Core stack
PHP, Laravel, JavaScript, jQuery, Vue.js, Node.js, Symfony, Yii2, MySQL, schema design, query optimisation, and data migration.
Curriculum Vitae
Ian Wilson
Software Engineer
Senior PHP engineer focused on Laravel, e-commerce, security-sensitive systems, infrastructure-aware delivery, and long-term maintainability in mature codebases, with a growing focus on AI-assisted developer workflows and tooling.
Contact
Download CV (PDF)Delivery strengths
Zen Cart, Stripe, Worldpay, checkout flows, Linux, Apache, Nginx, AWS, Terraform, GitHub Actions, PHPUnit testing, mentoring, and technical documentation.
Security focus
OWASP ZAP, penetration test remediation, PA-DSS, PCI-aware development, and mitigations for CSRF and BREACH attacks.
AI workflows
AI-assisted developer tooling, MCP servers, RAG-based recommendation and search, prompt-driven documentation and codebase understanding, and coding-agent-assisted delivery.
This site
Static site built with Hugo, version-controlled on GitHub, and auto-deployed to DigitalOcean App Platform on every push to master, with no Node build step, just hand-written CSS and Hugo templates.
Professional Experience
Selected roles
Founder / Lead Maintainer, Zen Cart 2003 – Present
Lead maintainer of the long-running open-source PHP/MySQL e-commerce platform, focused on PHP compatibility, security, payment workflows, documentation, contributor support, and AI-assisted developer tooling.
Kerridge Commercial Systems (Klipboard) – Senior Developer October 2024 – January 2025
Worked on a PHP/Laminas/JavaScript e-commerce platform covering frontline support, security-related features, production releases, OWASP ZAP scanning, remediation work, mentoring, and a proof-of-concept AI/RAG recommendations engine.
Wubbleyou – Developer October 2021 – June 2023
Delivered full-stack applications across Laravel, Yii2, Livewire, Inertia, and Node.js, while supporting Department for Education, NHS, and SME projects, taking over AWS infrastructure via Terraform, and handling SLA-based support through Jira.
Buy.at / Advertising.com – Senior Developer / Team Lead November 2005 – July 2008
Re-architected the client interface around Symfony, built affiliate-facing JavaScript widgets for major brands, and contributed to the technical due diligence around the Advertising.com acquisition.
Public Work
Current projects
Zen Cart Support Site
Community support forum where store owners and developers get help with installation, customization, and troubleshooting for Zen Cart.
zencart-ai-assist
AI-assisted Zen Cart tooling for codebase understanding, documentation, and support workflows.