Jeremy Townson
Senior Software Engineer · Bank of America UK · 20+ years in industry ·
Maths-trained mind, software-engineered career
Physics Meets Code
In the early 2000s, a director's question changed everything:
"Did I want to be a Physicist designing MRI magnets or a software engineer?"
It was the dotcom boom, Java was sexy, and Jeremy chose software.
The physicist never left. Jeremy learned that software embeds design patterns like
physical systems do, and that shedding complexity works as well in code as it does
in mathematics.
Core Expertise
- Application Architecture Designing robust, maintainable systems that resist degradation with time.
- Technical Leadership Leading cross-functional teams, coordinating and mentoring developers across multiple geographies.
- Process Automation Improving efficiency and reducing budgets through smart process design and automation.
- ML & Data Streaming Systems Machine learning applications, low-latency messaging, and high-throughput REST APIs.
A Career-Defining Choice
"Software engineering is more than moving bytes."
Languages & Technologies
Deepest expertise in the JVM ecosystem. Significant experience across mainstream languages.
Programming Languages
- Scala
- Java
- Kotlin
- Python
- C++
- TypeScript
Bank of America
Lead Developer
What He Built
Designed and built a service to stream real-time equity and bond movements to front
and back-office systems, written in Scala on a proprietary event-based streaming
library akin to Flink, with Python tooling.
Key Impact
Delivered significant improvements in performance, reliability and data quality over
the incumbent system, introducing idioms and algorithms new to the firm.
Input Output (IOHK)
Scala Developer
Self-Sovereign Identity
Developed a self-sovereign identity system in Scala and a digital credentials mobile
application in Kotlin.
Domain Exposure
Deep exposure to cryptography, cryptocurrencies and network protocols at the cutting
edge of decentralised technology.
Career Timeline
- Siemens, Magnet Design Engineer (1998-2004) Physicist designing superconducting MRI magnets; C++/Fortran FEA software and Java desktop app.
- Logica, Technical Architect (2004-2006) Design authority on a multi-million telecoms project; Oracle developer on the NHS SPINE.
- Nature Publishing Group, Senior Developer (2006-2008) Technical lead coordinating UK, USA and India teams for Nature's online journal platform.
- T-Mobile UK & International (2008-2010) Design and development on high-volume telecoms and payment systems.
- Springer / Nature Publishing (2010-2014) Scala/Java contract on a high-volume publishing platform; witnessed the shift from print to a leading online publisher.
- Potentially, CTO, Telefonica-funded startup (2014-2015) Co-founder; led product development including a novel ML app to infer team metrics from digital footprints.
- RBC Capital Markets (2015-2016) Senior developer on an Oracle data warehouse ingesting rates, credit, equities, commodities and FX trades.
- Aimia Inc (2016-2017) Rewards targeting software for Nectar card and Air Canada miles; Apache Spark, AWS and microservices.
- Bank of America Merrill Lynch (2017-2018) Business-critical equities trade settlement service; contributed to the bank's event-sourcing platform.
Education
MPhil, Physics
Oxford Brookes University. Postgraduate research in physics, the analytical foundation
underpinning Jeremy's entire engineering career.
BSc, Mathematics & Physics
Oxford Brookes University. A dual-discipline degree combining rigorous mathematical
thinking with applied physical science.
What Sets Jeremy Apart
Physics-Trained Thinking
A mathematical mindset applied to software, finding elegant, minimal solutions to complex problems.
20+ Years Across Domains
Finance, telecoms, publishing and marketing, with broad industry exposure and deep technical roots in the JVM ecosystem.
User Value First
Complexity reduction and quality are not just principles, they are habits that benefit users and companies alike.
Get in Touch
Interested in working together or learning more about Jeremy's experience? Reach out directly.
