Thomas Hambach

Experience

Nov 2024 – Present | Hong Kong

Directed the technical vision and architecture for a company-wide internal SaaS platform, which processes over 80 million requests daily, ensuring a 99.9% uptime.
Reduced operational costs by 30% by migrating the legacy monolithic applications
Scaled a 20-member remote-first engineering org across APAC, acting as a technical partner to 4 leads to unblock complex architectural and performance challenges in .NET Core and Typescript/Javascript. Fostered a culture of shared ownership by participating in high-stakes problem solving while empowering teams to lead execution.
Partnered with product managers and stakeholders to translate company strategy into technical roadmaps, prioritizing high-impact initiatives that met business goals.

Jul 2020 – Dec 2024 | Hong Kong

Managed a cross-functional team of 8+ engineers, fostering "T-shaped" skill sets to build autonomous, high-velocity remote engineers within APAC.
Collaborated closely with the Global CTO and VP of Engineering to align the Vietnam-based engineering hub with global technical objectives.
Spearheaded the development of AVA in .NET and Typescript, a mission-critical LiveOps/configuration management tool that serves as the backbone for all PLAYSTUDIOS games.
Engineered AVA to guarantee zero-deploy real-time updates, advanced user segmentation, A/B testing, and custom code injection for dynamic game logic.
Optimized web platform APIs and front-end architecture, saving $60K USD annually in infrastructure and operational costs.

Jul 2015 – Jul 2020 | Hong Kong

Developed the initial version of AVA, establishing the core architecture for the company's internal configuration and LiveOps management.
Engineered a high-availability Rewards/Loyalty Service from the ground up, enabling real-time display and redemption of rewards across the mobile game portfolio.
Established the company's first-generation development standards, documentation practices, and CI/CD workflows, significantly reducing technical debt.

Oct 2012 – June 2015

Write and maintain unit tests to properly handle customer payments and other transactions.
Develop and design API endpoints in languages such as NodeJS, Ruby on Rails, PHP, ...
Develop front-end applications and web interfaces that connect to JSON or XML APIs using AngularJS, Flux + React JS, and Backbone.
Expand functionality on a backend for the administration of rental phones, including, but not limited to, invoicing, contracts, phone tracking, and Paydollar.
Oversee and direct internal/external teams, ensuring timely delivery of projects.

Sep 2008 – Oct 2012

Led the migration of legacy websites to Drupal-powered platforms for the national broadcasting company (VRT).
Optimized standard Drupal versions and applied new features to minimize downtime and enhance performance for high-traffic media sites.
Assigned to introduce and execute a new website in Drupal or Zend to a broad selection of customers, varying from small local firms to large international companies.
Performed maintenance to existing PHP applications.

2008 – 2011

Assigned to introduce and execute a new website in Drupal or Zend to a broad selection of customers, varying from small local firms to large international companies.
Performed maintenance to existing PHP applications.