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Frontend Developer for Hire

Senior frontend engineering and product ownership for EU, UK, and US teams. Remote from Poland.

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Overview

Tom Smykowski is a senior frontend developer for hire, a product-minded engineer with nearly two decades of experience delivering software from discovery through production. He is the ideal hire for founders, CTOs, and executives seeking an engineer who combines deep technical expertise in modern frontend stacks with strong UX and product thinking to own critical projects. Based in Poland, Tom works remotely with teams across the EU, UK, and US, providing staff and senior-level engineering for complex product challenges.

From Design Systems to Scalable Product Architecture

As a frontend developer for hire, Tom specializes in architecting and building scalable, user-centric interfaces. His work on the Printify design system and rebrand, which supported a platform serving over 10 million merchants and approximately 60 frontend engineers, demonstrates his ability to create foundations that enable large teams to ship consistent, high-quality UI efficiently. This experience is directly applicable to companies needing to modernize their frontend stack or establish a robust design system from the ground up.

His role extends beyond implementation into strategic technical leadership. At Croissant, as a Staff Software Engineer, he partnered closely with the CEO and CTO on compliance and collaboration features for a workplace platform, showcasing his capacity to handle complex product requirements that blend technical, legal, and user experience concerns. This end-to-end ownership is a hallmark of his engagements, ensuring that frontend decisions are made with the full product lifecycle and business goals in mind.

Whether the need is for a new greenfield application, a legacy modernization project, or scaling an existing SaaS platform, Tom's approach focuses on creating maintainable, performant, and accessible codebases. His expertise in Vue.js, TypeScript, and modern tooling allows him to integrate seamlessly into teams and elevate their frontend development practices.

Building and Leading Frontend Teams

Hiring a frontend developer at Tom's level often brings leadership and mentorship capabilities crucial for team growth. As the founder of Websoul, he built a marketing automation platform used by over 32,000 businesses, leading the frontend development with Vue.js, TypeScript, Supabase, and AG Grid. This experience in founding and scaling a product provides unique insights into the pressures of startup environments and the need for pragmatic, results-oriented engineering.

His leadership continued at Fream, where he served as lead frontend developer for an industrial SaaS product. There, he was responsible for design systems, map-based interfaces, and conversion-focused UX, directly linking technical work to key business metrics. For teams looking to hire a frontend developer who can not only execute but also guide and upskill other engineers, Tom's background in technical writing, public speaking, and mentoring is a significant asset.

He thrives in collaborative environments, working effectively with product managers, designers, and backend engineers to turn complex requirements into elegant solutions. His remote work style is built on clear, asynchronous communication and proactive knowledge sharing, making him a strong fit for distributed, international teams across Europe, the UK, and North America.

Expertise in Modern Frontend Technologies

Tom's technical proficiency as a frontend developer for hire centers on modern JavaScript frameworks and tooling. He has extensive production experience with Vue.js and Angular, and is proficient with React, enabling him to adapt to a team's existing tech stack or advise on the best choice for a new project. His work is consistently built with TypeScript for robustness and maintainability.

Beyond core frameworks, his skill set includes state management, build tooling, testing strategies, and performance optimization. He has deep experience integrating frontend applications with various backends and APIs, having worked on full-stack projects and SaaS platforms. His work with Supabase and AG Grid at Websoul exemplifies his ability to select and master powerful tools to solve specific business problems, such as handling large datasets in fintech and marketing automation contexts.

Accessibility and responsive design are treated as first-class concerns in his development process, ensuring that applications are usable by all and perform well across devices. This comprehensive approach to frontend development ensures that the products he builds are not only functional but also resilient, inclusive, and ready for scale.

Proven Impact Across Diverse Industries

The value of hiring an experienced frontend developer like Tom is evident in the breadth of industries and prestigious organizations he has served. His client and employer portfolio includes global brands and institutions such as DeLaval, Ordnance Survey, GE Healthcare, Unilever, Bunge, and the Polish Tourism Organisation. This diversity proves his ability to quickly understand new domains, from agriculture and healthcare to logistics and public sector digital services.

At Base Camp and the Silesian University of Technology, he delivered projects that required a blend of technical precision and user empathy. For the Institute of National Remembrance and the Marshal Office of the Silesian Voivodeship, he tackled projects with significant public impact and complex stakeholder requirements. This track record demonstrates his reliability and skill in handling projects where the frontend interface is the primary point of interaction for critical services.

His earlier work on industrial ERP systems at Insoft Serwis and in technical writing for Webhosting.pl further cemented his foundation in translating complex technical concepts into clear, user-friendly systems. This background is invaluable for teams building sophisticated B2B or enterprise software where the UI must simplify underlying complexity.

Integrating AI and Modern Development Workflows

As a forward-looking frontend developer for hire, Tom actively integrates AI-assisted workflows and modern software development practices to boost productivity and code quality. He offers consulting on setting up AI Software Factories, which involve implementing AI coding agents, AI-native SDLC processes, and quality gates to accelerate development cycles. This expertise is particularly valuable for teams aiming to enhance developer experience and adopt cutting-edge tools.

He is skilled in leveraging tools like Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot within frontend development to automate repetitive tasks, improve code generation, and assist with testing. For companies looking to modernize their engineering practices, hiring Tom can provide a direct path to adopting these productivity-enhancing technologies without the typical enterprise consulting overhead.

Furthermore, his experience in AI extends to practical integration within applications, whether for smart features, data analysis interfaces, or automated content generation. This positions him uniquely for projects where the frontend needs to interact intelligently with AI-driven backends or services, a growing requirement in today's product landscape.

When This is a Good Fit

Hiring Tom as your frontend developer is an excellent fit if you need a senior or staff-level engineer who can take ownership of complex frontend challenges, from architecture and implementation to team guidance. He is ideal for startups and scale-ups seeking a founding engineer, for established companies modernizing legacy Angular or React applications, and for teams building data-intensive SaaS platforms requiring robust design systems. If your project demands a blend of hands-on coding, product strategy, and the ability to work autonomously within a remote, international context, this collaboration will deliver significant value.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tom's primary expertise as a frontend developer?

Tom is a senior frontend developer with deep expertise in Vue.js, TypeScript, and Angular, specializing in building scalable design systems, data-intensive SaaS applications, and modernizing legacy frontend codebases for teams across the EU, UK, and US.

Can he work with our US-based team's hours?

Yes, based in Poland, Tom regularly works remotely with US teams and is available for overlap with US East Coast time zones, ensuring effective collaboration for stand-ups, reviews, and planning sessions.

What kind of projects has he led?

He has led frontend development for major projects including the Printify design system rebrand for 10M+ merchants, built the Websoul platform for 32,000+ businesses, and served as Staff Software Engineer at Croissant, focusing on compliance and collaboration features.

Does he only work with specific frameworks?

While his strongest production experience is with Vue.js and Angular, he is proficient with React and focuses on selecting the right tool for the project. His core strength is in TypeScript, scalable architecture, and product-minded engineering.

What engagement models does he offer?

Tom is open to full-time employment, part-time arrangements, and B2B contracts. He also provides consulting for frontend architecture, code audits, and AI software factory setup to improve team productivity and code quality.

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