From literary archives to Advanced Systems

The way tlmNexus Senior Software Developer Chaz Newman approaches software development reflects a career shaped by curiosity, opportunity and experience.

His professional journey began when he left college in Brighton and began working for a company specialising in document digitisation and conversion. What started as a simple scanning task soon became something far more unusual. He found himself handling antique, rare and out-of-print books, some robust enough to be guillotined and fed through scanners, others so precious they required white gloves, foot-controlled planetary scanners, and extreme care.

“It was meticulous work,” he recalls. “I spent a month working in the Tower of London scanning their archives, and later a few weeks with the Royal Geographic Society, where I remember a bell used to ring mid-morning and a lady went around with tea and biscuits on a trolley.”

Over time, his role evolved. He gradually moved into IT within the document digitisation company, starting in a junior position and working his way up through various IT roles before eventually becoming IT Manager, a role he held for nearly three years. Despite the progress and the seniority he had attained, something was missing.

“I realised what I loved most was the creative side of IT; programming, software development and building something that solves a real problem. As an IT manager, my role had become more about policies, processes and managing people. I missed the fun.”

By 2021, like many people during the Covid period, he felt ready for change. He turned to LinkedIn, looking for a role that would allow him to return to hands-on software development, even though making that shift without a formal development title wasn’t easy.

“I’d done lots of development work in practice and as a hobby, but it was hard to convince employers that I could do the job. That’s why I’m so grateful that tlmNexus gave me the chance.”

Solving problems that matter

Ask him what he does at tlmNexus, and he laughs.

“My wife and kids still don’t really know; ‘the writing on the screen’ is how they describe it.”

In simple terms, he sees his role as listening carefully to customers, understanding the problems they’re trying to solve, and building systems that genuinely make their work easier.

What does a good day look like in Chaz’s world? He says, “One where I start with a technical problem that I am not sure I can solve. By the end of the day, I have cracked about 80% of it, and the rest clicks into place as my brain works on it overnight.”

He thrives on the knotty, hidden challenges, such as getting two systems to talk to each other, translating data from one format into another; the kind of work users never see, but rely on completely.

“I love the unexpected. If someone says, ‘We’ve found a bug and need to fix it urgently,’ that’s my idea of fun.”

Despite the stereotype of developers being opaque or insular, he’s deeply collaborative. He enjoys talking to people, working through problems together, and learning from fellow developers, many of whom, he notes, originally wanted to pursue art or music.

Why tlmNexus?

A long-standing interest in aviation and a desire to support the Armed Forces drew him to tlmNexus. Working with Defence customers felt meaningful.

“There was a time I looked at big tech companies and thought they were the coolest places to be. Now I’m much more drawn to smaller companies doing important work — and staying based in Brighton mattered to me.”

Working on Defence and regulated systems brings a different rhythm. The pace is shaped by customer needs, policy requirements and risk management. Quality always comes first.

“At tlmNexus, if something isn’t right, you’re encouraged to say so. There are no shortcuts. Quality matters more than speed; things need to be right even if it takes longer.”

That philosophy was central to one of his proudest achievements: helping build Advanced Search from scratch. Starting with a small team and a blank slate, they had the freedom to design how it should behave, which is a rare opportunity.  More recently, he’s been deeply involved in NexusHub, an ambitious project designed to bring together information from multiple systems into a single, intuitive dashboard.

“The goal is to give users a clear, glanceable view of what matter such as assignments, notifications and priorities. The technical challenges are significant, and so we’re always asking: is this genuinely worth it for the customer?”

Curiosity, creativity and balance

Outside work, his creativity finds other outlets. He plays guitar, once played violin and clarinet, and still loves reading. DIY projects offer a different kind of satisfaction. Currently, he’s converting part of his garage into a wood-burning garden room. “It’ll be a child-free sanctuary,” he says, smiling.

He also enjoys vintage computer game; not modern gaming, but the older, simpler kind. And one surprising fact?

“I played Glastonbury in 2005, on the Left Field stage. Babyshambles, famously led by Pete Doherty, followed us.”

Looking Ahead

Chaz’s relationship with technology is thoughtful rather than unquestioning.

“I like what technology can do for good, but I also value a simpler, more analogue life. I don’t want tech everywhere; I want it to help us discover new things.”

What excites him most is where technology can genuinely augment human progress: space exploration, healthcare, sustainable energy.

As he puts it, “Not AI for the sake of it, but AI that helps us solve real problems.”

Curiosity is what drives him. He enthusiastically asserts that he likes being slightly uncomfortable, constantly learning, and tackling problems that feel just out of reach.

“If it ever becomes too easy,” he says, “I’d get bored.”

Fortunately for tlmNexus and its customers, boredom seems highly unlikely.