PITTSBURGH, PA (PTTP) – Pitt Grad Jamie Allen (‘93) has made a big name for himself through his myriad of innovative projects, initiatives, and high-end job positions.
Allen graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Information Studies program in 1993, while serving as a brother of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, and a member of the Men’s Club Rugby team. Allen also held an internship at US Steel. Allen currently gives back to the Pitt community by serving on the Pitt Alumni Association board.
Allen’s passion for the engineering industry started off when he was only thirteen-years-old living in Singapore for his love of computers and innovative technology. There, he learned all about how computers and software work and became interested in the Information Studies program at Pitt from his older siblings.
While his career didn’t kick off right away after graduation, Allen persevered and worked his way up to serving as the Director of Engineering for Starbucks. There, his main project was their online, mobile ordering and rewards system. The system started off on a rocky note, but when Allen took over, Starbucks became a part of the vast future of technology. Allen helped completely rebuild the strategy and create new technology solutions.
Allen’s career didn’t just end at Starbucks. Allen took a position with Facebook, where he built and ran software, leading to creating a new discipline out of Google, called Cyber Liability Engineering (SRE). Allen took on the opportunity and became one of the leaders of SRE in Facebook, for the way they run applications (Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.) across millions of computers.
Allen is proud of all of the success he has deemed throughout his time at Pitt and his positions at both Starbucks and Facebook. When asked to give advice to students interested in the engineering and cyber security industry, Allen claims to never give up – whether you receive a position right after graduation or a position fifteen years later, your time is always set out for you and you will reach success in your own light.
Credit: Jamie Allen