Lead Backend / Senior PHP Engineer with 14 years’ experience building, modernising, and scaling backend platforms across fintech, SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, telecoms, and product environments. Strong track record leading legacy modernisation, backend architecture improvements, API design, platform refactoring, and performance optimisation. Delivered major upgrades of Laravel and PHP, achieved up to 5x API performance improvements, and delivered 2x+ marketplace performance gains through caching, query optimisation, Redis, queues, Elasticsearch, and production monitoring. Hands-on technical leader experienced in code reviews, clean architecture, reusable Laravel packages, cross-functional delivery, and improving engineering standards while remaining close to code. AI-assisted development using Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini and Codex.…Lead Backend / Senior PHP Engineer with 14 years’ experience building, modernising, and scaling backend platforms across fintech, SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, telecoms, and product environments. Strong track record leading legacy modernisation, backend architecture improvements, API design, platform refactoring, and performance optimisation. Delivered major upgrades of Laravel and PHP, achieved up to 5x API performance improvements, and delivered 2x+ marketplace performance gains through caching, query optimisation, Redis, queues, Elasticsearch, and production monitoring. Hands-on technical leader experienced in code reviews, clean architecture, reusable Laravel packages, cross-functional delivery, and improving engineering standards while remaining close to code. AI-assisted development using Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini and Codex.WWWW…