Devs Plus
Profile Image
Name:
Vincent Schmalbach
This action spends 1 credit
Status:
Available now
Country:
Germany
Social:
Location:
Munich, Germany
Timezone:
(UTC+01:00) Berlin
Languages:
German, English
Last updated:
September 18th 2026
Approved:
September 18th 2026
Ships with:
Codex Claude Code Vroni
Position:
Part-time freelance
Full-time freelance
Mentoring
Collaboration
Level:
Senior
Lead
Work models:
Remote
Skills:
Laravel
Vue.js
PHP
Inertia.js
Livewire
Tailwind CSS
React.js
Next.js
Nuxt.js
Alpine.js
TypeScript
JavaScript
Node.js
Python
Django
Go
Ruby
Rails
Symfony
MySQL
Postgres
Redis
MongoDB
Meilisearch
Elasticsearch
Algolia
Docker
Nginx
Apache
AWS
Laravel Forge
Laravel Nova
FilamentPHP
Statamic
jQuery
PHPUnit
Pest
Stripe
OpenAI
Anthropic
Shipped with AI

Recently I used AI while shipping Laravel/Vue SaaS work: mapping an existing codebase, planning safe changes, writing tests, refactoring, debugging edge cases, and reviewing the final diff. I still handled the architecture, data model, security, user workflow, and production readiness myself.

Bio

I build software like someone who runs the business too. I have 15+ years of production software behind me, I built and ran my own online businesses before going freelance, and I still care about traffic, conversion, revenue and support, not only the code.

Laravel and Vue are my main stack and where most of my client work is. Laravel and Vue if I get to choose, but I'm just as happy to work with React, Node.js, Python, Go or whatever stack you already have.

I'm all in on AI. It's part of how I code every day and I've built AI features into SaaS products, content systems, translation workflows and internal tools.

What my clients say about me

"One of those rare developers who can jump into a complex codebase, become useful immediately, and solve real problems without hand-holding."

"We especially value how quickly he gets into mature projects and finds solutions that fit the existing state of the codebase."

"One of the most independent developers I've collaborated with. He doesn't need micromanagement."

"If you need a senior Laravel developer who can move a SaaS product forward, I strongly recommend him."

What I get hired for

  • Building a SaaS or business app from an idea: data model, billing, APIs, queues, admin screens and deployment.
  • Taking over an existing Laravel app and making it understandable again.
  • Upgrading older PHP and Laravel versions without breaking the business logic inside them.
  • Fixing slow pages, heavy queries, fragile jobs and awkward integrations.
  • Adding AI where it belongs in the product: extraction, research, content, automation and customer-facing features.
  • Fractional CTO: a senior read on a codebase, technical calls, mentoring, or the first version of a product.

Work I've shipped

  • A search platform across 200M+ records with response times under 50ms, built with Laravel, Meilisearch and multiple layers of caching.
  • A B2B SaaS built from scratch with Laravel, Vue and Spark, running AI agent jobs, handling difficult scraping and billing customers through Paddle.
  • A legacy real estate platform upgraded from Laravel 5 and PHP 7.4 to Laravel 11 and PHP 8.3, with a stabilized Salesforce sync and AI-assisted translation.
  • A fragmented PHP and Ruby on Rails backend combined into a single Laravel app, cutting monthly costs from four figures to about $150.
  • A healthcare SaaS where I rebuilt access control and added a second booking integration with OAuth, webhooks and multi-tenant scoping while the product stayed live.
  • Custom reporting and certification workflows inside a large Laravel learning platform.
  • An event platform with registration, AI exhibitor matching, QR tickets and admin tools.
  • A financial SaaS with market data, workflow triggers, AI reports, credits and Stripe billing.
  • Laravel queues running on 30+ servers for an outreach engine.

How I work

You don't need to have everything figured out before we talk. An idea, repo access, a screen recording or a list of problems is enough. I look at what exists, find the parts that can break the project, turn it into a plan, and then build it.

I work well asynchronously. Clients tell me they don't need to micromanage me, and I still ask the important questions when they come up.

I read codebases, plan changes, write tests, refactor, debug and review using Claude Code, Codex and my own agent workflows. I still make the technical calls and own what ships.

Background

  • Started my first online business at 19, in 2002. It was Germany's first mobile comparison site.
  • Built and ran an SEO and affiliate business with over 100 websites, a million visitors a month and a small team.
  • Built SaaS products for website translation, email outreach and AI content, plus a data-heavy car marketplace for Europe.
  • Consulted for almost ten years for a company that eventually grew into one of Germany's largest.
  • Wrote a book about building production-ready SaaS apps with Laravel 12: billing, teams, AI integration and the parts you need before customers can pay you.
  • 73k people read my blog in 2025, and my writing has been picked up by national newspapers, business magazines and developer communities.
  • Master's degree in Information Science.

Stack

  • Backend: Laravel, PHP, Node.js, Python, Go, Ruby
  • Frontend: Vue, React, Inertia, Livewire, Alpine, TypeScript, Tailwind, Bootstrap
  • Data and infrastructure: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB, Meilisearch, Elasticsearch, Algolia, queues and Horizon, Docker, nginx, Forge, Hetzner, AWS, DigitalOcean
  • AI: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, agent workflows, scraping and extraction
  • Delivery: APIs, billing with Stripe, Paddle and Cashier, testing with PHPUnit and Pest, CI/CD, profiling, migrations

Let's talk

The quickest way to start is a short first call. Send me a message here and we'll work out a time.

You don't have to be sure yet. If you're still looking around or batting an idea around, I'm happy to talk it through and give you feedback, whether or not you end up hiring me.