Matthew Salem · Work archive

Systems, infrastructure, technology—from the physical layer up.

I’ve spent much of my career working across IT, networking, low-voltage systems, commercial AV, automation, electrical work, and troubleshooting. More recently, that same problem-solving approach has taken me into software, infrastructure, and AI-assisted system development.

Completed equipment rack with network and AV hardware
Integrated television and audio installation over a stone fireplace
Ceiling-mounted surveillance camera at an entry
Open electrical distribution panel during work
Network switch and patch panels with organized cabling
Wide view of a finished installation site
One installation, many layers. Network, surveillance, electrical, audio, displays, and the finished room.

Capability overview

What I work with

The categories overlap because the work usually does. A network depends on the cable, the equipment, the power, the configuration, and the person who has to use it.

01

IT & Networking

Network design, routers, switches, wireless, VoIP, servers, desktop support, and troubleshooting.

02

Low Voltage & Building Systems

Structured cabling, surveillance, access control, commercial AV, distributed audio, automation, and controls.

03

Electrical & Physical Infrastructure

Residential and light-commercial wiring, power distribution, service installations, conduit, and integration.

04

Systems & Software

Linux, Docker, databases, APIs, automation, data processing, self-hosted infrastructure, and system architecture.

Working method

How I tend to work

Troubleshooting

Walking into systems I did not design, tracing how they work, and deciding what can be repaired, reused, or rebuilt.

Systems thinking

Looking past the individual device to understand the relationships, dependencies, and failure paths around it.

Learning across boundaries

Learning the technology required by the problem instead of staying inside one narrow discipline.

Physical + digital

Working on both sides of the wall: wiring, power, equipment, networks, computers, and software.

Practical implementation

Being most comfortable when something has to operate reliably in a real place for real people.

Experience snapshot

Work across the layers

A compact view of the progression. Background holds the conventional details; Journey explains how the changes connect.

2012–2020

SalemNet IT Solutions

Owner and independent contractor across IT, networking, low voltage, surveillance, access control, automation, and commercial AV.

2014–2023

Cullen Technologies

Independent consulting, desktop and remote support, network configuration, firewalls, and systems troubleshooting.

Detroit metro

Project work

Residential and commercial installations with organizations including Intellitech and Simply Tech.

2024–2026

Electrical work

Residential and light-commercial electrical installations, power distribution, wiring, service work, and physical infrastructure.

Current

Software & systems

Self-directed architecture and development across data processing, databases, containers, automation, and AI-assisted tools.

Journey preview

The work changed. The thread did not.

Each step added another layer to the same habit: understand the system, find the constraint, and learn what the problem requires.

01

Computers

02

Networks

03

Building systems

04

Electrical

05

Software

06

Current experiments

Current work · Lab

The same systems thinking, now pushed into software.

Recent projects explore how complex information can be ingested, organized, traced, and reviewed—and how specialized tools can work together without obscuring where data came from.

Open the lab
  • TraceIQ Information processing, relationships, timelines, and provenance.
  • MCP platform Shared interfaces for tools, stores, and longer-running workflows.
  • Infrastructure Databases, containers, APIs, automation, and iterative architecture.