You join a multidisciplinary engineering team working on next-generation systems that support real-time intelligence, operational decision-making, and national-scale data processing. You help rebuild a critical legacy platform from VB.NET into a clean, modular PHP application while contributing to complex data logic, hit-generation engines, and integrations across the police technology ecosystem.
You start from an existing VB.NET application, reverse-engineer the logic, and translate it into a modern PHP8+ codebase using Slim and Laravel. You build new components, integrate multi-indexed and graph-based data sources, and apply an API-first approach for all new development. You design, code, test, and review your own work, contributing to continuous improvement and maintainability.
You collaborate with product managers, analysts, hardware and AI/ML teams, and external integrators. You participate in pair programming, review contributions from colleagues, and ensure code meets quality, performance and security expectations.
Key responsibilities
- Understand and refactor logic from a VB.NET legacy application into a modern PHP8+ architecture
- Build clean, secure back-end components using Slim, Laravel or similar microframeworks
- Combine and process multi-indexed datasets using vector or graph-based logic
- Work API-first, design and consume REST interfaces and (optionally) GraphQL
- Apply test-driven development and ensure high testability for all new code
- Deliver full end-to-end features, including QA of your own work
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams including hardware, data, AI/ML and UX
- Perform pair programming and code reviews to maintain shared code quality
- Contribute to documentation, continuous improvement and engineering standards
- Work with external vendors whose codebases may not be internally accessible
What are we looking for?
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science or equivalent experience
- 10+ years of full-stack engineering experience
- Strong experience in PHP, including Slim, Laravel, Symfony or equivalent microframeworks
- Ability to read and understand VB6/VB.NET for legacy migration
- Solid knowledge of JavaScript frameworks (Vue.js preferred)
- Experience with version control (Git, GitLab/GitHub)
- Strong expertise with PostgreSQL, and familiarity with other SQL/NoSQL engines
- Experience with OpenSearch or ELK is highly valued
- Strong knowledge of Linux and shell scripting
- Experience with Kafka, RabbitMQ or similar queueing/brokering technologies
- Security best practices, including JWT, OAuth2 and secure-by-design coding
- Experience with SonarQube or similar code quality tooling
- Knowledge of REST API design; GraphQL is a plus
- Experience with Agile delivery, JIRA/Confluence
- Dutch or French as native language, with passive knowledge of the other; reading knowledge of English
What do we offer?
Start date: 1 December 2025
Duration: Until end 2025 (extensions expected)
Workload: Freelance
Location: Brussels (min. 2 days/week on-site)
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