Scott Tompkins

Work History

4 min read

Work History

This is a more honest account of where I’ve worked than a resume typically provides. Resumes optimize for keyword matching and brevity; this section provides context. I include what I actually did, what I learned, and how each role shaped how I think about building software today.

The details are curated to be safe to publish—I’ve generalized specifics that would identify clients or reveal proprietary information—but the substance is accurate.

Technical Through-Lines

The constant across every role has been solving problems. The technology is a vehicle—whether it’s applications, infrastructure as code, or speccing bare metal inventory, the drive is the same: understand the problem, find the right tool, build the solution.

Looking back across these roles, a few themes emerge:

  • Platform engineering from bare metal to Kubernetes. I’ve worked across the full stack from physical hardware through orchestration, building and running the infrastructure my own applications depend on. The abstractions have changed (VMs → containers → orchestration), but the core challenge hasn’t: make it reliable, make it recoverable, make it understandable.

  • Multi-tenant systems and isolation. Multiple roles have involved building systems that serve multiple clients or tenants from shared infrastructure. The interesting problems are always around isolation—how do you share infrastructure for efficiency while guaranteeing that tenants can’t affect each other?

  • Offline-first and constrained environments. From BlackBerry Curves at CVS to mobile learning on planes to PWAs in the field—building for unreliable connectivity and constrained devices has been a recurring theme. The patterns I developed early (local-first data, conflict resolution, sync-on-reconnect) keep showing up in new contexts.

  • Storage, backup, and recovery. I’ve developed a possibly excessive interest in how data persists and recovers. This comes from experiencing data loss early in my career and deciding that “restore from backup” should be a tested procedure, not a hope.

  • Remote work and distributed teams. I’ve been working remotely across geographically distributed teams for over 15 years—since 2011, when I joined a Hong Kong-based team at NetDimensions as a remote developer in the US. By 2014 I was managing direct reports in Hong Kong across a 12-hour time zone gap. Every role since has been fully remote. The practices I’ve developed around asynchronous communication, clear documentation, and intentional collaboration aren’t things I learned during a pandemic—they’re how I’ve operated for most of my career.

Roles

Decian — Principal Software Engineer (2020 – Present)

Architected and launched a multi-tenant SIEM product at a Managed Service Provider while building the on-prem infrastructure platform underneath it. Hands-on technical lead across the full stack—bare metal, Kubernetes, and application layer—while managing a development team. Built everything from the hyperconverged storage cluster to the observability platform to client-facing web applications.

PeopleFluent — Principal Software Engineer (2018 – 2020)

Full-stack development on an enterprise learning management system. Architected the SCORM Engine migration, led legacy modernization using strangler patterns, and contributed to production stability for a platform with enterprise uptime expectations.

NetDimensions — Mobile Development Manager (2011 – 2018)

Led mobile development for cross-platform offline-first learning applications. Joined a Hong Kong-based team remotely from the US in 2011; by 2014 was managing direct reports in Hong Kong across a 12-hour time zone difference. Built the offline-first patterns (content download, conflict resolution, sync-on-reconnect) and the remote collaboration practices I’ve used ever since.

BP-Tech — Senior Software Engineer (2003 – 2011)

Eight formative years building e-learning platforms for enterprise clients including Fidelity Investments, CVS Pharmacy, and New Balance. Grew from junior developer to senior engineer. Built authoring tools, multi-device playback systems, and async content pipelines across web, desktop, and Flash/Flex technologies.

MossWarner Communications — Web Developer (1998 – 2001)

Where it all started. Freelancer turned full-time web developer at a Fortune 100 design firm. Built client websites and an e-commerce site for an American Cancer Society fundraising event using the web technologies of the late 90s.

  • Skills — Technologies and patterns I’ve developed across these roles
  • Portfolio — Detailed write-ups of specific projects
  • Leadership — How I think about leading technical work