Hello!
My name is Thomas Baird, and I am a senior software engineer and technology leader at USCIS with over ten years of experience building and scaling distributed systems, creating award-winning products, and scaling organizations, specifically focusing within the humanitarian programs of USCIS.
I am passionate about building products that solve real user problems and enhance everyday experiences. From researching and understanding complex challenges to brainstorming solutions and bringing them to life through code, I thrive on the entire development lifecycle.
I am always eager to learn, collaborate, and take on new challenges, continuously striving to deliver efficient, scalable, and user-friendly software solutions.
Feel free to reach out if you are interested in working together!
Coding Ability
Languages 📝
I’m proficient with Ruby, JavaScript, and TypeScript. I’m also comfortable with Python, Java, and Golang. I have experience with a wide range of frameworks and libraries, including Rails, React, and Svelte.
Distributed Systems 🛜
I have experience building and scaling distributed systems, including microservices, event-driven architectures, and large data processing systems. I have experience with tools that support this such as: AWS (S3, RDS, EC2, ECS), Kafka, Redis, Postgres, Kubernetes, WebSockets, and JMS.
API Development 🛡️
I have designed and implemented RESTful APIs and Pubsub APIs focusing on performance, scalability, and ease of use. I also have plenty of experience securing APIs with OAuth2 and JWT.
Developer Tooling 🛠️
I have experience with a wide range of developer tools, including Git, Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, and AWS. I have also built internal developer tools at USCIS to help accelerate development and improve developer experience.
Strategic Thinking
Over the past 8 years, I have scaled a team from 5 to 75 engineers, and 115 total staff. I have been responsible for the technical direction of the team and have been a key player in the strategic direction of the organization.
I played a large role in the strategic and product alignment of the organization, creating processes and structures that allowed the organization to scale and deliver products that were in line with the organization’s mission.
I believe that the best products are built by teams that are aligned with the organization’s mission and vision, focus on mastery of domain and skills, are empowered to make decisions, and are given the freedom to collaborate horizontally across the organization.
Product Innovation
I have been a key player in the development of several award-winning products, including Global, a case management system for the refugee and asylum programs at USCIS. We closely follow User-Centered Design and Lean Product principles to iterate on our products to deliver the best possible experience. We have found success over the years by putting the users first, simplifying our solutions, and building with an ability to integrate and scale across the organization.
Key Projects
Global (@USCIS)
Global is an internal application at USCIS that supports the refugee and asylum programs through a comprehensive case management system. This platform facilitates the adjudication process for refugee and asylum status applications. Over the past eight years, I have played a key role in this project, currently serving in a staff engineer capacity. Collaborating with an exceptional team, our focus has consistently been on addressing real user challenges and enhancing the efficiency of government services through software.
This project has been recognized in public commentary, including mentions:
Benchmarker (Personal)
Benchmarker is a Ruby on Rails and React Native application that I designed and manage to streamline personal health and fitness tracking. Recognizing the importance of health and fitness, I developed Benchmarker to simplify the process of measuring and tracking fitness levels. The app offers a collection of well-documented and research-backed fitness tests, helping users select appropriate tests based on their fitness domains. Benchmarker also provides performance assessments post-testing and tracks progress over time.
Available on the Apple App Store and via Benchmarker Website.
Prime Time (Partnership)
Prime Time Baseball is the leading baseball and softball performance organization in the DMV area, dedicated to improving player performance from little league to the collegiate level. Recognizing the limitations of synchronous teaching, I partnered with the organization’s owner to create a digital platform that extends their reach. This progressive web application (PWA) allows users to:
- Submit videos for personalized coaching feedback
- Purchase and follow baseball-specific training programs
- Access a wide array of video-based learning and training content