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Doğan Uçar · Freelance Senior Engineer · Ucar Solutions UG

AI Engineering and Senior PHP Development for Business Software.

I help companies integrate AI into existing PHP business software, modernize complex PHP systems, add AI features into existing business workflows, and build reliable backend platforms, APIs, SaaS products, and automation tools.

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Doğan Uçar, AI engineer and senior PHP developer

Projects I have worked on - directly or through agencies and service providers.

  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise · Automotive
  • The Quality Group · ESN, More Nutrition
  • Robinson / TUI
  • TEVEO
  • SCAYLE / About You
  • CHECK24
  • ISB Bayern
  • Nextcloud

Services

I help companies integrate AI into real business processes - not as isolated demos, but as maintainable software features inside existing systems.

01 AI Integration for Existing PHP Software LLM integration, AI-assisted analysis of reports and documents, process automation - as a maintainable feature inside your existing system, no rewrite. Local models where data must not leave the building. Discuss AI integration 02 AI Code Review Your team shipped fast with AI. Now make sure it does not break. I review what was built, find what could hurt you in production, and fix it - before your customers do. Get a free assessment 03 Legacy PHP Migration Your legacy system, migrated - without stopping the business. PHP 4 to 8, no version control to full CI/CD, zero downtime, no big-bang rewrites. Talk about your migration 04 Hire a Freelance PHP Developer Senior PHP engineering for your project - available for freelance engagements, long-term contracts, and consulting. See availability and rates

What I Do

I support companies with senior-level software engineering in complex technical environments. My work usually falls into one of these areas:

  • Backend development with PHP, Symfony, API Platform, Laminas, Mezzio, Laravel, and custom architectures
  • AI integration into existing software products, internal tools, reporting workflows, and customer-facing applications
  • SaaS and platform development, including subscription models, reporting, dashboards, authentication, and role-based access
  • System modernization, refactoring, technical-debt reduction, testing, and performance improvement
  • API design and integration with REST, XML, SOAP, third-party platforms, and legacy systems
  • DevOps, CI/CD, Docker, Docker Swarm, Linux, GitLab, GitHub Actions, monitoring, and deployment automation
  • E-commerce and business-platform development with Shopify, SCAYLE / About You, Akeneo, AWS, and custom backend systems

AI & Automation

Typical use cases include:

01

Analysis & Insights

AI-assisted report analysis and explanation systems, AI-supported dashboards and business insights, automated document, email, and data evaluation workflows.

02

LLM Integration

Integration of LLM APIs into PHP/Symfony and React applications, backend logic for AI-powered SaaS products, prompt-driven internal tools for operations, support, and content workflows.

03

Process Automation

Automation of recurring manual processes with APIs, queues, and background jobs.

04

Background & Approach

My background in Intelligent Systems, machine learning, natural language processing, and production software engineering allows me to bridge both sides: the AI concept and the engineering reality.

Selected Project Experience

Since 2012: enterprise platforms, e-commerce, public sector, SaaS, migrations, and CI/CD.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise - Automotive Industry

Application and server migration, report development, CI/CD infrastructure, and enterprise platform modernization across multiple products.

Technologies: PHP, MariaDB, Oracle SQL, PostgreSQL, Red Hat Linux, GitLab CI/CD, CheckMK, ServiceNow

TEVEO - E-commerce Backend

Development of a new e-commerce backend from scratch for a mobile application, using backend-for-frontend and backend-driven UI approaches.

Technologies: PHP, Symfony, API Platform, MySQL 8, Docker, Docker Swarm, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Shopify, Workato

Robinson / TUI

Senior PHP and Symfony development for tuiamello.com, including third-party API integrations, technical-debt reduction, test improvements, and consulting on hotel booking backend practices.

Technologies: PHP 8, Symfony, API Platform, REST, XML, SOAP

The Quality Group

Backend development for shop-related systems connected to ESN and More Nutrition products.

Technologies: PHP, Symfony 6, API Platform, Bref, AWS, Terraform, Akeneo API

SCAYLE / About You

Middleware development for the enterprise commerce engine by SCAYLE / About You.

Technologies: PHP, Laravel, Docker, Kubernetes, Benthos, AWS SQS, SNS, S3, Mailjet, Mailchimp, Optimizely, AWS SDK

CHECK24

Senior PHP backend development for the liability insurance comparison platform.

Technologies: PHP, MySQL, Zend / Laminas, JavaScript, Linux, Vagrant, Puppet

Nextcloud

Development of a recommender engine for the Nextcloud app ecosystem using collaborative filtering and content-based recommendation.

Technologies: PHP, MySQL, Nextcloud Framework

From the Blog

All articles →
· 9 min read Critical PHP Security Release (21 October 2026): What We Know and How to Upgrade Two critical PHP vulnerabilities (CVSS 9.2) are fixed on 21 October 2026: what is confirmed, what is rumoured, how to upgrade servers, Docker and hosting. · 12 min read PHP 8.6: The Features That Matter and What Can Break When You Upgrade PHP 8.6 for experienced developers: partial function application, clamp(), Time\Duration, new session defaults, stricter validation and deprecations. · 5 min read The Webhook Bug That Gives Cancelled Users Free Access Payment webhooks arrive out of order, and a naive handler hands out free subscriptions. A lead engineer's guide to robust Stripe webhook handling: deduplication, race conditions, fetching current state, reconciliation - with PHP and Symfony examples.

Book

Book cover of Almost Generics in PHP Almost Generics in PHP PHP is getting generics. Are you ready? A hands-on guide to building type-safe, generic-like data structures today - before native generics land in the language. Get the book →

Own Products & Open Source

DMARCFlowSaaS Product A SaaS platform for automated DMARC report analysis, reporting, forecasting, and email authentication tooling. Helps domain owners understand SPF, DKIM, DMARC alignment, sending sources, policy impact, and deliverability risks.PHP 8, Laminas, Mezzio, React 19, React i18n, React Bootstrap KeestashOpen Source An open-source password manager built as a SaaS product with a focus on secure password management and extensibility.PHP, Laminas, PHPUnit, HIBP API, Vue 3, Bootstrap, SCSS, Axios
ServerWatcheriOS App An iOS application for observing remote server HTTP status codes.Swift, SwiftUI, SwiftData, Apple iOS

About me

Hi, I'm Doğan Uçar - Senior Software Engineer, freelancer, and founder of Ucar Solutions UG.

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Intelligent Systems, both from Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. I write regularly on my PHP and software engineering blog - covering PHP internals, software architecture, algorithms, and freelancing.

My focus is not only writing code, but helping companies reduce technical debt, stabilize critical systems, improve developer productivity, and introduce AI where it creates measurable business value.

I specialize in PHP, Symfony, API Platform, React, DevOps, and AI-assisted software development. Since 2012, I have worked on enterprise platforms, e-commerce systems, public-sector applications, mobile apps, SaaS products, migrations, CI/CD infrastructure, and backend systems for companies such as CHECK24, Nextcloud, SCAYLE / About You, TUI / Robinson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, The Quality Group, and TEVEO.

Core Engineering Skills

Backend & ArchitecturePHP 8, Symfony, API Platform, Laminas, Mezzio, Laravel, Doctrine ORM, Messenger, REST APIs, XML, SOAP, OpenAPI, middleware architectures, clean architecture, domain logic, testing, refactoring, and performance optimization.
AI, Data & AutomationLLM integration, AI-assisted analysis, machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, Python, reporting systems, forecasting logic, data workflows, and automation.
DevOps & InfrastructureDocker, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, Linux, GitLab CI/CD, GitHub Actions, AWS, Terraform, RabbitMQ, Redis, monitoring, deployment automation, server migration, and operational troubleshooting.
Frontend & MobileReact, TypeScript, JavaScript, Vue.js, Angular, Ionic, Android, Kotlin, Swift, iOS, Bootstrap, SCSS, and full-stack application development.
DatabasesMySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle SQL, database design, query optimization, migrations, and data-heavy backend systems.
EducationB.Sc. Computer Science, M.Sc. Intelligent Systems - focus on machine learning and NLP.

Why Work With Me

Companies usually work with me when they need someone who can understand complex systems quickly, take responsibility beyond isolated tickets, and deliver pragmatic technical progress.

  • 10+ years of professional software engineering experience
  • Strong PHP, Symfony, backend, API, and platform expertise
  • Practical AI knowledge backed by a Master's degree in Intelligent Systems
  • Experience in enterprise, e-commerce, public-sector, SaaS, and mobile projects
  • Hands-on DevOps and infrastructure knowledge
  • The ability to reduce technical debt while still delivering business features
  • A founder mindset through building and operating my own products

Media Presence

JetBrains Official "PHP Annotated - October 2019" blog: PHPAlgorithms is featured in category "Misc".

WPWeekly Episode 227: WP Last Modified is featured in the podcast.

Need Senior Engineering Support?

If your company needs support with PHP, Symfony, AI integration, SaaS development, platform modernization, backend architecture, or technical-debt reduction, feel free to reach out.

I am available for freelance projects, consulting, architecture reviews, and hands-on implementation.

Request a call You pick the day and time, I call you Project inquiry Structured form Send an email hello@dogan-ucar.de