Shawn Allen

Directed the rapid deployment of a forms management system, enabling City staff to deliver essential aid and services during the pandemic lockdown.

Developed and launched a near-real-time COVID vaccination site listing, integrating public and private data sources and translating content into Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino to serve diverse communities.

Architected and led the complete rebuild of SF.gov using Next.js and a Django/Wagtail backend, significantly enhancing performance and user experience.

Developed and integrated SF.gov's new design system (Tailwind, Storybook, Docusaurus) with the Drupal CMS, establishing a scalable and consistent user interface.

Automated AWS infrastructure deployment using Ansible and AWX, streamlining operations and improving system reliability and scalability.

Served as interim Co-Director of Technology and led dozens of engineering efforts, fostering org-wide best practices through management, mentorship, pairing, and code review for multiple teams.

Maintained, improved, and refactored GitHub's CSS framework, Primer, streamlining testing, contribution, and publishing workflows for thousands of contributors.

Reviewed hundreds of pull requests to GitHub's monolithic Rails application, ensuring consistency, accessibility, and maintainability across a decade-old codebase.

Architected Primer's React component library, laying the groundwork for dark mode on github.com by driving adoption of Primer and design tokens.

Systematically measured Primer adoption and implemented logging stats in Datadog, successfully reducing CSS footprint across the platform.

Defined and documented 18F's front-end strategy, providing technical leadership and mentorship to direct reports.

Spearheaded the development of the U.S. Web Design Standards, which became the de facto design system for dozens of federal agencies.

Refactored interactive components to leverage WAI-ARIA best practices and developed 'receptor', an open-source library still used by USWDS.

Improved documentation systems and led intake and research sessions for agencies adopting the U.S. Web Design Standards.

Designed and developed a comprehensive visualization system for energy consumption, enabling clearer data interpretation.

Created an open elections data portal for an Indonesian client, enhancing transparency and public access to electoral information.

Planned, designed, managed, and built hundreds of interactive data visualizations and maps for a diverse client base at a groundbreaking design studio.

Drove client acquisition, project management, and long-term business planning as one of three business partners.

Directed and owned the user experience (UX) discipline, leading explorations and co-developing interactive prototypes.

Collaborated with visual designers to craft delightful interfaces and with engineers to optimize runtime performance.

Engaged in public outreach through speaking and teaching, enhancing the studio's reputation and thought leadership.

Developed a proto-CMS from scratch, demonstrating early expertise in full-stack web development and system architecture.

Became an expert in Flash before ActionScript's prevalence, leveraging it to build advanced web applications for a PR firm.

Architected the first Flash-based console game front end for Maxis, contributing to innovative user experiences in gaming.

Gained proficiency in UNIX and version control, establishing a strong technical foundation for web development.