Alaa Haddad
Drupal Architect | Senior Developer | Technical Lead
Austin, TX | |
Drupal.org | LinkedIn | alaahaddad.com
Professional Summary
Senior Drupal Architect with 20+ years of web development experience and 15+ years specializing in Drupal enterprise solutions. Proven expertise in architecture, custom development, and team leadership. Maintainer of 27+ Drupal.org contributed projects. Skilled in delivering scalable, high-performance websites for government, enterprise, and commercial clients.
Core Competencies
- Drupal: Architecture, Custom Modules, Theming (Twig), Performance Optimization, Migrations (D6-D11)
- Development: PHP 8.x, MySQL, REST/GraphQL APIs, Symfony, JavaScript, Vue.js, React, HTML5/CSS3
- DevOps: Git, Composer, Drush, Docker, CI/CD, Acquia, Pantheon, AWS, Varnish, Redis
- Leadership: Team Leadership, Architecture Planning, Code Review, Mentoring, Client Relations
Open Source Contributions
Active Drupal contributor maintaining 27+ projects including:
- Themes: W3CSS Theme (d8w3css), Solo, Amun, Amunet, Anhur
- Core Modules: W3CSS Paragraphs, Paragraphs Bundles, Solo Utilities, Module Matrix, Selectify, Utilikit
- Performance: Acquia Purge Varnish, Cloudflare Purge
- VVJS Suite: 10 accessible UI component modules (Accordion, Carousel, Lightbox, Parallax, Tabs, etc.)
View all projects: drupal.org/u/flashwebcenter
Professional Experience
Lead Drupal Developer | Publicis Sapient (NIH Websites)
Remote | March 2021 – Present
- Lead development teams for National Institutes of Health websites serving millions of users
- Architected Drupal 9 to 10 upgrades for enterprise government sites with zero downtime
- Modernized UI/UX achieving WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and 90+ Lighthouse scores
- Developed custom modules for specialized NIH workflows and security requirements
Owner & Principal Consultant | Flash Web Center, LLC
Austin, TX | January 2008 – Present
- Provide Drupal architecture, development, and consulting to 100+ clients
- Created and maintain 27+ open-source Drupal projects used globally
- Specialize in custom solutions, e-commerce, migrations, and performance optimization
- Achieved 50-300% performance improvements through strategic optimization
Full Stack Drupal Developer | Signature Consultants
Dallas, TX | August 2020 – March 2021
- Architected headless Drupal implementations with Vue.js frontend
- Managed Drupal 8/9 core updates and custom module development
- Resolved production issues and optimized database performance
Senior Drupal Developer/Architect | Hart Energy
Houston, TX | August 2013 – October 2019
- Led conversion of five PHP websites to Drupal, consolidating into unified Drupal 8 platform
- Architected enterprise multi-site infrastructure supporting 50,000+ subscribers
- Developed custom subscription system with complex access controls and payment processing
- Reduced page load times 60% through Varnish, Redis, and optimization
Drupal Architect/Developer | Patient Conversation Media
Austin, TX | September 2011 – October 2012
- Led Drupal 6/7 development for four health and wellness websites
- Architected site structure, custom modules, and responsive themes
Technical Skills
Drupal: D6-D11, Custom Modules, Theming, Views, Paragraphs, Commerce, Migrations, Drush, Composer
Backend: PHP 8.x, MySQL, PostgreSQL, REST/GraphQL, Symfony, OOP, Design Patterns
Frontend: HTML5, CSS3/Sass, JavaScript (ES6+), Vue.js, React, Twig, Responsive Design, WCAG 2.1
DevOps: Git, Docker, CI/CD, Acquia, Pantheon, AWS, Linux, Varnish, Redis, New Relic
Additional: WordPress, Adobe Creative Suite, UI/UX Design, ASP.NET, API Integration
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Economics & Political Science | Cairo University, Egypt | 1996
- Professional Certifications: ASP.NET (Advanced & Fundamentals), Visual Basic, XML, JavaScript, Flash Development, Dreamweaver, CSS, HTML (Johnson County Community College, 2006-2007)
Professional Websites
AlaaHaddad.com | FlashWebCenter.com | WebDesignerInAustin.com | DrupalCare.com
