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// Software architect & hands-on engineer · 15+ years

Backend systems,
designed and modernized.

I am an independent software architect and hands-on engineer. I design and modernize backend systems - payment and ledger flows, government platforms, and enterprise ERP - and I write the code that ships them. 15+ years on systems that have to stay correct under load, audit, and growth.

~/whoami
$ whoami
simo jaković - software architect
           and hands-on engineer

$ stack --core
php      laravel  symfony
node     next.js  react
postgres

$ locale
belgrade (CET) · 9am-3pm ET overlap

$ status
● available · independent consultant
● Based in Belgrade (CET). Overlapping 9am - 3pm ET.
// What I doConsulting →
// legacy-modernization

Legacy modernization

Aging systems taken forward without a rewrite gamble: strangler migrations, framework and runtime upgrades, data model repair, and a path your team can keep shipping on.

// architecture-review

Architecture and code review

A senior second opinion on the design, the codebase, and the scaling plan - with the trade-offs, the risks, and what I would do first, written down.

// contract-development

Contract development

Senior capacity for an existing team. I take real tickets, review pull requests, and ship in your process rather than alongside it.

// ai-integration

AI integration

LLM features built into systems that already exist: retrieval over your own data, evaluation before rollout, cost and latency budgets, and a fallback for the day the model is wrong.

// Selected work

Case studies

Backend systems under load, audit, and regulation.

All work →
JP Putevi Srbije 2022-present

Cross-border electronic toll collection

A distributed tolling platform settling millions of transactions across five jurisdictions, plus the ERP that invoices and reconciles them.

phplaravelpostgresql
Read the case study →
Governius 2025-present

Governance platform architecture and AI automation

Full-stack architecture and API layer for a modern governance platform, with AI-driven automation that removes manual workflow steps.

next.jsnode.jsreact
Read the case study →
LTSE 2022-2023

Application architecture for an SEC-registered exchange

Backend and frontend architecture for a US national securities exchange, built and operated under SEC regulatory and audit requirements.

reactlaravelpostgresqlheroku
Read the case study →
// Core stack
phplaravelsymfonynode.jsnext.jsreactpostgresql
// About

Who you are hiring

I have spent 15+ years on systems that have to be right: cross-border toll collection, government platforms, a regulated US exchange, and enterprise ERP. I do the architecture and I stay in the codebase - the design decisions and the pull requests come from the same person.

I work as an independent consultant. When a project needs more hands, I bring in specialists I have worked with before and stay accountable for delivery.

More about me →
// Writing

Latest articles

Read the blog →
// Tutorial series

PHP Package Development

A free 13-part series taking you from zero to publishing professional PHP packages - from your first composer init to Packagist, Laravel service providers, and Symfony bundles.

13 parts · ~6 h
// Article

Free IT and CS Courses From MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge and Yale

Jul 2026 · 1 min read
// Laravel

LaraDumps Debugging Game Changer

LaraDumps really changed how I debug Laravel framework. I spent years using dd() and dump() like everyone else. Sprinkle them around, refresh the browser,…

Jan 2026 · 1 min read