Growth is never a straight line. It’s a spiral, circling back to the same problems with a wider understanding each time. Iteration allows us the opportunity to explore and to keep learning. That’s how I’ve spent my career — seeking better solutions, gaining sharper instincts and challenging the status quo.
Write code once, reuse it everywhere. If you're writing the same code in two different places, you're doing it wrong. Duplication is the root of all evil.
Don't over-engineer something if a simple array does the job. Aim for elegance through simplicity, not cleverness.
I ask myself: 'What do I want the final code to look like?' and work backwards from there. The code should be self-explanatory such that other developers can understand without documentation.
I like systems that 'just work' as long as you follow the conventions. Embrace patterns and watch productivity of all developers increase.
'That's not possible' doesn't exist in my vocabulary. With enough creativity and effort, any problem can be solved.
I have been blessed to brush shoulders with amazing developers. No matter how much I know, there's always more to learn.
Handled code optimization, bug fixes, and ongoing site maintenance on a Drupal 10 platform powering bombardier.com.
Performed thorough code reviews for other developers on the team, helping maintain quality and consistency across the codebase.
Demoed fixes and enhancements directly to the client, walking them through each change and gathering their feedback.
“It was a pleasure working with Asrar. Anyone who gets the chance to know him is winning.”
Francis Lacerte
Architected and led the consolidation of a dozen separate PHP sites into a single object-oriented multi-site platform, cutting the overall codebase by 80% while simultaneously improving performance, flexibility, and long-term maintainability.
Designed and built a range of REST APIs, applying HTTP methods correctly and consistently across GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE operations.
Built a robust, microservice-based email system on Node.js and AWS (Lambda, API Gateway, EventBridge, and RDS), integrated with the SendGrid API and paired with an intuitive front-end interface written in React and TypeScript.
Was voted "most appreciated player" by my colleagues in October 2024 through an anonymous company survey, recognized for my creative ideas and consistently strong work.
Regularly performed code reviews, optimized SQL queries for performance, and mentored junior developers as they grew into their roles.
“Asrar’s willingness to share knowledge, encourage others, and step in to assist whenever needed makes him an invaluable asset.”
Paul Chow
Led both backend and frontend development of B2B e-commerce sites for small and mid-sized businesses, delivering complex tiered pricing, role-based access control, large-scale EDI processing, automated monitoring, internal tooling, and Elasticsearch-powered search.
Developed object-oriented enhancements to our proprietary PHP framework, IgnitionWeb, establishing a clean separation between core modules and client-specific custom modules.
Collaborated closely with project managers, wrote clear documentation, performed code reviews, optimized performance, interviewed candidates, and mentored new developers joining the team.
“Asrar is not just your humble developer. He’s your reliable workhorse, committed team member, ideation lightbulb, professional colleague of the highest order, and a wonderful human being.”
Pat Yoshida
“Asrar's brutally honest (and surgically precise) PR feedback played a huge role in shaping me into the developer I am today.”Arshdeep Singh · Tech Lead, BCA Research
Open to interesting problems, good teams, and the occasional chess challenge.
asrar.ca@gmail.comRunning a business and need PHP or Drupal expertise? Visit phpconsulting.ca for consulting services.
Spiral out. Keep going.
© 2026 Asrar Abbasi. All rights reserved.