon dominates the market with 6950 job openings, accounting for 80% of the total opportunities identified across the country. Following Lisbon, Porto presents a significant portion of the market with 20% of openings, totaling 1957 listings. Braga, while smaller in comparison, contributes 3% with 231 job openings, indicating a spread of demand for Software PHP Engineers beyond the capital.

Most sought after technologies in Portugal for PHP

Key technologies for PHP Engineers

The software PHP job market in Portugal is characterized by a varied technological landscape, with PHP itself being the most utilized technology, appearing in 6,098 instances. This is closely followed by JavaScript, which is present in 3,274 cases, underscoring the demand for dynamic, front-end solutions. MySQL and SQL show strong utilization frequencies of 1,790 and 1,757, respectively, indicative of a robust need for database management skills among Software PHP Developers. Additionally, frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony are critical, with 1,274 and 1,069 occurrences noted. This data, as illustrated in the accompanying chart, highlights the essential skill set for hiring Senior Software PHP Developers in Portugal.

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