Bas Thomas Broek

bas@basbroek.nl iosdev.space/@bas github.com/BasThomas https://www.linkedin.com/in/basthomas/ basbroek.nl

Apple developer with a passion for platform work and accessibility.

Work experience

Apple

iOS & macOS Accessibility Engineer | January 2025 – Present

  • Conducting accessibility audits and providing technical guidance to engineering teams across the product development lifecycle.
  • Delivering code samples and implementation best practices to ensure internal products meet accessibility standards.

WeTransfer

Senior iOS Engineer | November 2021 – September 2024

Developed Collect & Transfer iOS and macOS applications supporting over 1 million users:

  • Implemented subscriptions on iOS; grew to 30% of subscription revenue within one year of launch.
  • Lead building an entitlements system across Apple platforms, enabling scalability and experimentation.
  • Drove revenue increases through A/B testing on file sending flows and paywalls.
  • Owned the final development phase and launched a complete rewrite of the macOS app.
  • Maintained highly-rated app (4.3+ stars) through continual UX improvements including enhanced cellular connection visibility and save-for-later functionality.
  • Implemented comprehensive accessibility support (screen readers, voice input, keyboard navigation), elevating the app to best-in-class standards presented at the Apple Academy in Naples.

Additional responsibility

  • Established accessibility guidelines and drove improvements across Android, iOS, macOS, and web
  • Trained engineering teams and facilitated user testing with assistive technology users

Apple

macOS Accessibility Engineer | November 2020 – September 2021

  • Contributed to VoiceOver for macOS and Catalyst, enhancing screen reader functionality for millions of users.
  • Developed features for VoiceOver Utility, improving user configuration and customization options.
  • Delivered system-level app accessibility improvements across macOS, improving the accessibility of many first party apps including FaceTime, Messages and Maps.

XING

iOS Engineer, Platform Team | September 2018 – October 2020
iOS Engineer, Mobile Releases Team | August 2017 – September 2018

  • Enhanced effectiveness of ~40 person iOS team developing app with over 16 million users.
  • Architected accessibility-first XING design system, significantly improving developer productivity; became engineering standard across the organization.
  • Supported development organization-wide through code reviews, API design consultation, and technical mentorship.
  • Co-founded mobile releases team, developing automated release tooling and CI infrastructure enabling bi-weekly releases with improved hotfix management.

Additional responsibility

  • Technology Advisory Board Member (2018-2020): Advised executive leadership on strategic technology decisions.

Education

Fontys University of Applied Sciences

Bachelor Computer Science | September 2013 – July 2017

Community Contributions

  • GitHawk – iOS client for GitHub, improving accessibility, bugfixes, feature development, UX improvements
  • Swift for Good book – Contributing author, accessibility
  • Moya – Network abstraction layer for Swift, migration to Swift 3, community management, release management
  • Swift Weekly Brief – Community newsletter curator (Jan 2018 – Oct 2020)

Selected Talks

  • Building an Accessibility Culture, One Step at a Time | Swift Connection 2024, France
  • (Apple) Accessibility at WeTransfer | Apple Academy Naples 2023, Italy
  • Taken For Granted | try! Swift NYC 2018, United States
  • So You’re Writing a Framework… | DO iOS 2018, Netherlands