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Carlos Granados Martínez
Verified Expert in Engineering
Debugging Developer
Pontevedra, Spain
Toptal member since November 24, 2015
Bio
Carlos is a senior PHP and Symfony back-end engineer and tech leader with 30+ years of experience in software development and more than two decades of leading high-performance teams. He specializes in modernizing large legacy platforms, scaling systems for hundreds of thousands of users, and building robust CI/CD and automated testing pipelines. Carlos is also known for deep expertise in PHP, Symfony, Docker, MySQL, and resolving complex, mission-critical issues.
Portfolio
WizAI GmbH
PHP, Symfony, Python, Node.js, Angular, MySQL, Docker, GitLab, Behat, Cypress
i6 Group
PHP, Symfony, Node.js, React, Android, Google Cloud, Docker, Behat, CircleCI...
Clippingbook, Inc.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), AngularJS, JavaScript, Redis, Varnish, MySQL, PHP...
Experience
- PHP - 20 years
- C++ - 19 years
- Debugging - 19 years
- JavaScript - 18 years
- Symfony - 13 years
- MySQL - 11 years
- Docker - 7 years
- Laravel - 7 years
Preferred Environment
PHP, Symfony, MySQL, Docker, Laravel
The most amazing...
...tool I've created is FastDebug, the fastest PHP Debugger, and an amazing piece of engineering that took me more than one year to develop.
Work Experience
Lead Back-end Engineer
2023 - PRESENT
WizAI GmbH
- Led a back-end team of four engineers building a modern PHP and Symfony platform connected to an Angular front end.
- Upgraded the full stack from Symfony 3 and PHP 7.2 to Symfony 7 and PHP 8.3, sharply improving reliability, performance, and code quality.
- Designed and implemented a complete testing infrastructure and CI pipeline.
- Modernized development workflows across back-end and front-end teams.
Technologies: PHP, Symfony, Python, Node.js, Angular, MySQL, Docker, GitLab, Behat, Cypress
Software Team Manager | SRE Team Leader
2015 - 2023
i6 Group
- Joined as the third developer and helped scale the company into a multi-million-euro business serving 100+ airports worldwide.
- Promoted to Software Team Manager, leading a 20-person engineering team.
- Led the 10-person SRE team, ensuring platform uptime, performance, and operational excellence.
- Built a fully automated QA and CI/CD workflow and pipeline.
- Drove platform modernization using PHP, Symfony, and cloud-native tooling.
Technologies: PHP, Symfony, Node.js, React, Android, Google Cloud, Docker, Behat, CircleCI, Cypress, Kubernetes, MongoDB, Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Java, Kotlin
CTO | Founder
2011 - 2015
Clippingbook, Inc.
- Co-founded and led the development of Clippingbook.com, a visual search engine.
- Led and managed a four-person team (back end and front end).
- Defined product vision and coordinated development with marketing and business teams.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), AngularJS, JavaScript, Redis, Varnish, MySQL, PHP, Symfony, Protractor, Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Mink
CTO
2011 - 2011
Totombola SL
- Developed all the back-end infrastructure, deployed in their own private servers.
- Built the admin interface and all the tools needed to manage users and prizes.
- Created the first version of the website, including the back and front end.
- Assisted the company's CEO in running tests, which helped pivot the business model.
- Developed a safe back-end technology to generate random results for raffles ("tombola" in Spanish) using special hardware.
Technologies: JavaScript, MySQL, PHP
CEO | CTO | Founder
2005 - 2011
Planetapluton.com
- Fully developed an eCommerce site, including the entire back-end infrastructure.
- Integrated connections with logistics providers and developed all the logistic pipelines.
- Managed SEO and SEM campaigns and the brand image.
- Developed the entire marketing strategy, including PR, affiliate marketing, and online promotions.
- Was chosen as the best Spanish eCommerce site in the gadgets category in 2010.
Technologies: osCommerce, PHP, MySQL
Technical Assistant to Commercial Director
2002 - 2005
Gaelco Móviles
- Led the QA team, making sure that our mobile games worked across all handsets.
- Participated in developing the Fernando Alonso mobile game, which sold over 250,000 copies.
- Acted as the technical liaison with the leading European mobile operators (Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, Telefónica).
- Helped the commercial director find the best available opportunities for mobile development.
- Created a mobile game portal for Telefonica, the main Spanish mobile operator.
Technologies: Symbian, J2ME
CTO | Founder
1989 - 2002
Zigurat Software
- Led teams of up to eight developers and graphic designers.
- Created the first Spanish home computer game distributed in Spain and the UK.
- Participated in the development of World Rally, an arcade coin-op game that received the prize for best arcade game in Europe in 1994 and sold more than 200,000 copies.
- Built a complete toolchain for game development from scratch.
- Developed one of the first motion capture processes worldwide.
Technologies: Assembly, C++, C
Experience
Open Source Contributions
https://github.com/carlos-granadosI've had many contributions to PHP open source projects, including:
• Maintainer for Behat, the leading BDD testing tool.
• Creator of a PHP attributes library for static analysis.
• Major improvements to RectorPHP, including a 20–30% performance boost.
• Maintainer for Behat, the leading BDD testing tool.
• Creator of a PHP attributes library for static analysis.
• Major improvements to RectorPHP, including a 20–30% performance boost.
The Big Upgrade
https://speakerdeck.com/barelon/the-big-upgrade-all-the-way-up-to-symfony-7-and-php-8-dot-3I gave a talk at the Symfony Online 2024 Conference. It describes the upgrade I led at WizAI, where we upgraded a legacy system from Symfony 3 and PHP 7 to Symfony 7 and PHP 8.3, and how we managed to do this in an efficient and safe manner.
DDD (Debugger-driven Development)
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/ddd-debugger-driven-development/258476906I gave a talk at the Symfony Online 2023 conference. I described how to use debugging tools to improve your Symfony development. The talk mainly focused on using Xdebug, but also delved into other debugging alternatives
Creating PHP Extensions Easily with C++
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmYFM3prwNYI delivered a talk at the PHP UK 2023 Conference. PHP-CPP is a library that allows you to easily develop PHP extensions using C++, with this library taking care of all the ugly details. In this talk, I explained how to use this library, install and compile it and your extensions, and create functionality in C++ that easily interacts with the PHP side.
Making Symfony Shine with Varnish
http://www.slideshare.net/barelon/making-symofny-shine-with-varnish-symfonycon-madrid-2014A talk given at the SymfonyCon Madrid 2014 conference, describing how to use Varnish as a cache accelerator in front of Symfony applications. It also covers specific techniques for caching Symfony applications.
Why Symfony Is So Fast
http://www.slideshare.net/carlosgranados/por-que-symfony2-es-tan-rpidoA conference talk given at deSymfony Spain 2013. It explains how Symfony is so fast thanks to its cache system, kernel handling, and autoloading. It explains how to best configure your Symfony application to make it perform well.
BDD with Symfony, Behat, and Mink
http://www.slideshare.net/carlosgranados/bdd-con-behat-y-mink-en-symfony2A conference talk given at deSymfony Spain 2012. It explains how to use the BDD tools Behat and Mink with your Symfony project and how to use the Gherkin language to define the tests and scenarios.
Education
1983 - 1988
Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics
Universidad Autónoma - Madrid, Spain
Certifications
JUNE 2012 - PRESENT
SensioLabs Certified Symfony Developer (Expert)
SensioLabs
Skills
Libraries/APIs
jQuery, Node.js, Bing API, Spotify API, Instagram API, X (formerly Twitter) API, Facebook API, React
Tools
Varnish, Behat, Xdebug, Slack, GitHub, Git, CircleCI, Bitbucket, Mink, GitLab
Languages
PHP, C++, JavaScript, Java, C, Assembly, Objective-C, Python, Kotlin
Frameworks
Symfony, Laravel, Protractor, AngularJS, Cypress, Angular
Paradigms
Test-driven Development (TDD), Behavior-driven Development (BDD), Continuous Integration (CI), Scrum
Platforms
Docker, Android, WordPress, osCommerce, J2ME, Symbian, iOS, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Kubernetes
Storage
MySQL, Google Cloud, MongoDB, Redis
Other
Debugging, Upgrades, Open Source, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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