Hello, I'm Tom Shields

THE FOUNDATION

My career is a study in adaptability and community building: from the intense pressures of professional kitchens to leading high-stakes software teams. Each environment demanded rapid learning, deep curiosity, and creative problem-solving.

Today, I don't just write code; I am a Human-First Technologist, driven by the belief that technology should expand people, their time, their space, and their creative agency. I seek out chaos, surf through assumptions, and build systems that are functionally, structurally, technically, and emotionally fascinating

If you are looking for a Founding Engineer who can translate an abstract vision into a scalable, deployed digital reality, you’ve found your collaborator.

EXPERIENCE

My career has moulded me into an engineer defined by end-to-end ownership.
I quickly pivoted from taking small tasks to becoming a system architect trusted to touch every layer of a project.

I thrive on bringing momentum and clarity to high-stakes, uncertain environments.

I’ve successfully mediated hostile client-team relationships, rebuilt an entire application stack in two weeks, and taught myself Elixir mid-project to fix backend bottlenecks blocking my team.

My technical depth (TypeScript, React, GraphQL, Python, AWS, Docker, Terraform) is matched by my strategic ability to get essential, complex projects across the finish line.