Tama Pugsley
tama@tama.co.nz

Product-focused technical leadership from Aotearoa New Zealand

For over two decades I've been designing, building, and scaling award-winning digital products and services used by people all over the world. I've worked in digital agencies, start-ups, non-profits and large corporations building websites, payment systems, apps, geospatial software and complex enterprise solutions.

I believe great software and strong cultures are built by collaborative, empathetic, and multidisciplinary teams who stay closely connected to customer challenges and business opportunities.

Outside work I can be found hiking and biking with friends and family in Aotearoa's incredible wilderness.

Starboard
Chief Technology Officer
2019 — 2025

Starboard is world-leading maritime domain awareness software. It helps governments and organisations combat illegal fishing, prevent transnational crime, and protect offshore assets.

It’s a complex, high-performing geospatial platform that elegantly integrates 30+ data sources and ~7,000 streaming data points per second, providing a real-time view of activity across the world’s oceans.

As Chief Technology Officer, I played a key role in product development, led and developed the engineering team and culture, and ensured the Starboard platform remained secure and reliable. We had an incredible team with a close-knit, high-performing culture, consistently shipping software our customers love and rely on daily.

Winners at the 2024 New Zealand High Tech Awards for:

  • Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution
  • Hi-Tech Startup Company of the Year
Example screenshot from the Starboard app

Goodworld
Chief Technology Officer
2016 — 2019

Goodworld is an innovative fundraising platform for non-profits, originally launched as the world’s first technology enabling donations via hashtags on social media.

It’s a sophisticated system that integrates APIs from social media platforms, payment gateways, and other services, enabling non-profits to seamlessly raise funds from their supporters.

As a founding team member, I led the engineering team and built the product from the ground up, shaping its development from inception.

Example screenshot from the Goodworld app

Atomic
Senior Software Engineer
2014 — 2016

Atomic was an advanced web-based design and prototyping tool.

As a Senior Software Engineer and one of the original team members, I was involved in building the core drawing and animation tools that powered the app.

Notable work included developing the client and server components of a Git-like history feature, enabling real-time fast-forwarding and rewinding of design changes.

Example screenshot from the Atomic app

Springload
Technical Director
2005 — 2008
2011 — 2014

Springload is a full-service digital agency.

I joined Springload as the second employee and played a key role in the company’s growth into one of New Zealand’s leading digital agencies. Initially starting as a senior engineer, I transitioned into the role of Technical Director, where I drove technical innovation and strategy.

As Technical Director, I led and grew the backend, frontend, and devops teams, contributed to business strategy, and helped grow the company from a small team of four to over thirty employees. During my time at Springload, we secured major clients like Kiwibank, NZ Red Cross, and Forsyth Barr, winning multiple awards for our work.

Example screenshot from a Springload customer (Kiwibank)

Detailed work history can be found on LinkedIn.