Tom Cobb

Well Designed Software – On Time, On Budget

Tom Cobb

Email me at tomcobb@tomcobb.biz
or you can phone or text me at
808 dash 634 dash 7474


Independent Software Contractor

  • Campaign for Gary Hooser, Kauai County Council Member, former Senate Majority Leader, State of Hawaii – With a time budget of only 3 weeks, I developed, tested and deployed a Rails based web application enabling virtual phone banks. Helped enlist and train volunteers while continuing development, resulting in nearly a thousand highly targeted, person to person calls.
  • WeAreNetural.com, Gainsville, FL – A company which enables organizations to offer carbon offset purchases to clients. Developed a new UI allowing rapid, dead simple creation and deployment of carbon offset calculator widgets to remote sites while retaining a customized user experience for each site. WordPress, PHP
  • ChantMagic.com, Kapaa, HI – created a subscription based service for music delivery. WordPress, PHP, custom payment systems and sales tracking.
  • Dataspace Industries, Lihue, HI – Worked on optimizing performance and migration issues for WordPress hosting.

Software Engineer at Cisco Systems

  • I spent a decade writing applications in Java, Javascript, Ruby, Perl, C#, SQL, et al. that integrated and managed multiple back end systems, including:
    • build systems
    • defect tracking systems
    • automated testing
    • software patch and service release installers
    • source control systems
  • Created and maintained a complete web based management system that kept 300 engineers patching enterprise telephony software successfully.
  • Wrote code that tracked patch and service release development, per file and per defect, across 7 enterprise and service provider software products, provided a unified management interface for source control access, branch tracking, and integration with the build system.
  • Automated the creation of installer scripts and wrote code tracking multiple dependencies across release lines inventing techniques that were patented. (United States United States Serial # 11/252,529)
  • Created a Ruby/Rails based application with an intuitive, drag and drop interface for communication and management between build systems and automated testing systems including scheduling, staging and provisioning.
  • Wrote a multi-threaded test harness in Java for load testing of telephony applications.

What Folks Say Who Have Worked With Me…

“Working with Thomas was a success from start to finish. He is creative, reliable, personable and easy to communicate with. The project that he developed for my political campaign was completed on time and functioned beyond expectations and all done under significant time pressure. As a former State Senator and now serving on the Kauai County Council, I come into contact with many who talk the talk, but few truly reliable people who actually perform to the high integrity standards I seek. Thomas is one of the rare ones that I would not hesitate to utilize again in the future and recommend him to others without any reservations whatsoever.”
Gary Hooser, Kauai County Council Member, former Senate Majority Leader, State of Hawaii
“Thomas was by far the most thorough software developer I have ever worked with. He took every opportunity to add value while taking complete responsibility for his role and even going beyond it. He was able to understand a complex problem and present a thoughtful and lean solution that satisfied all parties. I look forward to working with him again if the opportunity presents itself. His experience, skills, and attitude are pure gold.”
Daniel Alves, UX/IX Designer at 352 Inc
“Thomas is a delight to work with. He is very thorough and detail oriented, and his experience and knowledge are very broad. When confronted with new technology or requirements, he is up to speed immediately. He has a very strong work ethic, and stays with a problem until the solution is found. He has a great sense of humor, and is patient and helpful to those who may find it difficult to work at his pace. I would jump at the opportunity to work with him again.”
David Nieman, Sr. Software Engineer at Nuance Communications
“I worked with Thomas for nine years at Cisco Systems. Three of those years we worked together on the same applications development team. Thomas is a rare combination of engineer who has excellent communication skills combined with excellent problem solving and software development skills. He's easy to work with, extremely conscientious and a hard worker. If you are a hiring for a software development position you couldn't do much better than Thomas Cobb.”
Michael Ciccone, Cloud/SDN Architect Cisco Systems
“Thomas has a gift for managing a tremendous number of requirements, deadlines, and sources of input during project execution. His commitment to customer satisfaction is unerring. Thomas has proven time and again throughout my experience working with him at Cisco Systems that he can be given even the most complex of projects and he will handle it with little to no oversight in a reliable and efficient way. I would enjoy working with him again in the future.”
Ryan Schuft, UI Architect at Sophos