Available for projects & leadership roles

M. Usman Mazhar

Senior PHP Developer|

I design, build and scale secure, high-performance web applications with Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony and WordPress — for clients in Germany, Belgium, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the USA and Pakistan.

Get in touch Download CV
M. Usman Mazhar
CTOThe Xpertz (Schuja.IT)
11+ YearsLaravel · CodeIgniter · WordPress
0Years in Web Development
0Live Portfolio Projects
0Countries Served
AIClaude & Cursor Workflows
01 — About

From intern to CTO

Results-driven Senior PHP Developer, Technical Lead and CTO with 11+ years of experience designing, building and scaling secure, high-performance web applications with Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony and WordPress. I grew from intern to CTO, and today own technology strategy, architecture, server infrastructure and delivery for a development team serving clients in Germany, Belgium, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the USA and Pakistan.

I've delivered an internal WordPress portal for Mercedes-Benz, Laravel + Vue.js e-commerce apps integrated with the B-Inside API, enterprise cybersecurity awareness platforms (Cyber-Fuchs), automated reporting engines, employee management and event booking systems, e-commerce and inventory solutions, and airline flight-API integrations. I'm experienced in migrating legacy CodeIgniter systems to modern Laravel and microservice architectures, upgrading legacy PHP applications, optimising MySQL performance, and setting up, migrating and managing Linux servers, Docker environments and CI/CD pipelines on AWS and DigitalOcean.

An early adopter of AI-assisted development ("vibe coding") using Claude, Claude Code and Cursor to prototype features faster, refactor legacy code, generate tests and documentation, and speed up code reviews — while keeping a firm grip on code quality, security and SOLID principles.

02 — Skills

Core skills

Backend

  • PHP 5.6 – 8.4
  • Laravel (Expert)
  • CodeIgniter 3 & 4 (Expert)
  • Symfony
  • Core PHP
  • MVC
  • OOP
  • SOLID

AI-Assisted Development

  • Vibe Coding
  • Claude & Claude Code
  • Cursor AI IDE
  • Prompt Engineering
  • AI Pair Programming
  • AI-Driven Refactoring
  • Test & Documentation Generation
  • AI Code Review

Frontend & CMS

  • WordPress (Custom Plugins & Themes)
  • WordPress Landing Pages
  • Vue.js
  • React
  • Angular
  • JavaScript (ES6+)
  • jQuery
  • AJAX
  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • Tailwind CSS

Database & Caching

  • MySQL (Advanced Query Optimisation)
  • Eloquent ORM
  • Redis
  • Database Design & Normalisation

APIs & Integration

  • RESTful APIs
  • SOAP
  • Payment Gateways
  • Flight / Airline APIs
  • CRM & Third-Party Integrations

Server Setup & Management

  • Linux Administration
  • Server Migrations
  • PHP Version Upgrades
  • LAMP / LEMP
  • Nginx
  • Apache
  • SSL/TLS
  • MySQL Administration
  • Backups & Monitoring
  • WHM / cPanel

DevOps & Cloud

  • Docker & Docker Compose
  • CI/CD
  • AWS (EC2, S3)
  • DigitalOcean
  • Git
  • GitHub
  • Bitbucket
  • Composer
  • NPM

Leadership & Process

  • Team Leadership & Mentoring
  • Agile / Scrum
  • Jira
  • Trello
  • SDLC Management
  • Code Reviews
  • Technical Documentation
  • Stakeholder Management
03 — Experience

Work experience

  1. Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

    The Xpertz (Schuja.IT), Lahore

    Jan 2022 – Present
    • Technology Strategy: Define the technology stack and architecture for each project; lead R&D on new frameworks and tools to keep the team current.
    • Architectural Leadership: Engineered scalable backend architectures using PHP 8.2 and Laravel 10, supporting high-traffic applications for European clients.
    • Mercedes-Benz Internal Portal: Built an internal portal for Mercedes-Benz on WordPress with a custom login system, deployed in Docker with the latest PHP and MySQL versions (details under NDA).
    • B-Inside E-commerce Apps: Built a suite of client e-commerce apps in Laravel and Vue.js for Belgian businesses (De Baenst, Het Fruithuis, MCE-UPS, Oscar Fresh Food, Vanderhaegen Potatoes, Vlaemynck), integrated with the B-Inside (b-inside.be) API.
    • Cyber-Fuchs Portal Redesign: Redesigned and rebuilt the Cyber-Fuchs customer portal in the latest CodeIgniter 4, modernising the architecture of the original CodeIgniter 3 application.
    • RiskCircle & SecuCircle: Built the riskcircle.de and secucircle.de web apps for Vertriebssoftware24 on the latest Laravel version, each with its own WordPress landing page.
    • Client Websites: Built and maintain 8 WordPress and HTML websites for Vertriebssoftware24 (Germany), including vertriebssoftware24.de, cyberscanner.de, ransomware-reaction.de and vip-monitoring.com.
    • Legacy Upgrade & Migration: Upgraded the PHP version of pcb.com.pk and migrated the application to a new server.
    • DevOps & Infrastructure: Spearheaded server migration and infrastructure management on AWS and DigitalOcean, implementing CI/CD pipelines that reduced deployment errors by 40%.
    • AI-Assisted Engineering: Introduced Claude, Claude Code and Cursor into the team workflow for rapid prototyping, legacy-code refactoring, test generation and faster code reviews.
    • Delivery & Team Management: Run task planning, project documentation, code reviews and technical support; directed the full SDLC of a cybersecurity awareness program with Agile/Scrum for 100% on-time delivery.
    • Modernisation: Led the migration from legacy CodeIgniter systems to modern Laravel and microservices architecture, improving maintainability and developer velocity.

  2. Senior PHP Developer & Team Lead

    The Xpertz (Schuja.IT), Lahore

    Jan 2020 – Dec 2021
    • Project Leadership: Spearheaded development of Cyber-Fuchs and Cyber-Fuchs Privat for Vertriebssoftware24 (Germany): WordPress landing pages plus CodeIgniter 3 customer web apps where users log in, attend webinars, earn certificates and study guidelines and cyber-security material on how to recognise cyber attacks.
    • Event Management: Delivered XpertBooking, an end-to-end event management and booking system, on time using Agile/Scrum workflows.
    • Code Governance: Established a standardised code review process and documentation framework, reducing production bugs by 30%.
    • Performance: Built high-performance modules in CodeIgniter and Laravel with optimised database queries and secure API integrations.
    • Mentorship: Primary technical escalation point; mentored junior developers on DRY and SOLID principles.

  3. Senior PHP Developer

    The Xpertz (Schuja.IT), Lahore

    Sep 2017 – Dec 2019
    • International Delivery: Developed a custom annual-report generation engine for Canai Digital (Germany) in Laravel, cutting document generation time by 60%.
    • Cybersecurity: Built the Cyberschadenssumme security awareness website for a German client, applying secure coding practices and RESTful APIs.
    • Enterprise HR: Designed and deployed an Employee Management System (Livasoft) for VodafoneWest, optimising HR operations and resource tracking.
    • Public Health: Engineered modules for the Punjab AIDS Control Programme focused on secure data entry and reporting.

  4. PHP Developer

    Astute Solutions, Lahore

    Jun 2014 – Sep 2017
    • E-commerce: Developed the cart, checkout and inventory management system for Al Ammari (Saudi Arabia).
    • API Integration: Integrated real-time flight APIs for Nesma Airlines and designed the database structure for the Key car rental platform.
    • WordPress & Symfony: Built and customised WordPress plugins for Marketing for Gyms and developed a Symfony-based reporting system for a corporate client.

  5. Frontend & Backend Intern

    Zam Software Solution, Islamabad

    Mar 2014 – Jun 2014
    • Contributed to frontend design and custom PHP development for USA-based logistics websites.
Education

BS Computer Science

Punjab University College of Information Technology, Lahore · 2012

04 — Portfolio

Selected projects

Mercedes-Benz Portal

NDA

Internal WordPress portal with a custom login system, Dockerised with the latest PHP and MySQL.

  • WordPress
  • Docker
  • PHP
  • MySQL
Private – NDA

PCB

Pakistan

PHP version upgrade of a legacy application and migration to a new server.

  • PHP
  • Server Migration
pcb.com.pk

Cyber-Fuchs

Germany

Cyber-security awareness platform for businesses: WordPress landing page plus a customer portal for webinars, certificates, guidelines and learning material — portal redesigned in CodeIgniter 4.

  • WordPress
  • CodeIgniter 3 → 4
cyber-fuchs.de

Cyber-Fuchs Privat

Germany

Cyber-security awareness for private users: WordPress landing page plus a learning portal with webinars and certificates.

  • WordPress
  • CodeIgniter 3
cyber-fuchs-privat.de

RiskCircle

Germany

WordPress landing page plus a Laravel web app, owned by Vertriebssoftware24.

  • WordPress
  • Laravel (latest)
riskcircle.de

SecuCircle

Germany

WordPress landing page plus a Laravel web app, owned by Vertriebssoftware24.

  • WordPress
  • Laravel (latest)
secucircle.de

XpertBooking

Product

End-to-end event management and booking system.

  • CodeIgniter 3
xpertbooking.com

Cyberschadenssumme

Germany

Cybersecurity awareness website built with secure coding practices and RESTful APIs.

  • CodeIgniter 3
  • REST APIs
cyberschadenssumme.de

Livasoft – VodafoneWest

Germany

Employee management system optimising HR operations and resource tracking.

  • CodeIgniter 3
livasoft.de

Al Ammari

KSA

E-commerce cart, checkout and inventory management system.

  • CodeIgniter 3
alammari.sa

Nesma Airlines

KSA

Real-time flight details API integration.

  • PHP
  • REST / SOAP APIs
nesmaairlines.com

Key Car Rental

KSA

Database architecture for a car rental platform.

  • MySQL
  • Laravel
key.sa
05 — Clients

Notable clients

Mercedes-BenzInternal portal · NDA
B-Inside clientsBelgium
Vertriebssoftware24Cyber-Fuchs, RiskCircle, SecuCircle · Germany
Canai DigitalGermany
VodafoneWest / LivasoftGermany
PCBPakistan
Nesma AirlinesSaudi Arabia
Al AmmariSaudi Arabia
Marketing for GymsUSA
Punjab AIDS Control ProgrammePakistan
06 — Contact

Let's build something great together.

Have a project, a legacy system to modernise, or a team that needs technical leadership? I'd love to hear from you.

Send me a message

Emailusmanmazhar51@gmail.com Phone+92 322 4781350 WhatsAppChat with me LinkedInConnect with me
LocationLahore, Pakistan · Remote worldwide
Download CV (PDF)