Who is Tom Smykowski?
Tom Smykowski is a Poland-based, remote full stack developer and product engineer available for hire by EU, UK, and US teams. With nearly two decades of experience, he specializes in taking ownership from initial discovery through to production delivery, making him an ideal hire for founders, CTOs, and executives seeking a staff or senior-level engineer who can drive product outcomes. His background blends deep engineering with UX and product thinking, enabling him to build solutions that are technically robust and user-focused.
Tom operates as a remote contractor from Poland, adept at collaborating across time zones, including US East Coast overlap. His career spans a wide range of industries and project scales, from founding his own SaaS company to serving as a Staff Software Engineer for venture-backed startups and contributing to large-scale platforms used by millions. This diversity of experience means he can adapt to the unique challenges of early-stage MVPs, complex enterprise modernizations, or scaling SaaS products.
He is not just a code executor but a strategic partner in the build process. Hiring Tom means bringing on a professional who understands that successful software requires aligning technical architecture with business goals and user needs. His approach is particularly valuable for teams that need a hands-on technical leader who can also interface effectively with stakeholders, manage complexity, and ensure the final product delivers real value.
Proven Full Stack Delivery Across Industries
Tom's portfolio demonstrates a consistent ability to deliver full stack solutions across diverse sectors. As a Staff Software Engineer at Croissant, a workplace platform, he worked in a direct partnership with the CEO and CTO on compliance and collaboration features. At Printify, he contributed to a major design system and rebrand ahead of a merger with Printful, work that supported a platform serving over 10 million merchants and approximately 60 frontend engineers. This experience in high-stakes, user-facing platforms is complemented by his foundational work.
Earlier in his career, Tom founded Websoul, a marketing automation and fintech SaaS that grew to serve over 32,000 businesses. There, he was responsible for the full stack, utilizing technologies like Vue.js, TypeScript, Supabase, and AG Grid. He also served as the lead frontend developer at Fream, an industrial SaaS, where he focused on design systems, map integrations, and conversion-optimized UX. His technical roots include work on industrial ERP systems at Insoft Serwis and technical writing, which informs his clear communication and documentation practices.
This track record with clients such as DeLaval, Ordnance Survey, GE Healthcare, Unilever, Bunge, and various academic and governmental institutions like the Silesian University of Technology and the Polish Tourism Organisation, showcases his versatility. Whether the project is in agritech, geospatial data, healthcare, consumer goods, or public sector digitalization, Tom has applied his full stack skills to solve domain-specific problems effectively.
Technical Expertise and Modern Stack
Tom's technical expertise is centered on modern, maintainable web technologies. On the frontend, he has extensive production experience with Vue.js and TypeScript, having built and scaled applications and design systems that serve large user bases. His work with AG Grid for complex data tables and Supabase for backend services demonstrates a full stack, integrated approach. This stack is chosen for its developer experience, performance, and scalability, which directly benefits long-term project health and team velocity.
Beyond specific frameworks, his skills encompass the entire development lifecycle. He is proficient in building accessible, component-based architectures, creating robust APIs, and ensuring systems are secure and performant. His experience with AI-assisted workflows and tools positions him to leverage modern productivity enhancements within the software development process. This technical breadth ensures he can not only write code but also make informed decisions about tooling, infrastructure, and development practices that align with project goals.
For teams considering a technology modernization, such as migrating from legacy systems to Angular or React, Tom's deep understanding of frontend ecosystems and his product-minded perspective are invaluable. He can architect transitions that minimize disruption while maximizing future flexibility and developer experience. His focus is always on creating systems that are a pleasure to build upon and maintain, reducing technical debt and empowering the entire engineering team.
Remote Collaboration and Time Zone Alignment
Operating remotely from Poland, Tom has a proven history of successful collaboration with distributed teams across Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. He structures his work and communication to provide reliable overlap with US East Coast time zones, ensuring smooth synchronous meetings, pair programming sessions, and real-time decision-making when needed. His default mode is asynchronous-first, utilizing clear written communication and structured project management to keep projects moving forward efficiently across time zones.
This remote work model is not a limitation but a strategic advantage. It allows companies to access senior-level engineering talent without geographical constraints, often at a competitive rate. Tom is experienced in all the tools and practices that make remote collaboration effective, including daily stand-ups via video, collaborative design and code review tools, and transparent progress tracking. He is also available for occasional on-site workshops, client visits, and team offsites, providing valuable in-person collaboration when the project demands it.
For international teams, his location in the EU simplifies contractual and administrative aspects of hiring a remote contractor. He is accustomed to working on a B2B contract basis, which offers flexibility for both short-term projects and long-term engagements. His ability to integrate culturally and professionally with diverse teams, from startup founders to enterprise stakeholders, makes him a seamless addition to any organization looking to strengthen its engineering capabilities remotely.
From Technical Leadership to Product Strategy
Tom's value extends beyond writing code into the realms of technical leadership and product strategy. In roles such as Staff Software Engineer or Founding Engineer, he acts as a force multiplier for the team. He mentors other developers, establishes best practices, and makes architectural decisions that set the project up for long-term success. His experience in building products from scratch means he understands the trade-offs between speed, quality, and scalability that are critical in the early stages of a product's life.
His product thinking is informed by a deep empathy for the end-user and a clear understanding of business objectives. He engages in the discovery process, asking the right questions to clarify requirements and uncover potential pitfalls before a line of code is written. This proactive approach prevents misalignment and rework, saving significant time and resources. He is comfortable collaborating directly with product managers, designers, and executives to translate vision into a actionable, technical roadmap.
For companies looking to integrate AI capabilities or modernize their development workflows, Tom offers strategic consulting in addition to hands-on engineering. He can advise on AI software factory setups, developer productivity improvements, and team upskilling in AI-assisted development. This blend of deep technical skill and forward-looking strategic insight is what distinguishes a senior full stack developer from a true product engineering partner.
When This is a Good Fit
Hiring Tom as your full stack developer is an excellent fit if you are a founder, CTO, or product leader needing a senior-level engineer who can own the delivery of a complex product. It is ideal for teams building or scaling a SaaS product, modernizing a legacy frontend or full stack system, or integrating AI capabilities into their workflow. It is a strong match for remote-first companies in the EU, UK, or US that value clear communication, strategic technical input, and a partner who is invested in the product's success as much as the code's quality.