Víctor Sans de Amores
Available for new projects

Hi, I'm Víctor.
I lead and modernise SaaS platforms in PHP and Symfony.

Fifteen years in backend development, eight of them leading engineering teams. Currently a fractional CTO and freelance developer based in Barcelona. Previously Engineering Manager at The Mind Hub, Tech Lead at Europcar Mobility Group, CTO at KA Recovering Services and developer at Atrápalo.

I help product teams maintain, modernise and steer their SaaS without hiring in-house. Mostly products already in production: the ones that have been running for years, grew in fits and starts, and are now hard to touch without breaking something.

Tell me about your project View LinkedIn profile
15
years in backend development
8
years leading engineering teams
11
people in the largest team I have led
9
countries served by the last platform I led
Víctor Sans de Amores

How I can help

Fractional CTO

Technical leadership without a CTO on payroll: architecture, priorities, team process and technical hiring. For companies with a product already running that need senior judgement but not a full-time hire.

Monthly retainer

Technical audit

Review of a legacy codebase: what the risk is, where the debt that actually hurts sits, what it costs to fix and in what order. It ends in an actionable report, not a list of complaints.

1–2 weeks · fixed price

Migrations and upgrades

Legacy PHP and Symfony versions brought up to supported ones, phased and with no production downtime. Includes the test safety net that makes a migration reversible instead of a leap in the dark.

Phased · fixed scope

Ongoing maintenance

A monthly retainer of a few hours: security patches, dependency updates, incidents and small improvements. So the project does not decay while the team is busy elsewhere.

Monthly · agreed hours

Custom development

An integration, a module, an API. Fixed scope and fixed price, with the code documented and handed over so your team can keep maintaining it without me.

Fixed-scope project

How I work

100% remote, from Barcelona. Registered self-employed in Spain: I invoice with VAT and no intermediaries, inside and outside the European Union.

I take on fixed-scope projects or continuing part-time engagements. I am not looking for full-time work: I look for engagements where I can come in, solve it, and leave it documented so the team does not depend on me.

I use AI built into development — Claude Code and assistants running against the codebase itself — and not as a sales point: it is what lets me audit an inherited project in a week instead of a month, and why I can close a price per deliverable rather than bill open-ended hours.

Background

Computer Engineering (Management) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Certified in hexagonal architecture and CQRS by Codely, and in Claude Code by Anthropic. Native Spanish and Catalan, professional English.

Frequently asked questions

What is a fractional CTO?

A technical director who works for several companies part time, typically at whatever level of involvement each one needs. They cover architecture, technical priorities, team process and hiring, without the cost of a CTO on payroll. It fits companies with a product already running but not enough critical mass to justify full-time technical leadership.

How long does it take to migrate a legacy Symfony project?

It depends on the version jump and on the test coverage the project already has. It is always planned in phases: first a one to two week diagnosis that establishes which intermediate versions have to be crossed and what breaks at each step, and from there it runs in deployable blocks with no production downtime. A two-major-version jump on a tested project usually runs in weeks; without tests, the first job is building the safety net.

Do you take on engagements of only a few hours a month?

Yes, that is the main format. I work with reduced monthly retainers and fixed-scope projects precisely so I can keep several clients in parallel. I do not take full-time engagements.

Do you invoice outside Spain?

Yes. I am registered as self-employed in Spain with an intra-community VAT number, and I invoice both inside and outside the European Union, with no intermediaries or platforms.

Which PHP and Symfony versions do you work with?

PHP 8 and current Symfony versions for new development, and legacy versions when the engagement is precisely about getting off them. For inherited projects I run the required PHP version in Docker containers, so I can use the exact version the project needs without altering the machine or forcing anything.

Do you work remotely?

100% remotely from Barcelona. I have led distributed teams, including a team of seven on a platform operating in nine countries, so remote is not a concession: it is how I have worked for years.

Let's talk

If you have a legacy Symfony nobody dares touch, an engineering team without direction, or an integration nobody can find the time for, write to me and we will take a look. I reply within one working day.

benairs3@gmail.com LinkedIn