Paul Tomlinson

CTOTechnology leaderCreative scientist

Now CTO at Neuro Progeny

Paul Tomlinson
1 u

Altitude, resolution, and perspective

Explore my journey, reach, and impact. An amazing ride and a work in progress.

  1. 11 = all about the oneIt all starts 1:1
  2. 101 m= 10 metersThe workspace
  3. 3.1e1 years= 31 yearsThe route
  4. 1017 bytes= 100 petabytesEvery order of magnitude

I help people use technology to make things and solve problems. Since 2019, mostly from a virtual space station.

Thirty years in, I live in the space between boardroom and IDE: bringing complex, abstract projects to life, turning struggling teams around, and making sure both the suits and the geeks feel heard.

101 m

= 10 meters

The screen, at the perfect viewing distance

Working from orbit

I float in space, surrounded on all sides by a grand view of the Milky Way Galaxy. A movie-theater-sized screen hangs before me, gently curved, everything at the perfect viewing distance. Eight different panes glitter with code…

I’ve used VR regularly since 2013, and as my primary work computer since 2019. Within a week of trying it, the monitors came off my desk. It’s also why I care so much about what comes next: tools for thinking together, and for reducing the distance between intent and action.

Read “Working From Orbit” (2021)

As seen in

“I am an outlier, and it’s a good thing that we have outliers [pioneers] who don’t get bored easily.”
Me, to TIME

Every order of magnitude

Everything I’ve moved, built, or wondered about, on one logarithmic axis.

  1. 100 person (1 person)Me
  2. 2e0 people (2 people)Us
  3. 3.1e1 year career (31 year career)In software, every chair
  4. 3e2 people (300 people)Amazon division ownership
  5. 7e7 USD ($70 million)Operating budget responsibility
  6. 2e8 users (200 million users)
  7. 1.38e10 years (13.8 billion years)
  8. 2.5e11 USD ($250 billion)
  9. 1e17 bytes (100 petabytes (100 quadrillion bytes))
2e8 users= 200 million users
200M+ monthly active users, across the products I’ve been responsible for.
1.38e10 years= 13.8 billion years
The universe has been in production this long, with no documentation. I’m studying the source.
2.5e11 USD= $250 billion
$250B+ in lifetime funds and revenues moved through my systems: controlled, transparent, exact.
1e17 bytes= 100 petabytes (100 quadrillion bytes)
100PB+ of data under management.

Strategic Engineering at three altitudes

As my problems got bigger, technology stopped being the limiting factor; people and processes were. So I learned to work at every altitude, and never lost touch with the code.

  1. Catch a man a fish

    Solve the problem Technical

    Grant Street Group Hardware integration

    Browsers were dropping the plug-in protocol that let our SaaS cashiering talk to PIN pads on client workstations. We didn’t break it, but we did have to fix it, on someone else’s deadline.

    A forced, invisible upgrade became a whole new product line.

    How it went

    The ideal answer, standalone network devices, couldn’t ship at scale in time. So we put a small, secure local HTTPS server on each workstation, bridging the browser to downloadable hardware modules. We weren’t a Windows shop, and success came on the far side of multiple failures and hard-won lessons.

    Asking “what does it take to make this?” instead of “please make this” made all the difference.

  2. Teach a man to fish

    Solve the class of problem Organizational

    DataMark Replatforming

    The lead-management platform was buckling under load, technical debt, and a development team with no sense of ownership over any of it.

    300%
    more development velocity
    80%
    fewer defects and less rework
    60%
    fewer support incidents
    23×
    more clients onboarded, in under half the time
    How it went

    Changed Us and Them into We: rotated responsibilities, gave developers a real voice in the architecture, then ran old and new platforms side by side and moved one piece at a time. No massive cutover, no extended parallel development. Each win bought cover for the next.

    Peak-season stress disappeared. People took longer vacations.

  3. Build a fishery

    Evolve the problem-solving apparatus Cultural

    EIG × MOJO Marketplace Acquisition and integration

    EIG was a hosting company that lived and died by uptime. MOJO was a young add-on marketplace still finding its customers. A good match in theory, and two completely different ways of doing business in practice.

    $1.4M
    netted in the first year
    35+
    corporate brands integrated
    How it went

    We built from both sides toward the middle: broadened EIG’s technical mindset, matured MOJO’s business infrastructure, and redeveloped prototypes at enterprise scale, growing the product by degrees instead of future-proofing against customers we hadn’t met yet.

    Scalability is about more than scale.

3.1e1

= 31 year career

From grunt techie to the boardroom, 1995 to now

The route

Every chair from grunt techie to executive boardroom, at every scale from tiny startups to Amazon. Rarely a straight line.

  1. Now
    Neuro ProgenyCTO

    Using the psychology of placemaking and environmental storytelling to adapt biofeedback and neurofeedback to the unique capabilities of VR, for demonstrably more effective delivery. Neuroscience and XR for nervous system regulation and human performance, including novel biometric analysis for cognitive function and stress resilience.

    Responsible for all strategic and operational technology: hardware and software R&D, certification, go-to-market, support, and infrastructure, with local, near-, and offshore teams.

  2. 2022–24
    MuralCreative Scientist, Technical Director

    R&D on extended-reality applications for remote collaboration, shaped by neuroscience, user research, and co-design, through flawless security and compliance reviews.

  3. 2015–22
    Grant Street GroupPrincipal Application Architect

    Payments, data, and APIs for government finance: $60B+ in annual transactions, $12T in securities auctions, zero days down. Plus a culture of transparency, respect, and humanity.

  4. 2012–15
    Endurance International GroupDirector of Software Development

    Led all IT for select properties, and merged an existing business unit with a new acquisition: $1.4M netted in the first year, with a projected 40% annual growth in customers.

  5. 2010–12
    DatamarkDirector of IT Development

    Took the division from unpredictability to CMMI level 4 inside of four months, tripling total productivity.

  6. 2008–09
    AmazonSr. Manager of Software Development

    Inbound freight for 40+ distribution centers: 300+ people, a $70M budget, and tens of millions of inventory transactions a day. A three-year vision cut inventory processing times by more than half.

1995–2008Earlier: UnitedHealth Group, United Online, Overstock.com, The dot-com years
  1. 2007–08
    UnitedHealth GroupSoftware Development Manager

    Salvaged ailing offshore relationships and established a record of accurate estimates and quality delivery.

  2. 2006–07
    United OnlinePrincipal Engineer

    SOX-compliant log analytics handling 200M+ records a day on simple commodity hardware.

  3. 2003–06
    Overstock.comDirector of Software Development

    From startup ($238M/yr) to enterprise ($806M/yr), and out of perpetual crisis management. The smoothest, most profitable Q4 in company history, beating earnings estimates by 50%, with nearly 10× the project throughput and 80% fewer on-call alerts.

  4. 1995–2003
    The dot-com yearsEngineer, architect, manager

    ChiroElite (IT team lead), Atmedica USA, iLumin (QA lab manager), Metastorm, ErgoWeb, and independent contracting from 1995: web apps before AJAX, hard drives jury-rigged through sound cards, and the post-dot-com implosion.

“Paul consistently introduces innovative ideas and systems […] pushing boundaries and driving excellence. His dedication to continuous learning and his willingness to share his expertise have been instrumental.”
Ashley Kelly Owner, GGN Creative Solutions (Mural project partner)
“Clear communication, results oriented approach, sensitivity to timelines, and creativity in identifying quality but expedited solutions.”
Shannon Scheiwiller Sr. Director, Ambassador Programs (Datamark client)
“Provided inspired leadership to a high-profile team covering key operations, focused on meeting challenges in an innovative and cost-effective manner.”
Chetan Deshpande Technical Program Manager, Amazon
“Paul is a brilliant chap, his insight into both technical and managerial matters has proven thoughtful and helpful.”
Joseph Hall QA Engineer, United Online
“His knowledge and helpfulness served as a valued resource; it was a pleasure working with him.”
Jim Abbot Sr. IT Project Manager, Overstock.com

How I work

  1. See the future.

    • Curiosity-driven exploration and invention
    • Cultivate fertile cross-disciplinary ecotones
    • Use “why” to mine essence and purpose from ideas

  2. Help people build it.

    • Work with smart, courageous people
    • Clarify design thinking
    • Communicate and align
    • See it across the finish line
    • Measure outcomes, learn, repeat

  3. Develop future-envisioning, future-building machines.

    • Build self-refining systems
    • Find and develop talent
    • Plant a LOT of seeds
    • DNA transfer: learn and grow together

Driven by

  • Honesty. Clear, direct (but kind) candor.
  • Integrity. Share early. Own consequences.
  • Humility. Promote the success of others.
  • Empathy. Honor the humanity in everyone.
  • Service. Lend a hand. Share everything.
  • Determination. Always take one more step.
  • Fun. Whimsy, and look for the Wow.

Stuff I wrote

I always have more prompts than time. The blog archive runs from 2005 to 2014, for the archaeologically inclined.

Where I spend my failures

Failure is always an option. These are the areas in which I choose to spend my failures, in the hopes of improving my hand.

  • SoftwareExpert

    Started on discarded appliances and a home PC at the leading edge of the revolution. Discharged a CRT through myself only once.

  • VRExpert

    Picked up a Rift DK2 in 2014 to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. Still going.

  • PhysicsEnthusiast

    Theoretical particle, self-study since 2009. APS member since 2015. Finding joy in tugging tapestry threads.

  • NeuropsychAmateur

    Working toward the middle of consciousness, identity, and our relationships to each other and the world.

  • ArtAmateur

    Music, sculpture, writing (prose and code), looking for and playing with truth and beauty.

A synesthetic engineerI know how code tastes, how much voltage runs through it, how far away the connected libraries are, what its colors sound like…

11

= it all starts 1:1

Drop me a line.

paul@ptom.net

I’m at my best in creative technology innovation, engineering leadership, VR/XR and beyond, and hands-on invention. If it’s something else, I’m still happy to lend a hand, or direct you to others who can do it better.

Rural Maine and low Earth orbit. Fully remote.