Senior Backend Engineer — PHP / Laravel

Senior Backend Engineer building production systems that scale.

I'm Pradeep O — a Senior Backend Engineer with 10+ years shipping PHP and Laravel platforms: REST APIs, MySQL database architecture, queues, caching and cloud deployment. I've led legacy-to-Laravel migrations and built CRM/ERP systems running in production for real estate, healthcare and SaaS businesses across India and the UAE.

Senior Backend Engineer Senior Software Engineer — Backend PHP · Laravel · MySQL · REST APIs
10+
Years Backend Engineering
60+
Production Systems Shipped
77%
Faster Load Times Delivered
2
Regions: India · UAE
Pradeep O — Professional Headshot
Open to full-time Backend Engineering roles

Production systems trusted by teams across India & the UAE/GCC

Who I Am

Pradeep O is a Senior Backend Engineer with 10+ years building production PHP/Laravel systems for India and UAE businesses.

I design and build the backend: Laravel service architecture, REST APIs, MySQL database design, queues and caching, and the deployment pipelines that keep it all running under real production load — not just in a demo.

I also bring a rare secondary skill: I understand how the systems I build get discovered, through Technical SEO and structured data — so what I ship is fast, reliable and visible from day one. But the backend is the job; search visibility is the bonus.

That combination is rare, and it's why teams bring me in when a system needs to be both technically solid and built by one accountable engineer, start to finish.

Read my full story →
10+ yrs
Backend engineering experience
PHP · Laravel
Core stack — APIs, queues, MySQL
AWS · Docker · CI/CD
Cloud & deployment
India · UAE
Markets & production systems delivered
Engineering Capabilities

What I actually build and run in production.

Not a services menu — this is the day-to-day work: designing APIs, tuning databases, shipping deployments and owning the decisions that keep a system reliable.

Backend & APIs

Application & Data Layer

  • PHP 8.x, object-oriented design & SOLID principles
  • Laravel: service architecture, queues, events, policies, Horizon
  • REST API design: authentication, versioning, rate limiting, webhooks
  • MySQL: schema design, indexing & query optimization
Infrastructure & Leadership

Deployment & Ownership

  • Redis caching, session & queue management
  • AWS, Docker & CI/CD deployment pipelines
  • Linux server administration & Nginx configuration
  • Code review, mentoring & architecture decisions
How I Structure a System

A typical production stack I design and ship.

Every layer is a decision, not a default — here's how a Laravel system I build is usually structured, from request to response.

01Client / Frontend — web, mobile, or third-party integration making the request.
02Laravel Application Layer — REST API routes, service classes, policies and validation.
03Queues & Events — background jobs and async processing via Horizon, kept off the request cycle.
04MySQL + Redis — indexed relational data and caching/session layer.
05CI/CD Deployment — Docker builds shipped to AWS with automated pipelines.

A simplified view — the exact shape changes per project, but the decisions behind each layer don't.

How I Approach a Project

Four lenses, one build.

Every engagement touches some mix of these four areas — explore how I think about each.

Backend Architecture

I design Laravel systems around clear service boundaries — the layer between the database and the API is where reliability is won or lost.

See Laravel page →
  • Service-layer architecture & separation of concerns
  • Queue-driven background processing
  • Caching strategy with Redis
  • Production deployment via CI/CD

API & Database Design

REST APIs and MySQL schemas built for the traffic patterns of the businesses I work with — not just for the demo.

See API Development page →
  • REST API design: auth, versioning, rate limits
  • Schema design & indexing strategy
  • Query optimization & N+1 elimination
  • Third-party & CRM/ERP integrations

Legacy Modernization

A large part of my work is migrating legacy CodeIgniter and PHP systems to Laravel without downtime or data loss.

See CodeIgniter page →
  • Zero-downtime migration planning
  • Data migration & integrity validation
  • Incremental rollout strategy
  • Post-migration performance tuning
Testimonials

What people I've worked with say.

"Pradeep rebuilt our platform's backend end-to-end and, within two months, we finally had a system that could handle real load. He understands both the architecture and the business side, which is unusual."

Sekenkoum Real Estate
Operations Director, Real Estate — UAE

"Our site was slow and our developer had left. Pradeep came in, diagnosed the CodeIgniter mess, and modernized it to Laravel without a single day of downtime."

Digital Marketing Agency
Founder, Education Platform — UAE

"He rebuilt our data structure and API layer properly — the AI-search visibility gains were a bonus on top of a genuinely better system underneath."

Rainhopes
Marketing Lead, Healthcare Provider — India

"Direct, technically sharp, and honest about timelines. The CRM system he architected is still running in production without a hitch two years later."

Pitonsoft Technologies
COO, Manufacturing Firm — UAE
FAQ

Common questions.

Pradeep O is a Senior Backend Engineer with over 10 years of experience building production PHP, Laravel and MySQL systems — REST APIs, CRM/ERP platforms and legacy modernizations — for businesses in India and the UAE. He also brings Technical SEO and AI-search (GEO/AEO) expertise as a secondary skill.
PHP 8.x and Laravel for backend systems, MySQL and Redis for data and caching, REST APIs for integration, and AWS, Docker and CI/CD for deployment. He also works with CodeIgniter for legacy modernization projects.
Yes — Pradeep is actively open to full-time Senior Backend Engineer and Senior Software Engineer roles in Dubai/UAE, in addition to select project-based engagements.
Yes — a large part of his work is modernizing legacy CodeIgniter and PHP systems that another developer built and left behind, without disrupting the business while it's live.
As a secondary skill, yes. Technical SEO and GEO/AEO (structuring content and entity data so AI systems like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews retrieve and cite it accurately) are things he practices alongside backend engineering — not a replacement for it.

Ready to bring a Senior Backend Engineer onto your team?

Open to full-time Senior Backend Engineer and Senior Software Engineer roles in Dubai/UAE, and select backend consulting engagements.