Thomas Gooch

Software Engineer - Developer Experience & Community

I build and communicate real-world solutions at the intersection of engineering, product, and developer experience. From designing and shipping full-stack applications to leading community-driven initiatives like the Austin Next.js meetup, I focus on making complex ideas accessible and practical. Comfortable moving from problem definition through implementation and into advocacy, I value clarity, maintainability, and collaboration - delivering software and shared knowledge that are reliable, adaptable, and built to last.

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About Me

I design and build intuitive, responsive applications with a strong focus on usability, performance, and long-term maintainability. My work emphasizes thoughtful problem-solving and clean implementation, turning real user needs into reliable, well-structured software.

I bring experience designing and integrating APIs, collaborating effectively in Agile teams, and working productively in distributed, remote environments for over five years.

I’m an active machine learning and AI enthusiast, comfortable working with modern AI tools and concepts and exploring how they can be applied responsibly to solve practical problems.

JavaScript React TypeScript Next.js Node.js Java EE Spring Boot MongoDB MSSQL

A glimpse into my day-to-day life can be found on Instagram. Proud father of two amazing teenagers. Dog dad to two Dachshunds: Jackson (the sweet one) and Bernie (the pint-sized menace).

Experience

Dec 2022 - Present

Software Development Engineer - Business Applications

Tokyo Electron (Austin, TX)

Collaborate with geographically dispersed stakeholders to gather requirements and deliver reliable software solutions aligned with architectural standards.
Modernized legacy customer-facing websites by upgrading HTML4 to HTML5, implementing ARIA labels, achieving WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance, Java EE version 8 to 17, and jQuery 1.1 to jQuery 4.1 across more than 1.3 million lines of code.

Jan 2022 - Dec 2022

Contract Full Stack Web Developer & Community Mentor

100Devs (Remote)

Led client projects end-to-end, from requirements gathering through delivery, while facilitating hands-on workshops and technical sessions to reinforce real-world development practices.
Delivered detailed, actionable code reviews and one-on-one mentorship, helping early-career developers strengthen their problem-solving skills, improve code quality, and build confidence working in modern web stacks.

Spring 2025 - Current

Community Volunteer - Cohort Lead

Dallas Software Developers (Remote)

Mentor junior developers in six-week, project-based cohorts that simulate real-world Agile delivery environments, guiding them from requirements breakdown through deployment.
Lead recurring standups, sprint planning, and retrospective sessions while facilitating technical discussions around architecture, debugging, and best practices.
Provide hands-on code reviews and one-on-one mentorship to accelerate skill development across TypeScript, NextJS, and modern web tooling.
Drive team accountability and delivery outcomes, consistently helping cohorts ship complete, demo-ready applications on or ahead of schedule.

2026

Meetup Organizer

NEXT.ATX Meetup Group (Austin, TX)

Drive Developer Relations for the Austin Next.js community by organizing and hosting meetups, delivering technical presentations, and cultivating engagement around modern web development.

Projects

The Gathering Call (2025)

Full-stack platform for board game session scheduling with listings, paid sessions via Stripe, and scalable data modeling.

Next.js MongoDB Stripe

Willamette Valley Water Polo (2024)

Team management platform with scheduling, payments, and a streamlined experience for coaches and players.

MongoDB Stripe PayPal

Simply Roomy Organizing (2024)

Rapid website redesign and migration completed in a single weekend with zero downtime and SEO continuity.

HTML CSS JavaScript

Testimonials

"I already had a couple of sites built that I needed merged under one business name and website. Thomas took my sites, colors, logo, etc. and merged them together beautifully in one, simple to use website. He listened to my needs and even suggested other web hosts, appointment apps, etc. that would work for my intended purpose. He was extremely patient with my long response times as I was also going through a tough personal matter at the time. He was open and asked for honest feedback every step of the way. I could easily share what I liked and didn't like without fear of offending. He truly cares that you're happy with his work and your website. He was also dependable and affordable for a micro business such as myself. Thanks again Thomas!"

Sierra Smith

"I had the honor of working on a couple of Thomas's development teams. Thomas is an incredible leader, both patient, and an all around mentor. If anyone needed material explained, or a quick reference for best industry practices he was the person to go to. His project management approach is clearly articulated with a focus on collaboration, and business needs in perspective. He happily shared creative solutions to challenges we all faced. Supporting each team members personal growth. Thomas helped create an inclusive environment that felt nothing short of "the place to be.""

Issac Davis

"I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Thomas. Thomas led our team in a very efficient way allowing us to deliver the products on time with higher quality than expected. I saw firsthand how he mentored Jr members of the team. Thomas is an amazing human being and I would love to work with him in the future!"

Juan Silva

"Thomas was great to work with! He was super patient with me and allowed me to take my time figuring out my image. He cares and wants me to be happy with my website. He goes above and beyond even updating my contact page because he thought it would run better than before!"