Tech Lead · Architect · Mentor

Building scalable, event-driven systems — and the teams that run them.

I’m Tom Alker, a delivery-focused Tech Lead with 10+ years architecting full-stack TypeScript platforms on AWS and GCP. I modernise monoliths, ship small PRs, and grow engineers who outlive the codebase.

Read the experience
Remote · UK main @ partful open to new opportunities
~/thomas-alker — zsh
$ whoami --verbose
name     = "Thomas Alker"
role     = "Tech Lead @ Partful"
stack    = ["TypeScript", "React", "Node", "AWS"]
patterns = ["Hexagonal", "Event-Driven"]
mantra   = "small PRs, strong signals"

// currently architecting global search at scale
$ _
10+
years shipping
7
Years NodeJS
8
Years React
4
Teams Led
/ expertise

The toolbox of a modern tech lead.

Event-Driven Architecture

Architecting global-scale services with AWS EventBridge, SQS and DynamoDB Streams — decoupled, observable, and resilient.

EventBridgeSQSDynamoDBLambdaSST

TypeScript Full-Stack

Expert-level React/Vue/Node.js with a bias for correctness, ergonomics, and shipping small, well-reviewed PRs.

TypeScriptReactVueNode.jsVite/Vitest

Cloud & Platform

Serverless-first on AWS, fluent in GCP. Modernising monoliths, taming infra with IaC, and tightening feedback loops.

AWSGCPSSTDockerNX

System Design

Hexagonal Architecture, DDD, strangler-fig migrations. Clear boundaries, testable cores, and boring operations.

HexagonalDDDCQRSMonoreposCI/CD

Data & Search

Data orchestration across MySQL, Redis and Elasticsearch — with specialised Algolia integration for instant search.

MySQLRedisElasticsearchAlgoliaFirestore

Team Leadership

Coaching engineers, setting SMART goals, running refinement that kills scope creep before it hits the sprint.

MentoringAgileRefinementObservabilitySentry
/ journey

A decade of shipping, leading, rebuilding.

  1. Dec 2024 — Present

    Tech Lead@Partful

    • Leading the EPC engineering team; primary escalation point for P1/P2 incidents.
    • Migrated monolithic apps to 3 domain-based NX monorepos on serverless AWS (SST).
    • Architected a global search service on EventBridge + DynamoDB Streams, syncing to Algolia for instant part lookup.
    • Established Hexagonal Architecture and granular Sentry observability spans.
  2. Oct 2023 — Dec 2024

    Senior Software Developer@Partful

    • Pioneered a "Small PR" philosophy — cut average PR lifecycle from 3 days to under 2 hours.
    • Ran refinement sessions that surfaced edge-cases early and slashed mid-sprint surprises.
    • Mentored juniors through complex debugging and high-level design.
  3. Mar 2023 — Oct 2023

    Senior Software Developer@+24 Marketing

    • Built a proprietary IoT platform on AWS with bespoke PCB hardware.
    • Strangled legacy eCommerce monoliths towards microservices.
Full CV
/ education

Fundamentals first.

BSc (Hons) Computer Science — First Class
1:1 · Distinction
Team Leader Level 3
Apprenticeship Standard
Continuous Learning
AWS Community Summit Manchester · Google I/O (2017–2022) · Google Cloud Next (2019–2022)
/ beyond.tech

Always building something.

Electronics · ESP32Home AutomationSnowboardingNFLTennisBadmintonWarhammerBoard Games

“Whether it’s a serverless architecture or a home automation rig running on ESP32 — the fun part is designing the system.”