Maarten Tolhuijs
PHP / Laravel Lead Web Developer
Installing Linux distro's on every laptop I could get my hands on turned my life as a classical pianist / composer to one getting paid for coding.
My unusual childhood led to an Asperger syndrome diagnosis where the hyper-focus was on the creation of classical music. After meeting my wife in California, USA, and settling down in the Netherlands, a stable income became the main motivation of my career switch into IT. What began with an excessive interest in Linux distributions, handling its CLI grew into writing Java and eventually my career in web development.
Publications & Education
Conservatory
2005 - 2009, Hogeschool Inholland, Alkmaar, NH
After composing music and studying the piano at Mrs. Nottrot in Huisduinen, Den Helder, I studied counterpoint at the conservatory of Alkmaar with guidance from Herman van Weydom Claterbos. Counterpoint is all about the interplay between chord schemes and melodic lines.
Treehouse
2014 - 2016, Team Treehouse
Team Treehouse played a pivotal role in my career switch, teaching me Java for Android apps and making programming feel natural.
Professional Experience
Tech Lead
2021 - Present, Leads.io, Hoorn, NH
- Led two teams across separate projects after a three-year growth period.
- Instrumental in foundational project developments and team collaborations.
- Contributed to a threefold team size expansion.
Back-end Developer
2018 - 2021, Leads.io, Hoorn, NH
- Developed in-house systems managing campaigns, finances, and client portal insights.
- Primarily focused on the finance system, client portal, and central API integrations.
- Helped elevate Leads.io's status as a leading international lead agency.
Full-stack Developer
2016 - 2017, Betty Blocks, Alkmaar, NH
- Worked on a drag-and-drop web application platform.
- Transitioned from Ruby to Elixir (Phoenix) with a focus on functional programming.
Full-stack Developer
2016, Code24, Alkmaar, NH
- Enhanced features for mConsole, a robust medical web application.
- Gained experience with Zend and ExtJS (Sencha).
Full-stack Developer
2015 - 2016, Quickwins (DataOrbis now), Heerhugowaard, NH
- Developed client measurement apps using Cordova for iPad stands nationwide.
- Transitioned from Java (Android) to PHP & JavaScript with a focus on Laravel and Cordova.