Hi, I'm Kalob Taulien 👋

Full-stack Python engineer building thoughtful software and practical AI.

I build applications, APIs, and intelligent systems that solve real problems. I've been coding since 1999, contributing to open source, building products, and teaching people along the way.

Explore My Work Get to Know Me
Kalob Taulien, smiling, in a dark denim shirt
// est. 1999

Since 1999

Writing code and figuring out how the web works.

750,000+

People taught how to code.

Wagtail Core Team

Helping build and support an open-source Django CMS.

// Experience across established technology organizations, startups, and open-source communities.

// 01 — What I build

From complicated problems to software that makes sense.

01

Python & Backend Engineering

Django, APIs, backend architecture, SQL/NoSQL databases, integrations, reliability, and scalable applications.

See expertise 02

Applied AI & Intelligent Search

LLMs, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, embeddings, vector databases, hybrid retrieval, reranking, and practical AI integrations.

See expertise 03

Full-Stack & Mobile Applications

Modern JavaScript, React, React Native, Expo, frontend engineering, and cross-platform applications.

See expertise 04

Platforms & Commerce

Wagtail CMS, Shopify applications, content platforms, business integrations, and custom developer tooling.

See expertise

// 02 — Selected work

Things I've built, contributed to, and learned from.

All projects →
Search interface screenshot
PythonPostgreSQLpgvectorLLMs

AI-Powered Knowledge Retrieval

Finding the right answer inside a pile of documents, with the sources to prove it.

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LearnWagtail.com screenshot
WagtailDjangoPython

LearnWagtail.com

Teaching developers Wagtail CMS when good, current learning material was hard to find.

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Mobile app screenshot
React NativeExpoMapsAudioPostGIS

Cross-Platform Meeting Finder

Helping people find meetings near them from a large global dataset, on any phone.

Explore project

// 03 — The business perspective

Good software solves the right problem.

I've spent time in startups, agencies, established engineering teams, and my own businesses. One thing I've learned is that writing code is only part of the job. Understanding people, priorities, and the problem you're solving matters just as much.

  1. 01 Understand the problem before choosing the technology.
  2. 02 Make decisions for users, not just developers.
  3. 03 Build systems that people can actually maintain.

// 04 — Teaching & open source

I also teach a few people how to code.

More than 750,000 of them, actually.

I run LearnWagtail.com, help maintain Wagtail as part of its core development team, and have been teaching web development since 2012.

Teaching keeps my engineering honest. Clear documentation, good mentorship, and calm code review all come from the same skill: explaining why something works.

Visit LearnWagtail ↗ Wagtail core team ↗

// 05 — Writing

Notes from a curious engineer.

All writing →
Practical AI Building RAG Systems That Actually Find the Right Information Python & Django Why Django Is Still My Favourite Backend Framework Business & Perspective The Business Problem Matters More Than the Framework

Got an interesting problem?

I enjoy thoughtful conversations about engineering, AI, startups, and what we can build next.

Let's Talk