Xander Vertegaal (* 1992, Nijmegen) completed his bachelor in Classical Languages at Radboud University Nijmegen and a Research Master in Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Leiden University (both summa cum laude). He completed his doctorate at Leiden University on the historical phonology of the Anatolian languages under the guidance of prof. dr. Alwin Kloekhorst and prof. dr. Alexander Lubotsky. After a few postdoctoral contracts, he switched to software engineering, working as a full-stack web developer (Python/Django, TypeScript/Angular) at Vasio BV in The Hague.

Currently, he is a software developer at the Centre for Digital Humanities, dividing his time between the Research Software Lab and the Portal Development Team. At the lab, he collaborates with scientists from the Humanities, both in Utrecht and abroad, to develop digital tools that support research in the humanities: databases, research tools, applications for data visualisation and others. He also offers consultation on research software-related projects and grant applications. At the Portal Development Team, his tasks include the creation and maintenance of online portals for academic and non-academic staff.