Tom Chen / Backend & data engineering
I turn complex market data into software people can inspect and use.
My work includes live data collectors, financial research tools and backend integrations with AI services.
01 / Featured projects
Independent / Market data infrastructure
I built a system that collects live cryptocurrency market data from multiple exchanges, stores it for analysis and checks it for gaps and errors.
How I built itOne documented FOMC event capture
Captured around one U.S. Federal Reserve policy announcement. Figures apply to that capture.
Independent product & research
I built a dashboard that organizes financial news, economic events and market information so they can be reviewed together.
Explore the workContract part-time
I contribute backend services, database models and AI service integrations to a shared product for generative video workflows.
Explore the work02 / Technical skills
Applied in independent research projects and collaborative backend work.
Python, FastAPI and REST APIs for backend services and integrations with external AI providers.
PostgreSQL, SQLAlchemy and Alembic for application data. Parquet and DuckDB for stored market data and analysis.
TypeScript, WebSocket and Linux for live collection. Git/GitHub, Cloudflare Workers and D1 for collaboration, APIs and event history.
03 / Engineering notes
Systems reliability · 6 min read
Stopping a collector at the wrong moment can interrupt storage or leave background workers running. A dedicated Linux service needs to handle shutdown as carefully as collection.
Read noteMarket data engineering · 5 min read
A connection can reopen while the local order book still lacks updates from the interruption. Research can reach the wrong conclusion if that interval is treated as complete.
Read noteGet in touch
I'm interested in backend, data engineering, market systems and AI integration opportunities.
Email Tom