// permanent contract or freelance

Romain Pierre

Symfony Lead Developer

Romain Pierre

15+ years building robust PHP applications. Specialized in Symfony, API, and cloud infrastructure.

PHP Symfony Claude Code Docker Redis PostgreSQL Elasticsearch RabbitMQ
French Native English Professional

// what I do

Services

Symfony Development

Custom application development with Symfony 7, API Platform, and modern PHP 8 best practices.

Technical Leadership

Team mentoring, code reviews, architecture decisions, and Symfony technical training.

API & Integration

RESTful API design, microservices, Elasticsearch, RabbitMQ, and third-party integrations.

DevOps & Cloud

Docker, CI/CD pipelines, AWS/GCP infrastructure, Terraform, and performance optimization with Blackfire.

// tech stack

Skills

Coding

PHP 8 Symfony 7 API Platform Twig SCSS Bootstrap WebPack React

CI/CD

GitLab CI CircleCI Jenkins Symfony Insight Blackfire PHPUnit Behat

AI

ChatGPT Claude Code Ollama

Database

MySQL PostgreSQL Redis ClickHouse Doctrine Elasticsearch RabbitMQ DynamoDB

System

Docker AWS Google Cloud Cloudflare Terraform Ansible Nginx Ubuntu

// career path

Experience

Education
Work

BEP Electronics

LEP — Combs-la-Ville

Fundamentals of analog electronics, microcontroller programming, logic gates.

2004 - 2006

Bac Pro MRIM

LEP — Combs-la-Ville

Microcomputing and networks. Network theory, routing, server administration (Debian and Windows).

2006 - 2008

BTS IG Developer

IMC Vedior — Paris

Business computing, developer specialization. Application and database modeling, systems architecture.

2008 - 2009

Web Developer PHP

Simple IT (Site Du Zero) — Paris

Development of the company's main website (now OpenClassrooms), developer onboarding, system administration.

Nov 2009 — Dec 2010

Symfony2 Training

SensioLabs — Paris

Training course initiated by SensioLabs to introduce Symfony2.

2011

Symfony Developer

IUFM — Paris

Development of Symfony web applications, notably a student enrollment tool.

Feb 2011 - Sep 2011

Data Operations Technician

UPMC — Paris

Management of a fleet of 200 workstations and 2,500 users. Server administration (Debian), application development, hardware and software maintenance.

Sep 2011 - Jan 2016

Symfony Developer

Aprodix — Grenoble

Migration of the company's desktop ERP software to a mobile-responsive web version. Full project management: technical choices, specification writing, initial code implementations.

Feb 2016 - Oct 2016

Symfony Developer

SensioLabs — Clichy (Full Remote)

Symfony development for client projects (Sodexo, Meyclub, Arianespace, En Marche...), backend API development.

Oct 2016 - Oct 2018

Lead Developer Symfony

Norsys — Lyon (Partial Remote)

Symfony development for client projects (Spread Research, Opteven, Picwic, Cetih, M6 6play Salto, HomeServe), architecture, team support, Symfony technical training.

Oct 2018 - Oct 2022

Head of Analytics API

Viously — Lille (Full Remote)

Symfony API Platform and legacy development: implementation of an ACL system, big data and business API analytics.

Oct 2022 - Present

// selected work

Portfolio

// my philosophy

Values

Keep it simple

The fewer exotic choices, the easier the onboarding for the next developer. I favor balanced architecture between state-of-the-art code and deliverability.

Most companies I've worked with chose a balanced model between state-of-the-art code and deliverability. I've experimented with DDD — notably at M6/Bedrock — but a model close to MVC remains more often the norm. Clear naming and project structure matter more than exotic patterns.

Endless curiosity

From hardware to UX, I thrive on exploring every layer of a project. If I can't do it at work, I'll have a side-project for it.

I love exploring a wide range of technologies — from full-stack apps (Symfony + React Native) to infrastructure (AWS with Terraform). There was even a time when I went from hardware to UX on the same project. That curiosity is what keeps me sharp.

AI-augmented development

I use AI tools daily for planning, implementation, and code review — while staying vigilant on the decisions that matter: architecture, security, and coherence.

With Claude, I no longer code directly — I take back the wheel when things go off track or to ensure code coherence. I use AI for studying ideas (planning phase), understanding concepts, then I make the architecture decisions. I've caught AI-generated injection vulnerabilities (SQL, XSS) especially in ClickHouse and Elasticsearch queries.

Quality & knowledge sharing

Thorough documentation, clear naming, well-structured projects. I document edge cases in code and maintain comprehensive project guides.

Since using Claude, I document edge cases even more in the code — AI tends to undo solutions found previously. My philosophy: keep things simple, minimize exotic choices, use clear naming. I rely on .md files, Notion, Makefiles, and README to ensure smooth onboarding for any new developer.

// let's work together

Get in touch

Looking for a senior Symfony developer for your next project? I'm open to permanent contracts or freelance. Work from Madrid, Lyon or Paris, on-site or remotely.

Location

Madrid, Lyon or Paris