Tim Allen
Principal Engineer at The Wharton School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolTim Allen is a Principal Engineer at The Wharton School with over a decade of experience building web and data platforms for financial research, currently leading architecture and delivery for WRDS. A lifelong programmer who started on Apple II and Commodore pets, he now specializes in Python, Django, PostgreSQL, and Ansible while retaining C, SQL Server, and JavaScript fluency. He has moved from founding startups and virtual-world marketplaces to scaling secure, data-driven services used by thousands of academics and corporate clients worldwide. An active open-source contributor, his work includes upgrading Django-Bootstrap integration and improving Wagtail CMS database migrations for SQL Server compatibility. Known for blending technical depth with community building, event organization, and a knack for making people comfortable with technology, he balances engineering leadership with hands-on coding. Based in Philadelphia, he’s also a PSF/DSF member and brings an engineer’s curiosity—plus a love of loud guitar and hockey—to every project.
13 years of coding experience
24 years of employment as a software developer
Developer, SQL & PL/SQL, Developer, SQL & PL/SQL at Oracle Education CenterEpiscopal AcademyB.A., Computer Aided Information Acquisition, B.A., Computer Aided Information Acquisition at University of Pennsylvania
English, French
Stackoverflow
13,987reputation
1.4mreached
505answers
30questions
sql
top-5%
django
top-1%
heroku
top-1%
postgresql
top-5%
mod-wsgi
top-5%
python
top-1%
Github Skills (30)
database-migrations10
cms10
bootstrap10
python10
pyodbc10
django10
templater10
template-engine10
wagtail10
sql10
heroku10
database-migration10
template-tags10
apache9
postgresql9
Programming languages (16)
Github contributions (5)
zostera/django-bootstrap4
May 2017 - Jul 2018
Bootstrap 4 integration with Django.
Role in this project:
Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:17 commits, 6 PRs, 27 comments in 1 year 2 months
Contributions summary:Tim primarily focused on upgrading the Django-Bootstrap4 integration to Bootstrap 4, converting code, files, and documentation from Bootstrap 3. They updated the project's URLs and fixed various issues related to the library's configuration. A significant contribution was the addition of a new widget for rendering radio buttons as a Bootstrap 4 button group, along with associated tests and documentation. These changes indicate a focus on both frontend and backend elements of the project.
bootstrap4pythondjangobootstrap-4bootstrap
wagtail/wagtail
Sep 2015 - Nov 2020
A Django content management system focused on flexibility and user experience
Role in this project:Backend Developer
Backend DeveloperContributions:2 reviews, 10 commits, 10 PRs in 5 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Tim contributed to the Wagtail CMS by modifying backend code for database migrations, specifically for SQL Server compatibility, involving complex SQL queries. They also added a new trove classifier to `setup.py`, enhancing the project's discoverability. Additionally, the user integrated backend changes like adding a welcome page and modifying the page listing interface.
cmsmanagement-systempythondjangouser-experience
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