Hello, I'm
Muhammad Shafiq - Senior Backend Engineer
I build Laravel and PHP backends
Senior Backend Engineer and Team Lead in Dubai, open to remote, with 9+ years of experience. I design Laravel and PHP systems, payment platforms, microservices and AI automation for SaaS and FinTech.
One developer, many moving parts
Muhammad Shafiq
Senior Backend Engineer & Team Lead
The short version
Senior Backend Engineer and Technical Team Lead with 9+ years designing and scaling backend systems for SaaS, FinTech, HR technology and e-commerce, for clients in North America, Europe and the Gulf. I work in PHP 8 and Laravel, with production experience in Node.js, React and Vue.js. My focus is software architecture, microservices, event-driven systems, REST and GraphQL, MySQL and PostgreSQL, Redis, and queues such as RabbitMQ and Kafka. I lead remote teams of 5–10 engineers and I am a Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204).
Years building backend systems
Production applications delivered
Leading backend at BambooHR, remote from Dubai
AI-augmented developer
LLM workflows I design into production systems.
- LLM APIs
- Document extraction
- Workflow automation
- Laravel
- React
- Docker
Outside the editor
- Software architecture
- System design
- Mentoring
- FinTech
- Remote teams
- Continuous learning
How I can help
Laravel backends, payment platforms, microservices, SaaS and AI workflows. This is the work I lead day to day.
Laravel & PHP backends
PHP 8 and Laravel services with clean architecture, Eloquent, queues, Livewire and REST or GraphQL APIs. Built so a growing team can keep shipping.
- PHP 8 & Laravel
- REST & GraphQL
- Queues & jobs
FinTech payment platforms
Stripe, PayPal, Telebirr and QisstPay behind one payments API: tokenization, webhooks, refunds, disputes and reconciliation, with no card data stored in scope.
- Stripe & PayPal
- Webhooks
- Reconciliation
Microservices & integrations
Monoliths split into bounded services, plus ERP, CRM and accounting connectors with RabbitMQ, Kafka, retries and dead-letter handling.
- Microservices
- Event-driven
- ERP connectors
Multi-tenant SaaS
Tenant isolation, subscription billing, role-based access and reporting pipelines for business platforms that have to stay up as the data grows.
- Multi-tenant
- Stripe billing
- RBAC
Cloud, performance & delivery
AWS and Azure, Docker and Kubernetes, and CI/CD in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI and Jenkins. Query tuning and Redis caching on the hot paths.
- AWS & Azure
- Docker & Kubernetes
- CI/CD
AI workflow automation
LLM APIs for document extraction and classification, with human review, queues and rate limits, wired into Laravel and React.
- LLM APIs
- Document extraction
- Human review
Have a project in mind?
Tell me what you are building. WhatsApp is the quickest way to reach me, or use the form below.
The toolkit behind the work
PHP, Laravel, Node.js, full-stack React, CRM and enterprise applications lead the stack. Drag the sphere, or pick a group.
Core stack
Where I've worked
A path from front-end developer to team lead, with the biggest growth in fintech.
BambooHR · Senior Backend Engineer / Technical Team Lead
2025 – PresentUSA · Remote
- Architect and build backend services for an enterprise HR SaaS platform used by thousands of business customers.
- Lead a product engineering squad: system design reviews, architecture decisions and delivery in Agile/Scrum.
- Design REST APIs for employee records, time tracking, benefits and reporting, with versioning, pagination, authentication and consistent errors.
- Split legacy monolith pieces into bounded microservices so teams can deploy without stepping on each other.
- Cut p95 response times by about 40% on key workflows with SQL tuning, Redis caching and background jobs.
- Connect internal services with queues and publish/subscribe so failures stay isolated.
Software consultancy & product engineering · Senior PHP Laravel Developer / Technical Team Lead
2017 – 2025Islamabad, Pakistan · Remote
- Delivered 30+ production applications in PHP, Laravel, Node.js, React and Vue.js for clients in the USA, UK, Europe and the Gulf, across SaaS, FinTech, e-commerce and construction.
- Grew from software engineer to senior Laravel developer and technical team lead.
- Architected Laravel backends with clean architecture, DDD, SOLID and repository/service patterns.
- Integrated Stripe, PayPal, Telebirr and QisstPay with tokenization, webhooks and reconciliation for a payments layer handling thousands of transactions a day.
- Led a high-traffic Laravel monolith toward microservices, improving deploys, fault isolation and team autonomy.
- Built REST and GraphQL APIs for web and mobile with OAuth2/JWT and role-based access.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BS-IT)
Information Technology
Certifications
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204)
- English — professional working proficiency
- Urdu — native
Platform and integration work
Payments and crypto, AWS and Azure, SaaS, a hospital system with AI, ERP connectors and HR APIs. Tap a node to open it.
core
FinTech payment platform
A unified payments API with gateway abstraction for Stripe, PayPal, Telebirr and QisstPay. Idempotent webhooks, refunds, disputes and audit logs. Reconciliation accuracy above 99%, with no card data stored in scope.
- Laravel
- Stripe
- PayPal
- RabbitMQ
Websites I have shipped
27 live sites and platforms across web apps, Shopify and WordPress. Hover a card to pause the wall, tap to visit.
Air Academic
airacademic.com
STS Cars
stscars.co.uk
Taxi Dispatch Software
taxidespatch.co.uk
BURGA
burga.com
Sox and Jox
soxandjox.co.za
GTCFX Portal
mtgtcfx.com
Agility ECC
agilityecc.com
Oxford Minibus Company
theoxfordminibuscompany.co.uk
Home Scanner
promotion.homescaner.com
Air Academic
airacademic.com
STS Cars
stscars.co.uk
Taxi Dispatch Software
taxidespatch.co.uk
BURGA
burga.com
Sox and Jox
soxandjox.co.za
GTCFX Portal
mtgtcfx.com
Agility ECC
agilityecc.com
Oxford Minibus Company
theoxfordminibuscompany.co.uk
Home Scanner
promotion.homescaner.com
ProDoo
stage.prodoo.com
Assa Transfer
assatransfers.co.uk
Snowe Home
snowehome.com
Tilevera
tilevera.co.za
White Suede
whitesuedejewelry.com
Bliss Pilates
blisspilates.com.au
RockzFX
rockzfx.com
Maximus Accountants
maximusaccountants.com
One Nine Properties
onenineproperties.com
ProDoo
stage.prodoo.com
Assa Transfer
assatransfers.co.uk
Snowe Home
snowehome.com
Tilevera
tilevera.co.za
White Suede
whitesuedejewelry.com
Bliss Pilates
blisspilates.com.au
RockzFX
rockzfx.com
Maximus Accountants
maximusaccountants.com
One Nine Properties
onenineproperties.com
Glam Seven
glamseven.com
Platinum Transfers
platinumtransfers.co.uk
Mode & Affaire
modeandaffaire.com
Discount LED Lights
discountledlights.com
Yumi Organics
yumi-organics.ca
Moonwalk Properties
moonwalkproperties.com
Powerhouse Hub
powerhousehub.com
FreedomFi
freedomfi.com
360 Home Scanner
330rc.homescaner.com
Glam Seven
glamseven.com
Platinum Transfers
platinumtransfers.co.uk
Mode & Affaire
modeandaffaire.com
Discount LED Lights
discountledlights.com
Yumi Organics
yumi-organics.ca
Moonwalk Properties
moonwalkproperties.com
Powerhouse Hub
powerhousehub.com
FreedomFi
freedomfi.com
360 Home Scanner
330rc.homescaner.com
What clients say
Drag the cards, or use the arrows.
Shafiq is an exceptional developer — highly skilled, reliable, and always delivers on time. He built our platform with great attention to detail and performance.
Have a project, a role or just a question? Fill in the form, or message me on WhatsApp for the quickest reply.