Hi, I’m Tobias.

I am a backend developer, and I spend most of my time building fast and powerful web APIs. Sometimes I also build the matching frontends and websites. If that’s something you need, come talk to me: I work as a freelancer and contractor, and I’m always happy to take on new challenges.

Projects

Given a choice, I usually build my APIs and backends with Python, for the most part with Django. My frontend development focus is vue.js or plain minimal JavaScript, depending on the project I work with.
The following projects showcase what I do and how I work – (see also: my CV):

pretalx

pretalx is an open source conference management system. I built it for the most part on my own, with Django. It features a classic Django backend, with an additional RESTful API. The frontend is primarily plain HTML with equally plain JavaScript, but the parts requiring more flexibility, like the conference schedule, are written in Vue.js.

Additionally, I offer a successful hosted pretalx instance, for which I also take care of system administration work, like securing the service, providing updates and taking care of backups. I also provide customer support, so I’m no stranger to helping people solve their problems and figure out their use-cases and requirements.

Venueless

Venueless is an open source virtual conference platform that I created with two friends following the 2020 pandemic. Its backend is written in Django, but uses WebSockets and asynchronous messaging instead of older technologies, to provide seamless real-time communications. The frontend is a Vue.js SPA. Venueless, despite being created by a small team under significant pressure, has turned out to be a well-rounded and successful project used by a wide variety of conferences and events.

Maintenance and updates

Another part of my work is maintaining and updating existing projects. Usually on a retainer basis, I provide ongoing support and development for a number of clients. The focus here is usually on assuring library and security updates are applied promptly, and being available for debugging in case of suddenly occurring issues in production. This kind of work is a good fit for established, long-running projects, but can also start with projects still under development to free up the developers to focus on new features, while I take care of the maintenance.

Training

I’m also offering developer training for advanced use of git and Django, for example for the city of Ulm, Germany. These training events cover topics like best practices, security issues, workflow design to fit the company in question, seamless migrations from older systems, and much more.

Risk-assessment questionnaire

A good showcase for a typical consulting project: The risk-assessment questionnaire for the German Insurance Association to determine the cyber risk of businesses of various sizes and occupations, currently in operation here. I took on the entire development of this project, consisting of a Django-based REST API and a Vue.js frontend ready to be embedded in the final site. I collaborated with two other freelancers, one who handled the project management (customer contact, requirements) and one who handled the more involved parts of the frontend visualisation. As such, it is a good demonstration of a standard project, in terms of technology, size, collaboration, and result.

Plugins

pretix-swap, pretix-juvare-notify and pretix-question-placeholders are just some of the commissioned plugins I’ve developed for the pretix ticket shop system.

Contributions

I enjoy contributing to open source software, and most of my projects are available on GitHub and similar platforms. You can see my contributions to other open-source projects there, like Django, pretix, or Warehouse.

Talks and engagement

In my free time, I help run community conferences like MRMCD, Chaos Communication Congress, or DjangoCon Europe 2018. I’m generally active in the open source community, especially in the Python/Django communities, where I participate at conferences, write blog posts, help moderate the Django community Discord, and am a member of the Django Software Foundation.

I’ve given a range of conference talks. You can see the full list here, including the keynote for the 2019 PyCon UK, and the Opening for the 2018 Chaos Communication Congress.

If you want to know more about me, you can head over to my blog or (to get to know the real me) to my book blog.

Contact

I prefer email as an initial point of contact, where you can reach me by email at r [at] rixx [dot] de, but since German websites have to list a phone number, you can also reach me at my office phone at tel:+4971549602404.
For traditional mail, please use

If social media is more your kind of thing, you can find me on Twitter and on my Mastodon instance, or for more formal purposes on GitHub or LinkedIn.

Privacy Policy

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