Meet Tom Chadwin: full-stack developer, quick-witted king of our internal chat, published author and a connoisseur of Lego castles.
When our team first came across Tom he was working for Northumberland National Park Authority, home to England’s cleanest rivers, clearest air and darkest skies. Having started as a developer, he’d progressed to being the ICT Manager. During this time, he’d developed skills in website development, WAN building and implementing open source phone systems. However, creating an open source QGIS plugin, qgis2web, whetted his appetite for a role in open source geospatial technology.
Tom’s joining story
Once he’d decided to return to a full-time development role, Tom remembered meeting several Astuners at OSGeo:UK events. He kept a watchful eye on our website until we advertised a vacancy for a Geospatial Full-Stack Developer. Securing this position would allow him to return to what he enjoyed best: full-time development combined with technical client liaison and project management.
Leaving the public sector after nearly 20 years was a big jump for Tom who says, “Leaving an organisation which aims to work for social good was a huge wrench”. Keen to continue in a #Tech4Good role, the opportunity to work with Astun to build a renewable energy heat mapping site for the Scottish Government was too good for Tom to miss. Especially when combined with the chance to swap a lengthy rural commute of 250 miles per week – beautiful in summer, not much fun in winter – for a short stroll to his desk at home.
Tom’s role at Astun
Tom works mostly in Javascript/Node, building mapping applications which require a bespoke interface, beyond what customers get out-of-the-box from our flagship iShare in the Cloud software. He also gets involved in anything else he can, from Python and PostGIS for the Ramblers to GeoServer for the Greater London Authority.
Lately, Tom’s been busy updating the Scottish Government Heatmap Interactive with new data and improvements to symbology and reporting. He’s also coded the latest round of functional improvements to the Ramblers’ Don’t Lose Your Way website.
Growing with Astun
Since joining Astun, Tom has had the chance to gain knowledge and skills in PostGIS and GeoServer, together with cloud-based infrastructure in AWS. This has helped him improve as a rounded dev in open source spatial, having previously been a Javascript/Python web specialist.
Memorable moments for Tom
Tom says, “Building the mapping for Ramblers Cymru’s Paths to Wellbeing project was a joy. Concentrating on cartography and performance was a delight, and I’m proud of the result.”
We think Tom should be equally proud of his memorable entry to Astun’s ‘tin foil Christmas hat’ competition. His allegorical hat featured a beautiful bird, representing open source software, trapped within the bars of proprietary spatial software. With an almost deft flourish, Tom whisked away the birdcage to free the bird. It’s safe to say that we’ve seen nothing like it since. Nor have we come across a book quite like his first foray into published literature, ‘Pie Spy: Adventures in British Pastry 2010–11’.
What’s surprised Tom about Astun
At the Park Authority, Tom had been the expert developer or, as he calls it, the “end of the line”. Joining us allowed him to work alongside and get help from highly experienced colleagues. However, he’s since been astonished and delighted by the open source geospatial expertise of many of our customers. He cites an example, “…the main technical contact at the Scottish Government produced fully-realised accessible map symbology at the very start of a project”, a feat which Tom describes as “amazing”.
Aside from technology, other facets of Astun that appeal to Tom
Unfortunately, since joining Astun, Tom has experienced bereavement and serious family illness. He says that these have been immeasurably easier to handle thanks to Astun’s support and flexibility.
What Tom gets up to in his free time
When he’s not updating qgis2web or sitting on the committee of OSGeo:UK, you can find Tom sharpening his skills at a pub pool table. He says, “I have become obsessed. Ten years ago, I’d never have predicted I’d rather watch the Mosconi Cup than Newcastle United.”
Looking ahead
Web mapping work remains Tom’s favourite so he hopes he’ll get the opportunity to work on more #Tech4Good web mapping projects in the future. He comments, “At Astun, I feel I can still use my knowledge to do something worthwhile. That means more to me than anything else in my professional life.”
Be like Tom
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