ptrck@nskm.xyz · +221 78 145 0048 · Blog · Mastodon · Code
Software engineer with 9+ years of professional experience, passionate about free software and with a growing interest in writing & teaching. I build things with Python, I break things with curiosity, and I try to leave every codebase better than I found it. Based in Dakar, Senegal.
Skills
| Operating Systems | GNU/Linux (Debian, Ubuntu & derivatives), Void Linux |
| Programming languages | Python, SQL, Bash, Lisp |
| Databases | Sqlite, Postgresql, DuckDb, Redis, Elasticsearch |
| Frameworks & Libraries | Django, Flask, SqlAlchemy, Mypy, Pandas, Numpy, Streamlit, Pytest |
| Methodologies | Agile, Kanban, Pair programming, Devops, Lean |
| Toolbelt | Tmux, Emacs, SSH, Git, Mercurial, Podman, Nginx, Make, Tox, Gitlab CI |
| Interested in | OCaml, Rust, Go, C |
| Spoken languages | French (native), Lingala (native), English (TOEFL 2005) |
| Hobbies | Music, Reading, Writing, Journaling, Cooking, Jump rope, Kettlebells |
Experience
Institut Pasteur de Dakar
Software engineer · Dakar, Senegal · August 2023 - Present
- Developed REST APIs for the latest iteration of 4S, a syndromic surveillance system that monitors symptom clusters across West Africa to enable early detection of epidemics and public health events through real-time data analysis.
- Built REST APIs to streamline data retrieval from 96-well PCR plates (ELISA assays) for the immunology laboratory. Implemented patient data mapping systems and created data processing solutions including visualizations, reports, and analytical tables.
Dakar Institute of Technology
Programming instructor · Dakar, Senegal · Oct 2019 - Oct 2023
- Helped build what I believe will be one of the greatest programming schools in West Africa.
- Designed and developed curriculum materials tailored to learners with different skill levels.
- Delivered 30+ courses to 200+ scholars from all over Africa, covering Python programming, databases, version control, unit testing, and REST APIs.
- Assessed student progress through assignments, exams, workshops, and personal projects.
- Organized industry visits to connect students with real-world applications.
- Helped students with internship and job placement, in Senegal and Guinea.
Logilab
Software engineer · Remote · Oct 2018 - Oct 2021
- Updated and refreshed the technical documentation for the RQL package.
- Wrote and reviewed training materials (courses & exercises) for Logilab's training offerings.
- Conducted weekly pair programming and code review sessions with teammates.
- Added Python type annotations to the RQL package.
- Reviewed and migrated internal software components from Python 2 to Python 3 before the Python 2 sunsetting.
Brief.me
Software engineer · Remote · Feb 2018 - June 2018
- Authored technical documentation and provided training to end users.
- Integrated payment gateways into the brief.me and brief.eco web platforms.
- Optimized back-office performance: reduced database queries, extracted specific fields, improved response times.
- Handled system administration: web servers, SSL certificates, monitoring.
- Configured continuous deployment pipelines for all internal projects.
XCG Consulting
Software engineer · Remote · Feb 2017 - Jan 2018
- Designed and implemented feature experiments across the main Django projects.
- Explored and adopted Docker containers to streamline Django deployments.
- Handled integration work (payment gateways, currency rates, monitoring) for all in-house Django projects.
- Provided one-on-one technical support and assistance to end users.
AfricaFilms.tv
Software engineer · Dakar, Senegal · 2011 - 2016
- Worked on an innovative Video On Demand platform for selling and streaming African movies online — one of the first of its kind in Senegal.
- Built and maintained the movie catalog system.
- Integrated DRM (Digital Rights Management) to protect content from unauthorized distribution.
- Implemented payment gateway integration for online purchases and subscriptions.
- Developed the financial distribution engine that handled revenue splitting between authors, film distributors, and the platform.
The project is no longer active.
Talks
- Ecole de Geomatique 2023 — Geomatics & Python: playing with spatial data, Universite du Sine Saloum, Kaolack, Senegal.
- PyCon Africa 2019 — Python Coroutines, Accra, Ghana. The first-ever pan-African Python conference. (schedule)
Free & Open Source Contributions
I think the ability to access, modify, and distribute software freely fosters innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing. Whenever I can, I try to contribute back:
- Pandas-stubs — Improved type annotations for several methods
- Piccolo Admin — Added translations and updated Github Actions test workflows
- Typeshed — Added type stubs
- RQL — Type annotations and documentation
- Healthsites.io — Bug fixes
Education
| Institut Superieur d'Informatique (ISI) — Master in Software Engineering, BAC+5 | Dakar, Senegal · 2010 |
| Institut des Sciences de L'Ingenieur (IScI) — Bachelor in Informatics, BAC+3 | Dakar, Senegal · 2008 |
| CEDT le G15 — Certificate of Advanced Technician, BAC+2 | Dakar, Senegal · 2007 |
| Lycee Technique National Omar Bongo — Baccalaureat serie E | Libreville, Gabon · 2004 |
With time, the things that once defined me have quietly lost their weight. The more I get older, the less I care about what's on this page and more about what I'm building next. If I also take into account the fact that large language models are rapidly replacing us all, I wonder whether it's still worth keeping an up to date resume. Nonetheless if you're still curious, the PDF version of this resume is available here. It is, at least, a very beautiful document to read.