Josh Klein

Senior Technical Application Architect

20+ years building production-grade PHP/Laravel applications for enterprise clients

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Professional Summary

Expert PHP/Laravel developer specializing in enterprise applications, legacy modernization, and scalable architecture

20+ Years Experience

Professional PHP developer specializing in Laravel framework development for enterprise applications.

Enterprise E-Commerce

Architected platforms with B2B capabilities, payment processing, shipping integration, and analytics.

Legacy Modernization

Expert in modernizing legacy systems while maintaining backward compatibility and zero downtime.

Database & API Design

Strong in database design, query optimization, and RESTful API development with Laravel Sanctum.

Production-Grade

Proven track record building applications with transaction safety, performance optimization, and full-stack capabilities.

Infrastructure & DevOps

Experienced in multi-node systems, Docker, Proxmox, and performance tuning for enterprise reliability.

Work Experience

Building enterprise applications and leading technical teams since 2012

Telesource

Senior Technical Lead

Huntersville, NC | July 2024 - Current

Current
  • Architected and initiated Laravel 11 installation from scratch to modernize legacy PHP systems, implementing service-oriented architecture for maintainable, scalable codebase.
  • Designed and developed new Laravel 11 applications with Livewire 3, implementing queue-based processing for large SQL datasets and Excel generation with real-time browser notifications.
  • Built automated invoice processing system using Laravel, AI integration (ChatGPT API), and regex parsing to transform unstructured text into structured JSON for MySQL import and analysis.
  • Implemented mobile-friendly check-in/out system with real-time integration to internal time management software, enabling remote vendor technician tracking and streamlined workforce management.
  • Maintained and enhanced legacy PHP applications while modernizing critical components, ensuring backward compatibility and seamless transition to Laravel-based architecture.

Rhino Lights LLC

Senior Technical Lead

Huntersville, NC | November 2020 - July 2024

3.5 Years
  • Architected and developed enterprise e-commerce platform with Laravel 10 overlay on CS-Cart legacy system, maintaining 100% backward compatibility while delivering 50+ major features and modern responsive interface.
  • Implemented service-oriented architecture with OrderService and CartService patterns, enabling direct database writes with transaction safety and bypassing slow legacy APIs.
  • Built B2B dealer management system with custom pricing tiers, RESTful API access (Laravel Sanctum), and Electron desktop application for enhanced dealer experience.
  • Integrated Stripe payment processing (Payment Intents, saved methods, webhooks), Shippo shipping API for dynamic rate calculation and label generation, and Cloudflare CDN with custom IP detection.
  • Developed comprehensive analytics system with session-based user journey tracking, conversion funnel analysis, and real-time dashboard using Livewire 3 for customer activity insights.
  • Designed and implemented multi-node Dell PowerEdge C6400 server infrastructure with Proxmox virtualization, Docker containers, and redundant production/staging environments for enterprise-grade reliability.
  • Built automated workflow systems including email notifications (Mailgun), order processing queues, and AI-powered product recommendations using OpenAI/ChatGPT API integration.

TIAA Cref

Technical Lead

Charlotte, NC | October 2013 - November 2020

7 Years
  • Led development team in delivering tailored prototype sales demos and custom solutions, collaborating with sales leads and project managers to meet business requirements.
  • Spearheaded framework migration from Kohana to Laravel, improving performance and maintainability while building tools supporting proprietary applications.
  • Architected and developed Laravel-based internal admin systems with Vue.js frontend, enabling team members to manage data, create prototypes, and streamline project deployment.
  • Engineered Laravel admin solution integrated with company SSO system, ensuring seamless authentication and improved access to application features.
  • Established Git version control and development workflows, enabling streamlined collaboration, faster code reviews, and successful transitions to offshore development teams.
  • Partnered with IT counterparts to provide infrastructure solutions aligned with internal applications, ensuring seamless functionality and reduced downtime.

1095ez

Developer - Contract

  • Created a secure, authenticated portal enabling clients to upload PDF documents, optimizing communication between clients and the company while reducing reliance on email exchanges, phone calls and lost emails using Laravel.
  • Implemented a notification system, triggering email alerts to the company upon client document uploads, leading to faster response times and processing.
  • Designed and integrated an admin portal facilitating seamless document download and processing, augmenting internal efficiency.
  • Devised an automated workflow where uploaded documents were processed by the company, followed by document upload to the admin portal. This triggered notifications to all involved parties, expediting review and acceptance processes.
  • Built the application from scratch, incorporating the client's business concept, and crafted the MySQL database architecture to ensure efficient data flow and retrieval.

Duke Energy

Front End Developer

Charlotte, NC | April 2013 - October 2013

  • Spearheaded the creation of custom jQuery plugins, tailoring features to specific project requirements and enhancing overall interactivity.
  • Translated design concepts into hand-coded HTML layouts, achieving consistent design fidelity and minimizing rendering inconsistencies.
  • Crafted mobile-friendly HTML markup with responsive interfaces, ensuring optimal user experience across various devices and screen sizes.
  • Leveraged GitHub for version control, streamlining collaborative development efforts and ensuring codebase integrity.
  • Analyzed and refactored anonymous functions within legacy code, transforming them into versatile plugins for improved code maintainability and reusability.

Lowe's Home Improvement

Front End Developer

Mooresville, NC | January 2012 - January 2013

  • Crafted customized jQuery solutions that enriched user experience, resulting in faster load times and increased user engagement.
  • Led jQuery testing efforts utilizing QUnit, ensuring robust and error-free functionality across client projects, resulting in enhanced product quality.
  • Collaborated within an Agile team, dynamically allocating resources to feature-based projects and tasks, driving faster project completion rates.
  • Designed and implemented bespoke prototypes using semantic jQuery, HTML, and CSS, consistently delivering improvement in design aesthetics and user interaction.
  • Engineered AJAX and JSON integrations within a JAVA environment, elevating data exchange efficiency and enhancing user interactivity.

Technology Skill Set

Core technologies and tools I work with daily

Core Development

PHP 8.2+ Laravel 10/11/12 Service-Oriented Architecture Repository Pattern Eloquent ORM Database Migrations RESTful APIs Laravel Sanctum MySQL / SQLite Query Optimization Legacy System Integration Bootstrap 5 jQuery Livewire 3 Blade Templates

Integrations & Infrastructure

Stripe Shippo API Mailgun Mailchimp AWS S3 DigitalOcean Spaces Cloudflare Queue Management Docker Proxmox Multi-Node Infrastructure Git / GitHub OpenAI/ChatGPT Spatie Activity Log

Education

Art Institute of Charlotte

Associate of Applied Science: Multimedia and Web Design
Acquired March 2005

Scholarship Award Most Outstanding Portfolio Spring 2005

Get In Touch

Let's discuss your next project or opportunity

Location

Huntersville, NC 28078

Phone
704-779-4239
Website
www.joshkle.in

References available upon request