Tom Neal
I build the technology that runs physical operations: warehouses, sortation, and delivery networks. I go deep into the engineering and deep into the operation, and I stay until it works on the floor.
What I work on
- Operations software. Warehouse, inventory, and distribution management systems designed around how the operation actually runs, with the client integrations, dashboards, and automation that keep it visible and moving.
- Automation and hardware. Sortation and pick systems, embedded electronics, firmware, and controls. I invented a sort-to-light system that turned a manual sort into a semi-automated one at a fraction of what a sorting machine costs.
- Applied AI in production. Vision and OCR models, agents that work inside customer service and operations tools, and natural-language access to operational data, built to be used every day by people who aren't technical.
Background
I trained as a controls engineer at the U.S. Naval Academy and served as a nuclear submarine officer, including running shifts at a naval reactor training plant. I then earned an MS in EECS and an MBA through MIT's Leaders for Global Operations program.
Since then I've co-founded a parcel-locker startup and architected its hardware and software, led partner platform builds at Vistaprint, and spent thirteen years as CTO of Optima Shipping and Stackry, building the systems behind international parcel forwarding and a New England last-mile delivery network. I hold a patent in parcel delivery.
Now
I'm independent and focused on engineering and product development for companies that make or move physical things, especially where automation and AI need to hold up in a real operation.
Contact
Greater Boston