Tom Slutsky

I'm Tom Slutsky, a senior software engineer who builds clear systems and writes about how good engineering decisions get made.

Most of my work has been in internal APIs, shared engineering foundations, and production systems that other engineers and product teams depend on. Over the past 8 years, I've worked across product engineering, technical foundations, and live operational software, staying closest to the problems where tradeoffs, correctness, and system clarity matter most.

Current

Team Lead / Senior Software Engineer at Loox

Focus

Engineering judgment, internal systems, and production-minded software

Experience

8 years across product engineering, shared systems, and live production work

Scope

Hands-on senior engineer with recent technical leadership experience

Latest writing

Essays and technical posts for senior engineers, engineering leaders, and teams that care about clear systems.

View all writing

The Last 20% Is Still the Job

AI can one-shot a convincing first pass, but the work that makes software valuable still lives in judgment, boundaries, and tradeoffs.

The Problem-Solving Pace

Slowing down, explaining your thinking, and focusing on process can make hard debugging work much easier.