Tom Smykowski is a product-minded Staff Software Engineer with nearly two decades of experience, specializing in building and modernizing complex Industrial SaaS platforms. Hiring him means gaining an engineer who takes ownership from discovery through production, combining deep technical expertise in frontend, full-stack, and design systems with a focus on the unique challenges of industrial software: data density, workflow complexity, and mission-critical reliability.
What Defines an Industrial SaaS Engineer?
An Industrial SaaS Engineer builds software platforms that serve manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, energy, and other heavy industries. Unlike consumer SaaS, these systems must manage vast amounts of complex data, integrate with industrial hardware and legacy ERP systems, and support intricate, regulated business processes. The engineering focus is on robustness, scalability, and creating intuitive user interfaces for highly specialized, non-technical operators.
Tom's background is rooted in this domain, beginning with industrial ERP development at Insoft Serwis. This foundational experience taught him the critical importance of data integrity, system uptime, and user workflows that mirror real-world industrial processes. His approach bridges the gap between industrial operational technology (OT) and modern software development, ensuring that SaaS solutions are not only powerful but also pragmatic and adoption-friendly for the workforce that uses them daily.
Core Competencies for Industrial Platforms
Building successful industrial software requires a specific skill set beyond general web development. Tom brings expertise in several key areas essential for these platforms. First is the development of high-performance data grids and visualization components. Using tools like AG Grid, he creates interfaces that can render thousands of rows of sensor data, supply chain events, or production metrics without sacrificing usability, a common requirement in monitoring and control rooms.
Second is the design and implementation of comprehensive design systems. In large industrial organizations, software is often used by dozens of teams across different departments. A unified design system, like those Tom built at Printify and Fream, ensures consistency, reduces training overhead, and accelerates feature development for internal engineering teams. This is crucial for scaling a SaaS platform across a global enterprise clientele.
Third is a strong focus on API design and integration. Industrial SaaS rarely exists in a vacuum. It must connect with PLCs, SCADA systems, legacy databases, and third-party logistics APIs. Tom's full-stack experience, including work with Supabase and Node.js, allows him to architect resilient and well-documented APIs that serve as the stable backbone for these complex integrations, ensuring data flows reliably between the shop floor and the cloud.
Proven Impact on Industrial and B2B SaaS
Tom's portfolio demonstrates a consistent track record of delivering value in the industrial and complex B2B SaaS space. As the lead frontend engineer at Fream, he worked directly on industrial SaaS products, focusing on design systems, interactive maps, and conversion-optimized user experiences that drive business outcomes. This project required translating complex geospatial and operational data into actionable insights for users.
His work for enterprise clients like DeLaval, GE Healthcare, Unilever, and Bunge involved tackling large-scale, data-intensive challenges specific to the agriculture, healthcare, and commodities sectors. These engagements honed his ability to navigate corporate structures, understand domain-specific jargon, and deliver software that meets stringent compliance and performance standards expected by global industrial leaders.
Furthermore, his role as a Staff Software Engineer at Croissant, a workplace platform, involved solving problems of compliance, security, and cross-team collaboration at scale. This experience is directly transferable to industrial environments where audit trails, access controls, and seamless collaboration between field technicians, engineers, and management are paramount for operational safety and efficiency.
The Product Engineering Mindset for Industry
A key differentiator is Tom's product engineering mindset. He doesn't just write code. He engages with the 'why' behind a feature, considering user adoption, business value, and long-term maintainability. For industrial clients, this means spending time to understand the operator's daily routine, the pain points in current manual or legacy processes, and the key performance indicators that matter most to management.
This approach was central to his founding of Websoul, a marketing automation SaaS serving over 32,000 businesses. Building a product from scratch to that scale requires meticulous attention to user feedback, scalable architecture decisions, and a clear roadmap. This founder-level perspective is invaluable for industrial SaaS companies, whether they are startups launching an MVP or established firms modernizing a legacy product line, as it ensures the engineering work is tightly aligned with market needs and business growth.
His work often involves modernizing Angular or React-based applications, a common need for industrial firms that adopted web technology early. He can incrementally refactor monolithic frontends into modular, maintainable codebases while ensuring zero disruption to daily operations, a non-negotiable requirement in 24/7 industrial settings.
Remote Collaboration with Global Teams
Based in Poland, Tom specializes in remote, asynchronous collaboration with teams across the EU, UK, and US East Coast. This model is highly effective for industrial SaaS, where development teams may be distributed, but subject matter experts and clients are often located at manufacturing sites worldwide. His experience ensures clear communication, disciplined documentation, and effective use of collaboration tools to bridge time zones.
He is adept at working with cross-functional teams of product managers, UX designers, domain experts, and backend engineers. For complex industrial projects, this often means facilitating workshops to translate domain expertise into software specifications, creating prototypes for user testing with operators, and providing technical leadership to ensure the architectural vision is executed faithfully by the development team.
Tom is also available for occasional on-site workshops, client visits, and team offsites. This flexibility is crucial for kickstarting major projects, conducting deep-dive discovery sessions with stakeholders at their locations, or fostering team cohesion, providing the benefits of remote efficiency with the option for strategic in-person collaboration when it adds the most value.
When This is a Good Fit
Tom is the right fit if you are a founder, CTO, or engineering leader at a company building or scaling an Industrial SaaS platform. This includes firms in manufacturing tech (Industry 4.0), agricultural tech, logistics, energy management, or any B2B sector with complex data and workflow challenges. He excels in roles requiring ownership, strategic technical direction, and hands-on implementation, making him ideal for Staff, Senior, or Founding Engineer positions.