Hi, I’m Tom Papatolis.

My work spans backend development, cloud infrastructure, automation, and operations, with experience across enterprise software, public-sector systems, manufacturing automation, and AI-enabled applications.

The focus throughout is on clear architecture, maintainable code, pragmatic technology choices, and systems that perform reliably in production.

01. About

Overview

I am a software engineer and architect with a background in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and experience across software development, infrastructure, automation, and large-scale systems.

My career has taken me through internet infrastructure, enterprise software, manufacturing automation, media, consulting, and public-sector technology. Today, I work across development, operations, and system architecture, designing and building web applications, APIs, cloud infrastructure, and automation-driven solutions.

Based in Düsseldorf, Germany, I approach engineering pragmatically: clear architecture, sensible technology choices, maintainable code, and systems that remain understandable and reliable long after they are deployed.

02. Skillset

A broad technical skill set built through years of hands-on work across software architecture, development, infrastructure, cloud systems, and AI. My focus is on practical engineering, maintainable solutions, and choosing the right tools for the problem.

  • Architecture & System Design

    • Software Architecture

    • System Design

    • Application Architecture

    • Legacy System Modernization

    • Maintainable and Scalable Systems

    • API Design

  • Backend Development

    • PHP 8+

    • .NET / C#

    • ASP.NET Core

    • Python

    • CodeIgniter 4

    • REST APIs

    • Authentication and Authorization

    • Server-Side Application Development

  • Databases

    • MySQL

    • MariaDB

    • SQL

    • Database Design

    • Data Modeling

    • Query Optimization

  • Frontend Development

    • JavaScript (ES6+)

    • HTML5

    • CSS3

    • Tailwind CSS

    • DaisyUI

    • Responsive Web Design

    • Progressive Enhancement

  • DevOps and Infrastructure

    • Linux

    • Docker

    • Kubernetes

    • Git

    • CI/CD Pipelines

    • Web Server Administration

    • Infrastructure Automation

    • Deployment and Release Management

  • Cloud and Hosting

    • Microsoft Azure

    • IONOS Cloud

    • Virtual Machines

    • Networking

    • Containerized Applications

    • Cloud Application Deployment

    • Infrastructure as Code

  • Security and Reliability

    • Authentication and Access Control

    • Secure Application Design

    • System Hardening

    • Fault Tolerance

    • Backup and Recovery

    • Production Troubleshooting

  • AI Engineering

    • Large Language Models (LLMs)

    • AI-Assisted Software Development

    • Local LLM Deployment

    • AI Model Integration

    • Prompt-Based Workflows

    • AI-Powered Application Features

  • Local AI and Generative Media

    • ComfyUI

    • LM Studio

    • Local AI Image Generation

    • Local AI Video Generation

    • Model Management

    • CPU/GPU AI Workflows

  • Engineering Tools

    • Git / GitHub

    • VS Code

    • Composer

    • npm

    • PowerShell

    • Bash

    • FFmpeg

03. Selected Milestones

A selection of the technical shifts and experiences that shaped how I work today. These milestones highlight the path from software and infrastructure to automation, cloud, AI, and product development.

  • 1

    Early Web & Infrastructure

    Built and operated internet-based systems during the early web era, combining software development with hands-on infrastructure work.

  • 2

    Enterprise Software

    Worked on business-critical applications and large software environments, strengthening my experience in backend systems, databases, and system integration.

  • 3

    Industrial Automation

    Applied software engineering in manufacturing and automation environments where reliability, predictability, and operational stability are essential.

  • 4

    Cloud & DevOps

    Moved deeper into infrastructure automation, CI/CD, containers, cloud platforms, and the operational side of modern software systems.

  • 5

    AI Engineering

    Integrated LLMs, local AI tooling, transcription workflows, generative systems, and AI-assisted development into practical engineering work.

  • 6

    Building Products

    Bringing architecture, backend development, frontend, infrastructure, deployment, and product thinking together in independent platforms such as VerdinCore.

04. Featured Projects

Selected products and platforms, designed and engineered from idea to production.

  • VerdinCore preview

    AI-Powered SaaS Content Platform for Multi-Site Publishing, Automation, and Digital Experiences

    VerdinCore

    VerdinCore is a modular SaaS content platform designed to power multiple websites and digital properties from a shared application core while preserving the flexibility, identity, and individual requirements of each project.

    Built with PHP and CodeIgniter, the platform combines structured content management, reusable content blocks, flexible theming, media management, SEO tooling, analytics, and a streamlined administration experience. Its architecture centralizes shared functionality while allowing individual sites to evolve independently.

    AI is integrated directly into the platform to support content creation, editing, metadata generation, SEO optimization, content analysis, workflow automation, and other intelligent services. Rather than treating AI as an isolated feature, VerdinCore incorporates it as part of the publishing and administration workflow.

    The platform covers the complete lifecycle of modern web publishing, from content creation and asset management to delivery, optimization, analytics, automation, and deployment. It provides a scalable foundation for websites, professional portfolios, corporate platforms, and content-driven products.

  • VerdinScribe preview

    AI-powered transcription and document intelligence for turning spoken conversations into structured, actionable knowledge.

    VerdinScribe

    VerdinScribe is an AI-powered SaaS platform that transforms audio recordings into accurate transcripts, structured summaries, and actionable information.

    The platform combines high-performance speech recognition with speaker diarization and language models to process meetings, interviews, discussions, and other spoken content. Beyond transcription, it identifies speakers, organizes conversations, extracts key topics and decisions, and generates concise summaries that can be used immediately or integrated into existing workflows.

    Designed with privacy and professional use in mind, VerdinScribe supports controlled AI infrastructure and can operate independently of consumer cloud transcription services. Its architecture separates speech recognition, language processing, storage, and presentation into modular components, making it adaptable to different deployment and security requirements.

    The result is more than a transcription service. VerdinScribe turns unstructured spoken information into searchable, reusable knowledge, reducing manual documentation work and creating a foundation for intelligent meeting and document workflows.

  • VerdinSignal preview

    AI-Powered Market Intelligence Platform for Probabilistic Trading Signals and Data-Driven Decision Support

    VerdinSignal

    VerdinSignal is an AI-powered market intelligence platform designed to turn large volumes of financial and statistical data into a simple, immediately understandable view of short-term market direction.

    For each selected stock or financial instrument, the platform continuously evaluates historical price behavior, volatility, momentum, volume, technical indicators, market conditions, and other relevant statistical signals. Machine-learning and AI models combine these inputs to calculate three probability scores: the likelihood that the asset will move lower, remain relatively stable, or move higher within a defined time horizon.

    Instead of presenting traders with dozens of disconnected indicators and charts, VerdinSignal condenses the underlying analysis into a clear probability-based assessment that can support Buy, Hold, or Sell decisions while still exposing the data behind the result.

    The platform is designed as a decision-support system rather than an automated trading engine. Its focus is on making complex quantitative analysis accessible, transparent, and useful, giving traders a faster way to understand market conditions while keeping the final decision firmly in their hands.

05. GitHub Repos

A selection of public projects, experiments, and tools. Most production work remains private.

  • iconium

    Iconium – A Curated Collection of Icons in .ico and .png

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • notepad-plus-plus-github-dark-theme

    A polished GitHub Dark-inspired theme for Notepad++ with broad syntax support and comfortable colors for long coding sessions.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • verdincore.com

    Official website of VerdinCore, a modular, multi-site CMS designed to power multiple websites from a single codebase.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • dotfiles-win

    PowerShell

    These are my user-specific configuration files that I use to personalize my Windows experience.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • lincotic

    PHP

    A clean, lightweight, open-source bookmark manager for organizing and accessing your favorite links.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • unlit

    JavaScript

    A personal quit-smoking tracker that visualizes the time, money, health, and freedom gained since my last cigarette.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • collections2

    PHP

    A lightweight personal media catalog built with CodeIgniter 4

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • linkoreo

    PHP

    Linkoreo is a lightweight, self-hosted link management system built with CodeIgniter 4, Tailwind CSS, and DaisyUI. It helps you organize your bookmarks into tabs, sections, and links with a clean, responsive interface and powerful admin tools.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • tapedeck

    PHP

    Lightweight, self-hosted YouTube-style video browser for NAS. Scans local folders, generates thumbnails and metadata with ffmpeg, and uses SQLite. No uploads, no users, no admin UI.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • playpal

    Go

    Your friendly MP3 player for the terminal

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • gpudash

    Go

    A Windows TUI application that displays real-time NVIDIA GPU usage, memory, and power directly in the terminal

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • corewatch

    PHP

    A lightweight client used to monitor the health and status of my servers.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • collections

    PHP

    A lightweight PHP and Tailwind (DaisyUI) web app that automatically processes and displays your Obsidian exported collections. It cleans raw HTML files, extracts tables, calculates item counts and total MSRP values, and presents everything in a clean and responsive interface with no database needed.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • daisyui-theme-arc

    CSS

    A faithful Arc Dark theme for DaisyUI, inspired by the classic GTK Arc theme.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • streamdeck-icons

    Elgato Stream Deck 288x288 Icons

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • obsidian-para-boilerplate

    A minimal, ready-to-use folder structure for Obsidian based on the PARA method (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives). Use this boilerplate to kickstart your personal knowledge management system with a clean and organized foundation.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • empitrio

    Rust

    Empitrio — A Terminal MP3 Player Built with Rust

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • vernito

    SCSS

    Ultra-Lightweight CSS Framework

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • LinuxCheatsheets

    Linux Cheatsheets: A Handy Collection for Beginners

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • vernetic

    SCSS

    Vernetic CSS Framework

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • ejs_parser

    TypeScript

    Editor.js JSON React Parser

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • winai-icons

    A collection of Windows icons that I have personally created using AI-generated designs. These icons are crafted to be modern, clean, and visually appealing, perfect for customization, themes, and UI enhancements.

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • colorfactory

    Visual Basic .NET

    Alter your colors

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • colorpad

    Visual Basic .NET

    Color Picker for your 4K Display

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • soundpad

    Visual Basic .NET

    SoundPAD Pro

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • javalytics

    Java

    A powerful Java App to convert raw stats data into human readable statistics

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

  • java-mousemover

    Java

    A Java Mouse Mover

    Created
    Last pushed
    View on GitHub

06. Professional References

Formal employment references highlighting technical expertise, reliability, problem-solving ability, and consistent professional results.

  • Throughout his employment, he proved to be reliable, highly efficient, exceptionally talented, and well-organized, with a unique ability to solve complex problems. Every project assigned to him was completed successfully and to an excellent final result.

    Dimitris Beligiannis

    CEO — Belco Systems

  • He performed all tasks with great care, reliability, and precision, consistently to our fullest satisfaction. He stood out through his above-average ability to quickly grasp new concepts, his resilience, versatility, initiative, and his strong sense of responsibility and trustworthiness.

    Pedro Schöller

    CEO — PS Printservice GmbH

  • He demonstrated outstanding and in-depth expertise, which he consistently applied with great success in a highly complex area of responsibility. Even in new and challenging situations, he quickly found his way and performed his duties with great confidence, reliability, and a strong sense of responsibility.

    Jürgen-Johannes Lau

    CEO — Landes-Gewerbeförderungsstelle des nordrhein-westfälischen Handwerks (LGH)

07. Let’s Connect

Collaboration starts with a conversation

I’m always interested in meaningful projects, challenging problems, and opportunities to build something that matters.

Whether you’re looking for an experienced developer, a technical partner, or simply want to exchange ideas, I’d be happy to hear from you.

Get in Touch