AI Backend Developer

🚢 THE PROBLEM WE'RE SOLVING

International maritime compliance is a maze of regulations, certifications, and paperwork that affects 10,000+ seafarers and organisations worldwide. We've spent 10+ years turning that complexity into reliable software — and now we're embedding AI into the core of how we build, automate, and deliver it.

This isn't an AI experiment. It's a deliberate shift in how we work: using AI as a development practice, building intelligent workflows, and creating custom models that directly help our customers navigate compliance faster and more accurately.

🛠️ WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY WORK ON

🧠 AI development (a significant part of the role)

→ Build and ship AI-powered workflows that automate compliance and certification processes

→ Integrate LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) into internal tools and customer-facing products

→ Develop custom models tailored to maritime regulatory data — documents, rules, certifications

→ Use AI as a core part of your own development practice: you ship faster and smarter because of it

💻 Backend engineering (the foundation)

→ Build and maintain robust backend services in PHP (Laravel)

→ Design clean, high-performance data models (MySQL/PostgreSQL)

→ Build and evolve REST APIs for internal tools and customer products

→ Improve reliability through testing, refactoring, and monitoring

💻 TECH STACK

→ Core: PHP, Laravel

→ Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL

→ AI/ML: OpenAI, Anthropic APIs + custom model development

→ APIs: RESTful services

→ Infrastructure: Docker, CI/CD, cloud

→ Git, code reviews

✨ Nice to have: Vue.js, Next.js, automation and workflow tooling

🎯 WHO YOU ARE

→ 3–5 years backend experience

→ You've already integrated AI into how you build things — not just as a curiosity, but as a working habit

→ Experience with LLM APIs and building AI-powered features or workflows

→ Strong data modelling instincts — performance and structure matter to you

→ Independent and ownership-driven: you don't wait to be told what to do

🚀 WHY THIS ROLE

🌍 A domain with real weight — maritime compliance affects global trade and the people who power it. Your work has tangible, worldwide impact.

🧠 AI is not a side project — you'll build workflows, integrate models, and help shape how AI becomes central to our platform.

📐 Engineering quality matters — clean architecture, thoughtful design, fast iteration. No big-corp slowness.

📈 Real ownership — you'll influence technical decisions, not just execute tickets.

💰 Competitive salary + performance bonus tied to company growth.

⚠️ BEFORE YOU APPLY

→ Belgium-based role — on-site, hybrid, or remote within Belgium

→ EU citizen or valid EU work permit required (no visa sponsorship available)

If you're somewhere in the EU and this excites you, reach out — let's talk about making it work.