Hello World, I'm Matthew.
- I am a software engineer focused on improving people’s lives through technology. Even before becoming an engineer, I always focused on improving efficiency through technology in every job I have ever had. As an engineer, it has been my focus to build secure software that removes duplicate work, bad processes, and waste. Take a look at my resume, previous work, or development principles to learn more about me. Or reach out and see what I can do for your organization!
Improving people's lives with technology
The ultimate purpose for technology and software is to improve the lives of the user. But I’m sure I’m not the only one who has said the phrase “it’s great when it works” when an app has seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. My philosophy with software is that it should just work. You shouldn’t need to attend a training to use a piece of software. Instead, it should be intuitive enough to be used with limited instruction and should be self-documenting when a more complicated interface is needed.Using Technology in My Past Jobs
I have always used technology to make processes easier, even when my job had nothing to do with software development. As the 19-year-old stage manager at the magic department for a children's performance arts sleep-away camp, I developed an Access database to handle the organization of 100+ children across six magic shows to make sure that visitors could watch their kids saw their friends and half or whatever other crazy routine they had come up with. When I worked as a manager and bartender for a couple of NYC restaurants and bars, I was always the go-to for POS integration, website maintenance, and all other technology needs. I have a passion for automation and process simplification and am always evaluating if there are better ways to do things.Eliminating Duplicate Work
When I was a PC Technician, I would always be on the lookout for ways to reduce duplicate work. If I had to do the same task more than a few times, I would always evaluate if there was a way to script or otherwise automate it, and often there was. A piece of software that we had to install on each computer required running seven different MSI file as well as some registry edits and other configuration steps. I was able to script that down to five clicks of the mouse.Eliminating Bad Processes
My first task as Software Developer in my current role was to improve the process of IT Access form submission, which had a terrible compliance rate with the then-current method of emailing a PDF. I created a system to handle this process as well as automate many of the user creation steps required by our Active Directory environment. In addition, we found that the entire process of on-boarding new employees required entering the same information seven different times. I was able to expand the system to handle this which now only requires a single point of data entry for HR.Eliminating Waste
Before my work as a software developer, the HR department for my current organization used emailing PDFs around for their approval workflow. In addition, each user would typically print the PDF for their own records, creating possibly 7 different paper copies of the same document, leading to wasted time, money, and environmental harm for no good reason. The system I build them now acts as the source of truth requiring no printing whatsoever to archive the records in perpetuity.
Additional Info about other jobs
