Backend · Full-Stack · Product Engineer
Jamiu
Adewale Yusuf
I own products in production — not just the code, but the architecture, the server, the deployment pipeline, and the system thinking behind all of it.
Primary stack
About
A product engineer who owns the whole stack
Most engineers own a layer. I own the product. Over four years shipping systems across fintech, enterprise SaaS, hospitality, and the public sector, the thing that has defined my work is not the framework — it is the discipline of taking full responsibility for what I build, from the first database migration to the live server under real traffic.
I happen to build in Laravel, PHP, React, and Next.js. But the decisions I make — schema design, caching strategy, auth architecture, deployment topology — are engineering decisions, not framework decisions. That distinction matters for the quality of what ships.
Currently working remotely with a UK-based team from Lagos. Four years of distributed async engineering — writing clearly, documenting decisions, and shipping without being chased.
System Architecture
SSO across 15+ apps, multi-tenant SaaS with full data isolation, KYC microservices, and nine-factor matching engines built to handle real production load.
Production Ownership
I provision the server, configure Nginx, set up the CI/CD pipeline, manage Supervisor and PM2, and deploy. Schema to browser — one person.
Security & Reliability
OWASP, OAuth 2.0, JWT, RBAC, HMAC signing, pessimistic locking for financial transactions, and audit logging aligned to compliance.
Architecture
System design
Architecture diagrams for four production systems. Each reflects real decisions made under real constraints.
Enterprise SSO Platform
Laravel · PostgreSQL · Redis · JWT · HMAC
Key design decisions
- —Single auth layer replacing 15+ separate login systems
- —HMAC-SHA256 inter-service request signing — no service can spoof another
- —JWT with custom claims (app_id, tenant, roles) — server validates without DB round-trip
- —Redis session cache — token validation in microseconds, not milliseconds
- —Full audit log — every authentication event timestamped and attributed
Experience
Work history
Full-Stack Engineer
July 2025 – Present- Build and maintain Laravel backend systems for client web products — API design, service layer, and database schema on a remote-first async team.
- Provision and manage production server environments — configuring Nginx reverse proxies, SSL certificates, CI/CD pipelines, and deployment workflows on client VPS infrastructure.
- Implement authentication flows, role-based access control, and API contracts via Postman consumed by frontend clients.
- Optimise database performance through indexing strategies and Redis caching — diagnosing bottlenecks with Laravel Telescope before optimising.
Full-Stack Engineer
Sept. 2023 – Present- Architect and maintain complete backend infrastructure for a travel agency booking platform — payment gateway integration, booking lifecycle management, and user dashboard APIs serving 500+ active bookings monthly.
- Architect and maintain an enterprise SSO platform spanning 15+ internal applications — centralised user management, JWT session flows, RBAC routing, and HMAC inter-service signing — reducing authentication overhead by over 40%.
- Maintain and extend existing Node.js application codebases — implementing feature updates, resolving bugs, and ensuring compatibility across integrated services.
- Maintain a multi-tenant hotel management SaaS — Laravel backend with global tenant scoping, reservation and inventory engine, revenue dashboards, and React admin interfaces with live Chart.js analytics.
- Maintain a fintech wallet system — Paystack integration, wallet funding, peer transfers, virtual account management, utility payments, and an append-only transaction ledger in kobo with lockForUpdate() preventing concurrent double-spend.
- Designed a dual-mode vehicle service interface (photo-upload fault diagnosis vs direct quote flow) backed by a nine-factor specialist matching engine using Http::pool() for parallel API scoring.
- Maintain a KYC/identity verification microservice consumed across the firm's product suite — KYCProviderInterface abstraction, encrypted credential storage, NDPR-aligned audit logging.
- Manage full deployment lifecycle — Nginx configuration on Contabo VPS, CI/CD pipeline setup, Supervisor for queue workers, and zero-downtime deployments across all platform stacks.
- Improved application performance by ~30% through composite database indexing, Redis tag-based cache invalidation, and offloading expensive operations to Horizon-managed background queues.
Server Administrator & Web Developer
Feb. 2024 – Nov. 2024- Managed web hosting environments on shared infrastructure — configuring domain DNS, virtual hosts, and server blocks for PHP and JavaScript application hosting.
- Deployed and maintained Laravel and React applications to production — environment configuration, dependency management, and application restart strategies.
- Configured SSL/TLS certificates across multiple client domains, reducing manual overhead and ensuring HTTPS compliance site-wide.
- Set up file-based backup schedules and uptime monitoring for business-critical client applications.
Junior Web Developer
Oct. 2021 – Jan. 2023- Built client websites and web applications using vanilla PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — first professional exposure to non-WordPress, code-first development.
- Introduced to Laravel and React through internal projects, developing foundational understanding of MVC architecture and component-based UI patterns.
- Delivered and deployed two Python/Django projects to production — backend logic, templating, and database integration under senior developer guidance.
- Documented project requirements and maintained technical notes for client-facing web components.
Projects
Production systems
A selection of shipped work. Several more projects are under NDA or active development.
Enterprise SSO Platform
Centralised authentication infrastructure spanning 15+ internal applications. JWT-based session flows, HMAC inter-service signing, RBAC routing, and granular permission management.
Fintech Wallet System
Production-ready payment infrastructure — wallet funding, peer transfers, virtual accounts, utility bills, airtime. Append-only transaction ledger in kobo with pessimistic locking preventing double-spend.
Multi-Tenant Hotel SaaS
Backend powering multiple hotel properties on shared infrastructure. Full tenant isolation via global scopes, reservation engine, inventory tracking, revenue dashboards, AI-generated booking confirmations.
KYC Microservice
Standalone identity verification service consumed across an entire product suite. Provider abstraction over Prembly, Smile Identity, and Dojah. NDPR-aligned audit logging, encrypted credential storage.
Job Recommendation Engine
Intelligent job matching with fault-tolerant multi-source API consumption from Adzuna, Jooble, and Workable. Redis-queued async recommendation generation with JWT + OAuth2 auth.
Travel Agency Booking Platform
Full backend infrastructure for an international travel agency — payment gateway integration, booking lifecycle management, and user dashboard APIs.
There's more — including work I can actually talk about
13+ systems built across fintech, identity verification, hospitality, logistics, and SaaS. Some NDA-protected, some in active development, some open for collaboration.
Skills
Technical expertise
Education
Academic background
B.Tech in Project Management
2016 – 2021Coursework: Systems Analysis, Software Engineering, Information Management, Database Systems
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
Feb. 2022 – Feb. 2023Ibadan, Oyo State · Completed mandatory national service programme.
Contact
Let's work together
Open to remote backend, full-stack, and senior engineering roles. Based in Lagos, Nigeria. Currently working for a UK employer with four years of distributed async experience.