PHP Experts
in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AI.Hire experts who build and maintain PHP applications, shape Laravel and Symfony back ends, and keep WordPress, APIs, and legacy systems stable with fast, precise matching from vetted, available freelancers.
Meet FRATCH Experts who have recently used PHP
Kiriakos Krastillis
Last position:
Tech Lead / Architect : OTTO API Platform at OTTO
Maturing their API practices on both a business and technology level. My role covers strategy, architecture, developer advocacy as well as hands-on software engineering, enabling both technical teams and business leadership to adopt and act on API-centric principles effectively. Coincidentally, we also establish GitOps, DX and platform best practices with this project.
Highlights:
- Aligning executives with the initiative by clarifying strategy, replacing misconceptions and myths with facts, clarifying the value of existing assets and enabling informed decision-making
- Formulating a way forward for API Lifecycle Management at OTTO
- Driving platform progress and fostering developer engagement by hands-on engineering work towards strategic goals
API Lifecycle Management, Team Topologies, Organizational Evolution, Regulatory, Platform Advocate, Developer Platform, Communities of Practice, Terraform, Kotlin, Kafka, Kong, WSO2, Apigee, Gravitee, Backstage, AsyncAPI, OpenAPI, API Design, AWS, React, Node.js, TypeScript, Redocly, reactive programming, CDC, Golang, Gin, GitOps, DX (developer experience), stakeholder management, roadmaps, workshops, discovery.
Sascha Bach
Last position:
Freelance at GxPlex
- Built a custom MediaWiki instance including installation, MySQL database, SSL, and automatic backups
- Set up user roles (Admin, Mod, Verified, User) and a permissions system
- FlaggedRevisions for editorial review workflow · comment and rating extensions
Collin Kempkes
Last position:
Software Architect / Fullstack Developer at Equity Bytes
Built an international e-commerce platform for a multi-vendor marketplace for digital assets from scratch. Designed and operated cloud native architectures at enterprise scale.
- Designed and operated a highly scalable microservice and serverless architecture
- Built the complete cloud infrastructure with Terraform + AWS CDK in AWS
- Provisioned ECS/EKS clusters (Fargate), Application Load Balancers (reverse proxy), and Lambda functions
- Observability & tracing with CloudWatch, DataDog, Prometheus, and Grafana
- End-to-end setup with DataDog (formerly AWS CloudWatch), Prometheus, and custom Grafana dashboards
- Integration of advanced metrics (including ORM mapper) and distributed tracing with Jaeger
- Robust backup and disaster recovery strategies
- RDS Postgres backups and hourly snapshots
- Read-only, asynchronously synchronized replicas with automated master failover in emergencies
- Minute-level rollback capability through versioned Docker images on ECS and Git-based CI/CD pipelines
- Created CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions for automated multi-stage deployments (Dev, Testing, Prod)
- Integrated Stripe for international payment processing
- Built a marketplace payment system with multiple parties and payout routines
- Used Algolia for high-performance real-time search of digital assets on the platform
- Federation of services with GraphQL and Hasura
- Later migration to GraphQL Mesh
- Test Driven Development (TDD) - unit, integration, and E2E testing with Jest, Vitest, and Playwright
- Used Next.js / React for modern frontend applications in the nx monorepo
- Enterprise security architecture & access control
- Integration of JWT tokens with Auth0, OAuth, OIDC, IP guards, BOLA protection, and secret vaults
- Authorization concepts with RBAC, ABAC, and native Postgres Row-Level Security (RLS)
- Built internal microfrontends with Retool for fast prototyping and operational business processes
Technologies: ABAC, AWS CDK, AWS CloudWatch, AWS ECS, AWS EKS, AWS Fargate, AWS RDS, AWS S3, Algolia, Auth0, DataDog, Docker, GitHub Actions, Grafana, GraphQL, GraphQL Mesh, Hasura, JWT, Jaeger, Java, JavaScript, Jest, Kotlin, Kubernetes, Monorepo, Next.js, OIDC, Playwright, Postgres, Postgres RLS, Prometheus, RBAC, Redis, Retool, Serverless, Stripe, Terraform, TypeScript, Vitest
Harold Tela
Last position:
CPU Watcher — Cloud-Native Monitoring Application at SEUYTEL
- Planned and developed a CPU monitoring application for monitoring system performance and resource utilization.
- Designed and implemented a Spring Boot backend providing a REST API for processing and exposing monitoring data.
- Developed the React frontend for presenting monitoring information in a clear and user-friendly interface.
- Integrated PostgreSQL for persistent storage and management of application data.
- Containerized the application and its services using Docker Compose.
- Automated infrastructure provisioning and deployment using Terraform on AWS.
- Structured the application as a modern, maintainable system using REST-based communication between frontend and backend.
- Designed and developed a secure, scalable CPU monitoring architecture (cpu-watcher) with a dedicated collector application that streams monitoring data to the backend, reducing direct exposure of system resources.
- Designed a secure cloud infrastructure with the database isolated within a private network and OIDC-based authentication.
- Implemented Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and integrated version-controlled CI/CD pipelines to automate testing, infrastructure changes, and application deployments.
- Designed and implemented the frontend delivery architecture using AWS CloudFront.
Stack: Spring Boot · React · PostgreSQL · REST API · Docker Compose · Terraform · AWS
Ales Loncar
Last position:
Senior DevOps Consultant (Freelance) at European Union Agency (via IBM)
- Worked as freelance Senior DevOps Consultant on-site for IBM at a European Union Agency, operating in a highly secure, air-gapped environment managing classified systems.
- Led automation and DevOps initiatives for a large-scale OpenShift platform (>400 nodes), driving deployment efficiency, GitOps adoption, and operational automation using Ansible, Python, and Bash while ensuring compliance with security requirements.
- Spearheaded automation of release and deployment workflows in a private cloud environment hosting 400+ OpenShift nodes, significantly improving deployment speed and reliability.
- Migrated existing playbooks, roles, and templates from Ansible Tower to Ansible Automation Platform (AAP), ensuring full compliance with fully-qualified collection names (FQCN) and preparing custom Execution Environments (EE) for containerized automation.
- Implemented GitOps Agent for AAP Controller Configuration as Code, enabling automated synchronization (CRUD) of Ansible Controller objects based on repository-stored configuration definitions using GitHub webhooks.
- Designed and automated complex multi-step operational workflows including environment cleanup, Helix cluster component re-creation, Kafka topic management, and OpenShift object lifecycle management across ~100 environments.
- Achieved a reduction of multi-day manual operations to under a few hours through automation improvements spanning multiple AAP clusters and OpenShift environments.
- Integrated Ansible Automation Platform with Thycotic (Delinea) Secret Server via lookup plugin to enhance secure credential management in automated processes.
- Managed deployment tasks, platform troubleshooting, and Istio network configurations while adhering to stringent EU PSC security and compliance standards.
- Collaborated with infrastructure and application teams to refine deployment procedures, develop naming conventions, and continuously improve automation coverage in an air-gapped, classified environment.
Michael Nelz
Last position:
Senior AI Engineer | Forward Deployed Engineer at Tiefbau
- Development of an AI-powered project organization tool for a civil engineering company that intelligently links project, task, tender, schedule, and document data through a knowledge graph.
- Implementation of AI features for document analysis, information extraction, context-based assistance, and voice-based data capture based on Microsoft Azure AI, reducing administrative effort, making information available faster, and supporting project teams in decision-making.
- Tech stack: Python, React, TypeScript, FastAPI, Claude Code, Codex, Graphify, PostgreSQL, Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Speech, Azure AI Document Intelligence, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Entra ID, Docker, Git, CI/CD.
Thorsten Huber
Last position:
Product Owner, AI Manager at crazyALEX.de GmbH
Digitizing real-world places with 3D/LiDAR scans to make spatial data usable for AI applications and to derive concrete use cases and prototypes from it.
- Digital capture of real-world places as a basis for faster planning and analysis
- Browser-based access to 3D data for easier use and coordination
- Turning spatial data into concrete use cases, prototypes, and AI training scenarios
- Planning basis for urban development and other digital future applications
Keywords: LiDAR, 3D scan, AI, use cases, AI training, prototyping, Python, web development, data models, architecture
Hubertus S.
Last position:
Senior Product Manager AI
Workflow-automation SaaS for operations teams (Berlin, 120 people); full-time freelance engagement reporting to the CEO: an initial 12-month interim mandate, extended twice through the AI build-out; owned product for one squad and coached the other product managers on process.
- Led generative AI (LLM) integration into the core product: from LLM-powered steps to natural-language workflow authoring and step-level automation suggestions, plus AI-managed dynamic workflows, shipped behind eval gates with human-in-the-loop fallbacks: AI-drafted workflows grew to 31% of all new workflows, and median time-to-first-workflow fell from 3 days to 4 hours.
- Packaged the AI capabilities as a usage-based add-on priced on executed automation steps, working with sales and marketing on positioning: ~€800K added ARR in the first year, and adopting accounts churned 1.8 pp less.
- Owned the roadmap end to end: replaced feature-request-driven quarterly planning with an outcome-based rolling roadmap built on quarterly bets and explicit kill criteria, presented monthly to the executive team and quarterly to the board.
- Rebuilt the product-management operating system: weekly customer-discovery cadence incl. workshop facilitation, RFC/decision-doc reviews and a single quarterly metrics narrative; coached four product managers, one promoted to senior during the engagement.
- Closed the engagement as scoped: hired and onboarded the permanent VP Product, handed over the process playbook and roadmap, and exited on schedule in June 2026.
Timo Bakenecker
Last position:
Freelancer (self-employed) at enorin GmbH
- Mendix low-code development / project management
- Managing external resources
- Customer and user management, roles
- Master data entry
- Quote preparation
- Material costing
- Workflows
- Basic CRM functions
- API interfaces (email, SMS, AI chatbot)
- PDF API (.NET development using Aspose.PDF)
- Stakeholder management (dev teams, enorin team, test client)
- Risk management (backend access & sizing, role concepts)
- Testing and staff training
- Creating epics and stories in Confluence
- Jira Scrum planning and management
Goran Popovic
Last position:
Test Manager & Analyst at Festo / Questax GmbH
Project goal: Carrying out system tests and validating industrial communication and control systems, including requirements definition and verification.
Responsibilities:
- Test planning, test execution
- Test strategy, test cases, and test specifications
- Requirements analysis
- Ensuring traceability between requirements, test cases, and defects
- Carrying out regression and integration tests
- Defect analysis
- Simulation and validation
- NetSniffer Wireshark
- Supporting test automation (Python, CI/CD)
- Reporting
- Stakeholder coordination and agile collaboration (Scrum / SAFe / Kanban)
- V-Model
- CI/CD automation with Python, Groovy, and frameworks (Selenium, PyTest)
Technologies:: CAN, Modbus, Ethernet, PLC, PROFINET, Codebeamer ALM, Scrum, SAFe, MS Teams, Git, CI/CD with GitLab CI and TeamCity, Windows Batch, FAS, Wireshark, Python, Enterprise Architect (EA), AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot), VS Code, Tia Portal, SCL, Python (Selenium, PyTest)
Niko Schmuck
Last position:
Developing Architect, Technical Lead "gridlytics" at HH Energienetze
- Building a data integration platform for high, medium, and low voltage assets for contextual analysis of time series with master data from the SCADA control system (IEC 60870 104), INIS, and SAP.
- Responsibility for the architecture and implementation of the solution, as well as sparring partner for the Product Owner.
- Use of Kotlin, Spring Boot, Maven, TimescaleDB, PostgreSQL, liquibase, Elements IoT, Docker, Kubernetes, Grafana, Python, jupyter, and various API gateways.
Chintan Padaliya
Last position:
Product Owner and Technical Product Lead at Sustamize GmbH
LLM-based features for automated CO₂e data extraction from unstructured documents (70% reduction)
Agentic AI pipeline for automated Scope 3 emissions calculation with 150,000+ validated data records
Smart API workflows for real-time carbon footprint calculations in ERP and ESG systems
ML algorithms to predict emission hotspots and optimize product design
Automated data validation pipelines with NLP for quality assurance of CO₂e datasets
Led a 15-person cross-functional team to develop 10+ AI features
Strategic product planning and AI roadmap with 35% shorter time to market
Stakeholder management with DAX companies (40% higher satisfaction, 95% retention)
On-time project delivery with 95% budget adherence through data-driven backlog management
Agile methods (Scrum, Kanban) with continuous AI/ML integration (25% team velocity increase)
Product-market fit for AI features through A/B testing and analytics (60% higher adoption rate)
Lucien André Reuter
Last position:
Founder and Managing Partner at NovoSign GmbH
I founded NovoSign together with two partners. There I am responsible for strategic development and operational management, from the product all the way to the business model.
This experience is especially valuable for my work as an external CDO: I know the product and founder perspective from my own responsibility, not just from consulting projects.
Philipp Steidler
Last position:
Solution Architect, Software Engineer, UX/UI Designer, Full-Stack Developer, Data Engineer, IT Consultant at Geigenbau-Meisterwerkstatt
- A digital system made up of special software and hardware components. The overall system replaces the traditional process with job slips and handwritten notes and enables more efficient order intake. Orders and work steps for the violin-making company’s projects can now be recorded, processed and logged in real time directly on the workshop’s touchscreen PC, by mobile phone or on the desktop. This gives customers a more transparent view of the work on their instruments and allows them to track the status and progress of their instrument through their customer account.
Tech stack: next.js, React, Flutter, Dart, Raspberry, Linux, Directus
Yashar Sadeghi
Last position:
Managing Director/Consultant at Efficient Consulting
- Led strategic IT and process consulting projects, streamlined business processes, and aligned IT systems with business goals, resulting in a 20% improvement in organizational efficiency.
- Led international transformation projects using agile and traditional methods, managing a cross-functional team of more than 15 professionals and delivering solutions on time and within budget.
- Developed cloud-based ERP/CRM systems (Salesforce, Infor, Microsoft) for clients, ensuring seamless integration and reducing system downtime by 30%.
- Led large-scale change management initiatives, actively involving stakeholders at all levels and driving the successful rollout of innovative systems in global organizations.
- Led requirements analysis and the tender process for clients, identified cost-saving opportunities, and improved operational workflows.
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Statistics of experts using PHP
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
20 years
Position duration
3.3 years
Positions per freelancer
13
Top business areas
Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management
Top industries
Information Technology, Retail, Professional Services
Certification focus areas
Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management
Bachelor's degree or higher
83%
Master's degree or higher
46%
Doctorate
7%
Certifications per freelancer
2
Most common languages
German, English, French
Speak two or more languages
97%
Based on our profile pool as of 6 Sep 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this technology are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Average rates of experts using PHP
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 6 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
About the technology
Core use
PHP is a server-side language used for web applications, APIs, content-heavy sites, and custom business tools. It still powers a large part of the web, especially where fast delivery, broad hosting support, and mature libraries matter.
Common stacks
PHP work often centers on these ecosystems:
- Laravel for modern web apps and APIs
- Symfony for structured enterprise systems
- WordPress, Drupal, and other CMS work
- Composer, PHPUnit, Twig, and Doctrine
Where freelancers help
Companies bring in PHP specialists for new builds, upgrades, bug fixing, security hardening, and performance work. They are also useful when a product depends on an older codebase that still needs reliable support while teams focus on new features.
What strong experts do
A strong PHP specialist writes clean, testable code and understands how requests flow through the application stack. They work comfortably with databases, caching, authentication, deployments, and debugging across the full lifecycle of a web product.
Delivery patterns
PHP projects often need help with API design, CMS customization, checkout flows, integrations, and background jobs. Strong professionals can also untangle inherited code, modernize old modules, and keep releases stable in mixed environments.
Hiring signals
Bring in PHP expertise when you see:
- slow or fragile legacy code
- a Laravel or Symfony project that needs clean structure
- WordPress or Drupal changes that touch business logic
- API, database, or deployment issues that block release
Frequently asked questions
Curious about PHP? Here are the answers that come up again and again.
PHP is used to build server-side web applications, APIs, CMS-driven sites, and internal tools. It is common in products that need fast delivery, broad hosting support, and a mature ecosystem around Laravel, Symfony, and WordPress.
A strong PHP freelancer is useful when a team needs focused help on a release, a legacy codebase, or a specific framework task. Companies also bring in specialists when internal staff are busy, when they need an outside review, or when a short-term need does not justify a long hiring cycle.
PHP is often chosen for web delivery speed, hosting flexibility, and the strength of its CMS and framework ecosystem. Compared with JavaScript back-end stacks, it is usually more direct for server-rendered web work; compared with Python, it often fits classic web products and content systems more naturally.
A strong PHP specialist usually knows Laravel or Symfony, plus Composer, PHPUnit, and common templating and database tools. Depending on the project, WordPress, Drupal, Doctrine, Redis, and queue systems can also matter.
The best PHP professionals usually also understand SQL, HTTP, authentication, caching, testing, and deployment workflows. For product work, they should be comfortable with APIs, front-end integration, and debugging across servers, application code, and database queries.
A small bug fix may only need a PHP specialist who knows the framework and codebase well. A larger rewrite, migration, or security review needs someone who has handled architecture, tests, and deployment risks before.
Most PHP work can be done remotely because the key tasks are code review, issue fixing, and deployment coordination. On-site time helps when there is deep stakeholder input, sensitive system access, or a complex handover with a legacy product team.
Look for a PHP specialist who explains trade-offs clearly, writes tests, and can show how they handled debugging, performance, or security issues. Good signs are clean code structure, practical framework knowledge, and a calm approach to legacy systems and production fixes.
The average hourly rate of freelancers who have used PHP in their recent projects is 95 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 761 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers who have used PHP in their recent projects, 83% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 46% hold at least a Master's degree, and 7% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers who have used PHP in their recent projects have 20 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 3.3 years.
The most common languages among freelancers who have used PHP in their recent projects are German (98%), English (97%), and French (22%).
The most common industries among freelancers who have used PHP in their recent projects are Information Technology (95%), Retail (42%), and Professional Services (40%).
The most common business areas among freelancers who have used PHP in their recent projects are Information Technology (98%), Product Development (87%), and Project Management (59%).
Main locations of FRATCH Experts, who have recently used PHP
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
Request a free demo
Get in touch with the FRATCH team and we will get back to you within 4 hours.
Would you rather directly get in touch?
We always have the time for a call or email!

Berlin
Hamburg
Munich
Cologne
Frankfurt
Stuttgart
Dusseldorf
Leipzig
Dortmund
Essen
Nuremberg