Illia Kalinin
Product Engineer | Laravel Architect | AI-Native
Salary / Daily rate
Chișinău, Moldova
Freelance, open to permanent contract
Remote only
Skills
Languages
About me
Intro
I build backend-heavy product platforms where architecture, automation and delivery work as one system. I have nearly 6 years of PHP/Laravel experience, from commercial development to backend architecture and full-cycle product ownership. I co-founded and built ShenQi Space, a revenue-generating Laravel/Nuxt platform covering commerce, subscriptions, education, analytics and AI-assisted operations. I work best in small teams that value ownership, clear trade-offs and reliable delivery.
Work experience
Co-Founder, Product Engineer & Software Architect
ShenQiSpaceFreelance
Oct 2024 - Present
2 years 1 month
Remote, OR 97458, USA
Building ShenQi Space — a production Laravel/Nuxt educational commerce and decision-support platform that turns expert methodology into repeatable digital products. As a co-founder, product engineer and software architect, I own product architecture, platform engineering and technical strategy across the system lifecycle: from domain modeling and backend architecture to product workflows, monetization, customer acquisition and growth experiments. The platform combines educational products, subscription services, consultation workflows, personalized decision-support tools, CMS/SEO infrastructure and AI-assisted internal workflows into one product ecosystem. Key areas of work: • Product and platform architecture for an educational commerce and decision-support ecosystem • Modular Laravel backend architecture, API design and domain modeling • Nuxt/TypeScript frontend flows for public pages, checkout, education and personal cabinet areas • Subscription, ordering, payment and consultation workflows • CMS, SEO, analytics and attribution foundations for acquisition and conversion • AI-assisted engineering workflows, agent-based development, spec-driven implementation and automated validation • Deployment workflows, observability and production support using Docker, Nginx and Sentry • Customer acquisition, product growth and turning expert methodology into repeatable digital products This role is the strongest proof of my product engineering approach: building under real constraints, connecting business goals with architecture, and shipping systems that can be operated, measured and improved. Tech stack: Laravel, PHP, Octane, Horizon, PostgreSQL, Redis, Manticore Search, Nuxt 4, TypeScript, Docker, Nginx, GitHub Actions, Sentry.
Room15 Digital
Oct 2022 - May 2026
3 years 8 months
Remote, OR 97458, USA
Backend Architect
Jun 2025 - May 2026
1 year
Remote, OR 97458, USA
Led backend architecture and technical foundations for SaaS and e-commerce platforms at Room15 Digital, working across Laravel architecture, domain modeling, infrastructure, CI/CD, observability and technical leadership. Key projects: • Nexora — reusable Laravel commerce core for faster online store launches and migrations from legacy platforms. I architected and led backend/infra development, designed commerce workflows across catalog/search, cart, checkout, orders, payments, shipping, inventory, promotions, CRM, notifications, analytics and import/export, and reviewed backend implementation quality. • DontWorry — multi-tenant Laravel SaaS for website monitoring and technical quality analysis. I served as architect and delivery lead, reviewed backend implementation, guided tenant isolation, scheduled checks, subscription-aware feature gating, reporting, notifications and production readiness, and coordinated rollout across backend, frontend and infrastructure. Architecture focus: • modular Laravel systems and domain boundaries • API-first platform design • payment, checkout, inventory and subscription workflows • idempotency, state machines, webhook safety and operational reliability • Docker-based deployment, GitHub Actions, health checks and release workflows • observability with Sentry, Pulse, Prometheus and Grafana Leadership contribution: • Mentored backend developers and supported technical growth • Ran internal technical sessions for backend/frontend teams • Conducted final technical interviews for backend hiring • Reviewed architecture and code, shaped technical tasks and helped align implementation decisions with product/platform goals Tech stack: Laravel 12, PHP 8.4, PostgreSQL, Redis, Manticore Search, Docker, Nginx, GitHub Actions, GHCR, Octane, Horizon, Filament, Prometheus, Grafana, Pulse, Stripe, queues, webhooks.
Lead Software Engineer
Oct 2022 - Aug 2025
2 years 11 months
Remote, OR 97458, USA
Worked on commercial Laravel platforms, marketplaces and custom business applications, gradually moving from feature-focused backend delivery into system design, architecture discussions and product-aware engineering. Project domains included freelance marketplaces, real estate platforms, service-oriented platforms, custom business applications and Laravel/Tamaranga-based platform solutions. Key work: • Built backend features and business logic for commercial Laravel products • Designed and improved database structures for marketplace, search/filtering, product and internal business workflows • Built and maintained REST APIs for frontend applications and external integrations • Worked on payment flows, platform workflows, user/account logic and operational processes • Integrated third-party services and internal platform modules • Refactored legacy or evolving code to improve maintainability and reduce delivery risk • Optimized backend performance and data access patterns where workflows required it • Collaborated with frontend developers and product stakeholders to turn business requirements into workable implementation plans • Participated in architecture discussions as products grew in complexity This role became the practical foundation for my later architecture work. It taught me how commercial platforms evolve over time, where abstractions help, where they slow teams down, and why architecture has to serve business reality. Tech stack: Laravel, PHP, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, Docker, REST APIs, queues, payment workflows and third-party integrations.
Lead Software Engineer
Feb 2022 - Oct 2022
9 months
Remote, OR 97458, USA
Designed and developed a custom Laravel business platform for e-commerce and warehouse management. This was an early full-cycle platform project where I was responsible for backend architecture, database design, core business logic and coordination with frontend development. The platform connected e-commerce workflows with operational warehouse processes: products, orders, inventory, stock movements, business rules, API endpoints and internal process automation. Key work: • Designed backend architecture for a custom e-commerce and warehouse management platform • Modeled database structures around products, orders, inventory, warehouse operations and business process requirements • Built inventory and stock-management logic for operational workflows • Implemented e-commerce flows and backend business logic in Laravel • Designed API endpoints and integration points for frontend and external/internal systems • Worked on database optimization and structure improvements as the system evolved • Coordinated frontend development and aligned technical decisions across backend and UI implementation • Participated in product and technical decision-making throughout the project lifecycle This role strengthened my ability to translate operational business processes into backend systems and platform workflows. Tech stack: Laravel, PHP, relational database design, REST APIs, e-commerce workflows, inventory and warehouse logic.
Software Engineer
Sep 2020 - Mar 2022
1 year 7 months
Remote, OR 97458, USA
Started my professional path as a software engineer, building backend functionality and web applications for commercial projects. This period gave me a practical foundation in backend development: writing PHP code for real business needs, working with databases, APIs, integrations, bug fixing, refactoring and incremental feature delivery. Key work: • Built backend functionality for commercial web applications • Developed PHP-based business logic and application features • Designed and improved database structures for application workflows • Built API endpoints and connected backend functionality with frontend/client needs • Integrated third-party services and external systems • Fixed bugs, refactored existing code and improved maintainability over time • Delivered features in practical business contexts where correctness, reliability and delivery speed mattered This role helped me move from writing isolated features toward understanding web architecture, product workflows and the long-term cost of technical decisions. Tech stack: PHP, relational databases, APIs, web applications, third-party integrations, refactoring and bug fixing.
Education
National University "Odessa Maritime Academy"
Bachelor's Degree, Marine Transportation
2016 - 2020
4 years
Completed a bachelor's degree in Marine Transportation, with training in navigation, route planning, operational discipline, risk awareness and decision- making under constraints. During my maritime training, I also completed approximately 6 months of sea practice, working in an international environment and strengthening practical English communication. I later transitioned into software engineering, where the habits of systems thinking, responsibility and operational awareness became useful in backend architecture, product systems and platform work.