Clarity before heroics
Naming the real constraint beats pretending every problem is a framework upgrade.
About
Staff engineer for founders and teams who ship.
Staff engineer focused on UX, clean delivery, and business outcomes — hands-on with founders and product teams. I also publish books and training for builders (including Agentic Engineering and vibe coding with guardrails).
Proof from the work
- Croissant (now) — Staff engineer on a financial investment startup and a coworking product — shipping in tight, real-world constraints.
- Printify — Senior frontend on the merchant-facing rebrand: a codebase touched by ~60 frontend engineers, serving on the order of 10 million merchants, delivered in about nine months ahead of the Printify / Printful chapter.
- Fream (6+ years) — Built a design system for a ~$1.3B industrial group; led a four-person team on a C-suite business operations system for a ~$1.4B company; for a UK government organisation platform, a frontend rebuild contributed to ~20% higher process conversion and ~90% higher sales (as measured on their side after the work).
- Websoul — Ran a five-person product org: social-media planning plus a visual website editor, used by 32,000+ companies; also shipped games and platforms with large live audiences.
Career arc (selected)
2025 — nowCroissant — Staff software engineer (contract).
2024 — 2025Printify — Design system, Angular, merger-era rebrand surfaces.
2017 — 2024Fream — Lead frontend: Vue, Angular, React, TypeScript; industrial SaaS and data products.
Earlier
- Websoul — Staff frontend: marketing SaaS at scale (32K+ companies), email & ad products, multiplayer engine, mentoring.
- Insoft-Serwis — Industrial ERP and real-time production systems.
- Webhosting.pl — Software engineering editor and technical writing.
In others’ words
Colleagues & clients
“I have no doubt that Tom Smykowski will bring great value to any project or organisation he partners with. I highly recommend him for any future opportunities.”
“Tom played a key role in making the rebrand a success. His problem-solving skills and collaborative approach made every step of the process more efficient.”
“Tom is an invaluable teammate with deep expertise in web technologies and accessibility… His attention to detail and commitment to best practices make him a great asset to any team.”
“Tom showed initiative beyond his role… genuinely motivated to improve the processes for all engineers. He also played a significant role in the rebranding initiative at Printify.”
Readers
“This book made me rethink how I work. AI went from a gimmick to a legit coding partner.”
Elsewhere
Stack Overflow: 26,000+ reputation — long-term contributor, historically around the top ~3% worldwide by all-time reputation (rankings shift; the profile stays current).
LinkedIn · GitHub · Stack Overflow · Medium · X / Twitter
Background
- Languages: English — fluent (C2); Polish — native.
- Education: BSc engineering; further training in UX, leadership, business communication; systems design, databases, SQL, industrial digitization, software engineering.
- Community: Talks, podcasts, ebooks, trainings, workshops, articles, and open source — same themes as my client work: shipping, clarity, and craft.
Mentoring on MentorCruise
I run a structured mentorship profile for engineers who want help with Angular / TypeScript, design systems, refactors, and career moves. It is the same judgment I bring to founder work — packaged for individuals who learn best with a steady mentor.
Founder engagements and team training usually go through Contact — MentorCruise is the best fit for individual, ongoing mentorship with a clear cadence.
How I work
Systems that survive contact with reality
Architecture you can evolve — not a deck that collapses in month six.
Direct communication
I’d rather disagree early with data than agree late with regret.
Why founders + Agentic Engineering
Founders need someone who can zoom from user outcome to database index without losing the plot. The toolchain now includes AI — delivery still needs judgment, tests, and rollback plans.