Founding Engineer · CardNexus

ThomasGoethals

Fifteen years of reactive, responsive web applications — and a lifelong watcher of birds.

Barcelona, Catalonia41.39° N · 2.16° E
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Thomas Goethals
Pl. 01Thomas Goethals, observed in Barcelona
Plate IAbout

The subject at hand

My expertise is in reactive, responsive, versatile web applications — built with Angular and NgRx. I taught these skills to myself alongside my formal education, then sharpened them across years of work for a wide range of clients.

I also have a deep affinity for graphic design and feel at home in the Adobe Creative Suite — a thread that runs all the way back to a formal training in applied visual arts.

Away from the keyboard

  • Ornithology
  • Guitar
  • Wine
  • Sushi
Plate IICareer

A career in the field

Fifteen years across Barcelona, Paris and Belgium — building reactive, data-rich interfaces for product teams and consultancies.

  1. Feb 2025 — PresentNow

    CardNexus

    · Barcelona, Spain

    Founding Engineer

    Feb 2025 — Present

    On the founding team — shaping the product and its frontend architecture from day one.

  2. Jul 2022 — Feb 2025

    Kahoot!

    · Barcelona, Spain

    Game-based learning platform used by millions worldwide.

    Technical Lead

    Nov 2023 — Feb 2025

    Senior Frontend Developer

    Jul 2022 — Nov 2023
    • Angular
    • TypeScript
    • RxJS

  3. Jul 2020 — Jul 2022

    WeMaintain

    · Barcelona, Spain

    Tech-enabled lift maintenance — engineers' craft paired with predictive technology.

    Staff Engineer

    Jul 2020 — Jul 2022

    Built data-rich interfaces in an Nx monorepo — heavy d3.js data visualisation, plus in-browser PDF display and editing.

    • Angular
    • NGXS
    • Cypress
    • GraphQL
    • Nx
    • d3.js

  4. Apr 2019 — Jul 2020

    Renault Digital

    · Paris, France

    The Renault group's digital arm.

    Senior Frontend Developer

    Apr 2019 — Jul 2020

    Data-visualisation-heavy frontend work — including live telemetry for an autonomous-vehicle project.

    • Angular
    • NgRx
    • RxJS
    • Cypress

  5. Jul 2017 — Mar 2019

    Diabolocom

    · Paris, France

    Cloud contact-centre and telephony software.

    Lead Frontend Developer

    Mar 2018 — Mar 2019

    Technical leadership, hiring interviews, and coordination between the Paris and Russia frontend teams.

    Frontend Developer

    Jul 2017 — Mar 2018

    Telecommunication software in Angular, plus the Salesforce integration of the call UI.

    • Angular
    • NgRx
    • Salesforce

  6. Jun 2016 — Jul 2017

    European Commission

    via Cronos International· Geel, Belgium

    A frontend consulting placement through Cronos International.

    Frontend Developer

    Jun 2016 — Jul 2017

    Financial applications built with Angular 2 and KendoUI.

    • Angular 2
    • KendoUI
    • jQuery
    • Less

  7. Sep 2014 — Aug 2016

    Strak Design

    · Antwerp, Belgium

    My own freelance design studio.

    Founder & Web Designer

    Sep 2014 — Aug 2016

    Designed and built professional, responsive websites for small enterprises.

    • Web design
    • Responsive
    • Adobe CS
  8. The trail continues earlier — see the field notes
Plate IIIField notes

Before & beyond the browser

A career rarely runs in a straight line. Before the frontend work — and around its edges — there were birds, forests, a wildcat, and a competitive streak.

  • No. 01

    2016 · Barrancos, Portugal

    EDIA — Alqueva S.A.

    Conservation Trainee

    Studied the possible reintroduction of the Iberian lynx in the Parque de Natureza de Noudar — mapping wild-rabbit dispersal and estimating populations.

  • No. 02

    2011 — 2013 · Ekeren, Belgium

    Natuurpunt

    Nature & Forestry Worker

    Cleared invasive species by hand, opened woodland trails, and built eco-friendly fencing across the Kalmthoutse Heide.

  • No. 03

    2011 — 2013

    Mouse-Control

    Board Member

    Helped steer the organisation and managed its competitive StarCraft II team.

  • No. 04

    2009 — 2011

    WSquared Media

    Esports Content Writer

    Wrote patch notes, strategy guides and tournament coverage — reporting from events as far afield as DreamHack.

Plate IVSkills

Field equipment

The working toolkit — a frontend stack built deep on the Angular ecosystem, with the data-visualisation and design instincts kept just as sharp.

Core frontend
AngularNgRxNGXSRxJSTypeScriptJavaScript
Tooling & collaboration
GitGitHubGitLabNxCypressGraphQL
Visualisation & craft
d3.jsData visualisationAdobe Creative SuiteResponsive designHTML & CSS
Ways of working
Technical leadershipMentoring & hiringITIL Foundation

Most endorsed on LinkedIn

Plate VLanguages

Five languages, by range

From native fluency to a working handful — enough to feel at home across Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal.

  • DutchNL
    Native / Bilingual
  • EnglishEN
    Native / Bilingual
  • FrenchFR
    Full Professional
  • PortuguesePT
    Limited Working
  • GermanDE
    Elementary
Plate VIEducation

An unlikely education

Applied visual arts, information technology, political science, and environmental studies — an education that never quite picked a lane.

2013 — 2016

Thomas More University of Applied Sciences

BSc, Environmental Studies

2008 — 2010

Karel de Grote University College

Information Technology

2007 — 2008

University of Antwerp

Political Science & Government

2005 — 2007

Sint-Lukas Antwerpen

Applied Visual Arts

Honors & certifications

  • ITIL Foundation

    IT service management

  • Startup Weekend Leuven

    Runner-up · 2014

  • Startup Weekend Brussels

    Runner-up · 2014