Out of universe, what made the Star Trek: Voyager creators/producers develop the role of the Conn Officer? In TOS, the role was different (a helmsman and navigator) and on the the Enterprise-D, Enterprise-E and Defiant the Conn Officers were a wide range of characters that rarely held the position for long.

Was Tom Paris's back story the only reason he got to be a prominent pilot? Was it because Voyager was in the Delta Quadrant, though navigational decisions did not seem to be his? Was it purely to try to be different?

Perhaps the answer is 'all of the above,' but I'd love to know if there is a clearer, defined reason given by the producers.