Thomas (Tom) Grushka, M.S., CPWA

Background

About

I’m a full-stack mobile and web engineer who architects apps and their infrastructures from the ground up. Having worked for both small and large companies, I am well-versed in a variety of programming frameworks and development processes. My expertise in accessibility is an advantage that adds unique value to my projects.

Work Experience

Freelance Software Engineer with Accessibility Expertise, Dr. Accessibility, LLC
Jan, 2021 - Present
Developed software and accessibility solutions using Flutter, React, Kotlin, Swift, Python, and AWS.
- React / Kotlin / FasterXML Jackson: Ph.D. search engine that scraped Ph.D. positions from European universities.
- Python / Django: Custom Job scraper / search engine with ML / NLP.
- Flutter: CSUN 2023: Accessible mobile schedule app for the largest accessibility conference in the world.
- Flutter / Serverpod / Kubernetes: WIP: intone.world: music app with ML / NLP to transcribe and sync song lyrics to the Bahá’í writings.
- Flutter / Serverpod / Kubernetes: WIP: bahai.group, bahai.day: Web, administrative apps for the Bahá’í community.
- SwiftUI: MagicMac: Desktop app to improve low vision accessibility (light/dark flip, custom TTS replacements).
- TypeScript: Accessible video player for Wix platform for womanofherword.com.
- Python / AWS Lambda: ETL workflow to sync conference vendor registrations with huge HubSpot database (Wireless Infrastructure Association).
- Ruby / Dart / Twilio / Kubernetes: BahaiVote.org: Automated telephone election system for the Bahá’í community (c. 2020).
Principal Accessibility Engineer, Charter Communications
Aug, 2022 - Jun, 202310 months
Built 4 Flutter plugins for Spectrum Access that solved accessibility issues that Charter developers had considered unsolvable outside of Google. Built a browser automation tool (“Kronomate”) in Python / Selenium and accessible JavaScript / HTML frontend to make a critical internal time entry tool accessible to blind employees. It compiled down to a single executable for distribution on both Windows and Mac desktops. Principal responsible for accessibility of Android, iOS, and Apple TV streaming apps.
- Flutter / Dart
- Swift / UIKit
- Kotlin / Material Design
- Python / Selenium
iOS Accessibility Remediation Engineer, Airbnb, Inc.
Aug, 2021 - Jun, 202210 months
Improved and innovated accessibility features beyond the assigned remediation tickets in large iOS Swift app (1+ million lines of code). Developed a Swift protocol to bring 11 separate calendar implementations into accessibility compliance over several pull requests. Re-implemented Google Maps accessibility layer to allow map zoom, movement, and content descriptions with VoiceOver.
- Swift / UIKit
Software Engineer IV - Java/Spring/Atlassian JIRA (Contract), Jeppesen, a Boeing Company
Feb, 2020 - Apr, 20202 months
Built SaFE Agile dashboard in Jira with REST API that tracked Key Performance Indicators (KPI) across the flight planning portfolio.
- Java / Jira SDK / Spring Boot
- ActiveObjects / JDBC / FasterXML Jackson
- SonarQube API
- Angular 9 / TypeScript / Webpack
Web Application Engineer / Graduate Intern Researcher II, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Mar, 2018 - Feb, 20201 year 11 months
Served as a technical lead for web development on projects like SmartGrid.gov and BioenergyModels.nrel.gov, ensuring modern development practices and web accessibility. Created advanced map visualizations for the Engage Energy project and NREL Mobility Metric. Received Director's Awards for developing a machine-learning algorithm for taxi trip data and co-developing the NREL Mobility Metric, leading to a significant publication.
- Python / Django / Vue.js / ElasticSearch
- PHP / Solr
- JavaScript / MapBox GL JS / D3
- OpenTripPlanner / OpenStreetMap / GTFS
- R / R Shiny
- PostgreSQL / PostGIS / Python GeoPandas
- Amazon Redshift
College Success Program Mentor, Learning Ally
Aug, 2017 - May, 20189 months
Mentored visually impaired undergraduates on self-advocacy, professor communication, assistive tech, effective learning, disability services, and networking.
Freelance Software Developer, NextVision Technologies, Inc.
Jan, 2009 - Jan, 20156 years
Developed "Shingle," a website builder tailored for small businesses, and created a geocoding tool for a local non-profit. Installed and maintained POS systems for local businesses and enhanced POS functionalities. Invented a semi-automated system for digitizing 5,000 35mm slides for a client.
- Ruby on Rails / GovTrack and Google APIs
- JavaScript / JQuery
- PostgreSQL
- Point of Sale (POS) systems
Web Application Development Intern, CiviCore, LLC
Jan, 2008 - Jan, 20091 year
Maintained and enhanced applications in ColdFusion, integrating payment processing and email marketing tools, and developed a web-based Subversion code deploy tool in ColdFusion and Java. Implemented backup and recovery solutions for Windows servers and established a PBX system on CentOS Linux. Designed procedures in Microsoft SQL Server to optimize database imports.
- ColdFusion / Java
- Microsoft SQL Server
- ConstantContact and Skipjack APIs
- Subversion (SVN)
- Asterisk PBX
Senior Software Developer & IT Consultant, METCO Engineering, Inc.
Jan, 2003 - Jan, 20041 year
Developed an inventory management system for a foodservice equipment wholesaler. Adapted an open-source e-commerce application that integrated with eBay. Established a remote access VPN, camera system, and maintained networked PCs for offsite warehouse management.
- PHP / MySQL
- Microsoft Access VBA
Freelance Software Developer, Grushka, Inc.
Jan, 1998 - Jan, 20057 years
Developed a web portal for a 500-member youth soccer club, a dynamic quote generator for asbestoscheck.com, and a comprehensive web site with calendar and room scheduler for a 300-member Bahá’í community. Hosted multiple web and email accounts, transitioning from a home setup to a professional data center. Assisted small business clients with their IT needs, ranging from hardware installation to network troubleshooting.
- ASP / ASP.NET / Microsoft SQL Server
- PHP / MySQL
- JavaScript
Software Developer (Intern), Microsoft Corporation
Jan, 1999 - Jan, 19991 day
Completed development of training roadmap app for Technology Specialists under severe time restrictions (budgeted for a month). Mentored a junior developer in accessible front-end development.
- ASP / Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
- DHTML / JavaScript
Web Developer (Intern), Ericsson
Jan, 1998 - Jan, 19991 year
Received an award for developing “the best HR website of 1999 in Ericsson worldwide,” consolidating diverse employee information. Contributed to the Free Willy Keiko Foundation website, developed a market forecasting tool, and designed an IP Telephony website featured at a major industry trade show. Wrote online documentation for various web applications.
- ASP / Microsoft SQL Server
- JavaScript
- HTML / CSS

Projects Experience

T. Grushka and A. Hill. / Democratizing Inclusion Videos and Accessible Lab Experiments, Inclusion in Science, Learning A New Direction Conference on Disability (ISLAND). Huntsville, Alabama, US
- Sep, 2019
- Presented a series of instructional videos I created on making chemistry labs accessible to students.
- https://www.hill-lab.com/research/stem-education-for-the-visually-impaired/
T. Grushka. / Transportation Transformation: What Would a Unity-Building Mobility System Look Like?, Ottawa, Canada. Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies
- Aug, 2019
- Presented a workshop on emerging mobility technologies and SMART cities and what can be done to ensure they are inclusive.
- https://www.bahaistudies.ca/
T. Grushka. / Map Gallery entries: Identifying ADA Paratransit Deserts & NREL Mobility Metric, GIS for Transportation Symposium - American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Kissimmee, Florida, United States.
- Apr, 2019
- Won 1st Place - Savvy Web Mapping Application Award
- Presented apps I built in MapBox GL JS that showcased accessible transportation and energy productivity of mobility.
- https://transportation.org/
T. Grushka. / ADA Paratransit Deserts: A Case for Modernizing and Mainstreaming Accessible Transportation, Shared-Use Mobility Center / National Shared Mobility Summit. Chicago, United States
- Mar, 2019
T. Grushka, A. Duvall, C. Rames. / Identifying ADA Paratransit Deserts, Availability, and Resilience, Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. Washington, D.C., United States
- Jan, 2019
Hill, A., Grushka, T., Miller, E. O., Abraham, W. / Development of Adapted Laboratory Manuals to Promote the Inclusion of Students with Blindness or Low Vision in the Chemistry Laboratory, Hawaii University International STEAM & Education Conference. Honolulu, United States (in absentia)
- Jan, 2017
Hill, A., Grushka, T., Miller, E. O., Abraham, W. / Development of Adapted Laboratory Manuals to Promote the Inclusion of Students with Blindness or Low Vision in the Chemistry Laboratory, Biennial Conference on Chemical Education. University of Northern Colorado, United States
- Jan, 2017

Skills

Web Development
Accessibility (10 years)

HTML5 (10 years)

CSS (10 years)

Sass / SCSS (5 years)

HTML (10 years)

CSS (10 years)
JavaScript / TypeScript
JavaScript (10 years)

React (2 years)

Angular (3 years)

Vue (3 years)

MapBox GL JS (2 years)

D3 (1 year)

Node / Express (3 years)
Flutter / Dart
Riverpod

Platform Channels & Plugins

Flutter Engine

Serverpod.dev

Dart

Accessibility
Accessibility
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA)

Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)

Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS)

Apple Accessibility APIs (3 years)

Android Accessibility APIs (2 years)
Mobile / Native App Development
Flutter (2 years)

Swift UIKit (3 years)

tvOS (1 year)

macOS (3 years)

Android Kotlin (1 year)
Python
Django (3 years)
Databases / SQL
PostgreSQL (5 years)

PostGIS

MongoDB (2 years)

Redis

MySQL (2 years)

Microsoft SQL Server (4 years)
Cloud Engineering / Cloud Infrastructure
Kubernetes (2 years)

Scaleway API

DigitalOcean API

Amazon Remote Database Service (RDS)

Amazon Redshift

Amazon EC2 / S3 / Route 53 / Fargate

Puppeteer / Capistrano

Jenkins
Ruby
Ruby on Rails (5 years)

RSpec (3 years)
Data Analytics / Machine Learning
R / Shiny (1 year)

Python Pandas (2 years)

Python Scikit-Learn (2 years)

Python GeoPandas (1 year)

NumPy

matplotlib

Python Jupyter notebooks
Java / Kotlin
Ktor Server (2 years)

Spring Boot (1 year)

Atlassian Jira / Confluence SDK

Java Server Pages (1 year)

Thymeleaf Templates

ColdFusion plugins
AI Prompt Engineering
ChatGPT

ChatGPT API / Python

Claude.ai

Google Bard
Agile
Scrum (2 years)

SaFE Agile (1 year)

Kanban
Other Languages
PHP (3 years)

ASP (3 years)

ASP.NET (2 years)

C# (1 year)

C++ (Beginner)

Objective-C++ (Flutter Engine)

Education

Civil Engineering, Master of Science, University of Colorado - Denver
Aug, 2017 - Dec, 2018
Chemistry, Bachelor of Arts, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Jul, 2015 - May, 2017

Certificates

Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), IAAP - International Association of Accessibility Professionals
Issued on: Jan 01, 2021

Awards

NREL Director's Award , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Awarded on: Jul 01, 2019
For development of a machine learning algorithm to pool potential shared vehicle trips for fleet sizing
Savvy Web Mapping Application Award (1st Place) , American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
Awarded on: Apr 01, 2019
For two apps I built in MapBox GL JS that showcased accessible transportation and energy productivity of mobility
NREL Director's Award , National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Awarded on: Mar 01, 2019
For co-development of NREL's Mobility Energy Productivity Metric
Tau Beta Pi , Tau Beta Pi - Colorado Epsilon chapter
Awarded on: Dec 01, 2018
Delta Alpha Pi Honor Society , Metropolitan State University of Denver
Awarded on: Mar 01, 2016

Publications

Novel and Practical Method to Quantify the Quality of Mobility: Mobility Energy Productivity Metric , Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Published on: Jan 01, 2019

References

Adam Campfield / Manager @ Charter Communications
In a short three months, Tom has already used his skills to solve an accessibility gap for the Flutter based Spectrum Access app. This gap, having to do with the way in which navigation element properties are communicated to assistive technology, were previously considered by Charter developers to be unsolvable by anyone outside of Google’s Flutter team, but Tom proved otherwise…. In this way, he has created something that can improve accessibility on a global scale, not only for Charter customers.
Diane Ko / Manager @ Airbnb
I had the joy of managing Tom while I was working at Airbnb on accessibility. Tom was tasked to work on fixing iOS accessibility issues across different teams. At the end of December, while most of the company was on vacation, Tom took the initiative to work on improving the screen reader experience for the map on the app. After getting the go ahead from me, he made some incredible improvements and came up with additional ideas to really improve how the pins were read out and the way the map behaved. I was blown away with the great work that Tom did, and his creativity in coming up with solutions. When Tom is given room to explore, he really shines in his work. I'd recommend Tom for any role where he has the opportunity to make meaningful changes!
Amy Schwab / Client Liaison @ National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Tom and I worked together at NREL - he was in the group responsible for realizing the vision of our Federal clients and I was the client liaison. Tom took fairly ambiguous direction and turned it into an extremely useful, and easy to use application, far surpassing our clients' and our own hopes and wishes. Always looking beyond the stated need while ensuring that the solution was well designed and easy to use for everyone, Tom was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Tom!
Amit Sachdev / Mentor @ Ericsson
I worked with Tom at Ericsson. He has excellent work ethics. He is a team player and is dedicated to his work.
Tom will be a great asset for any organization.