Michigan | Remote

Engineering
High-Availability
Solutions.

I am Matthew (David) Rich, a Systems Architect & Optimization Engineer. I leverage first-principles engineering to rescue failing infrastructure, optimize technical debt, and aggressively reduce operational expenditures.

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Transforming Technical Debt into Scalable Assets.

My expertise lies in rapidly acquiring new technical domains to solve complex bottlenecks across software, hardware, and physical workflows. I don't just maintain systems; I tear them down to their fundamentals and rebuild them for maximum efficiency and minimum cost.

From slashing cloud expenditures by 97.5% to engineering hardware COGS down by over 90%, my focus is always on delivering massive financial and operational ROI through aggressive insourcing and process design.

10+
Years of Systems
Optimization

Infrastructure & SRE

High-Availability (HA) Design, Cloud-to-Local Migration, Distributed Systems, Edge Computing.

Engineering & Hardware

Python, SQL, C++, PCB Design, Thermodynamics, System Architecture.

Operational Leadership

Strategic Vendor Elimination, Technical Debt Reduction, Workflow Automation.

Crisis Management

Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Backlog Eradication, Incident Response.

Professional Impact

Systems Overhaul Consultant

Confidential Educational Institution
Nov 2025 – Present

Recruited for a specialized turnaround initiative to rescue and stabilize failing enterprise technical infrastructure.

  • Insourcing & Strategic Vendor Elimination: Personally absorbed 90%+ of outsourced support volume, successfully eliminating a $160k/year external vendor contract by bringing core IT capabilities entirely in-house.
  • Crisis Management: Audited and systematically eliminated a 6-year operational ticket backlog within the first 120 days.
  • Cross-Functional Leadership: Expanded technical coverage footprint to seamlessly support four independent departments previously suffering from resource starvation.

Lead Systems Architect

Open World Outcomes, LLC
2020 – Present

Direct an engineering consultancy specializing in high-stakes infrastructure, SRE, and technical debt elimination for startup, government, and international development clients.

  • Hardware Architecture & COGS Reduction (Confidential Startup): Rapidly acquired PCB design capabilities to completely re-engineer unit hardware, slashing unit COGS from $1,500 to $65-$100 while increasing throughput, shrinking physical footprint, and enabling Over-The-Air (OTA) updates.
  • Supply Chain & Warranty Optimization: Designed a $5 user-swappable modular component that entirely eliminated $500 warranty replacement units and the need for expensive on-site technician travel.
  • Lead Engineer to Fractional CTO (BeFriendMe, LLC): Architected IoT device integration and core security protocols. Delivered the foundational technology and architecture that drove company valuation from <$1M to over $10M and successfully secured pivotal government contracts.
  • Edge Architecture (Liberia MAN Project): Designing and deploying a private Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) for a technical school to facilitate high-speed educational resource distribution in a zero-internet environment.
  • Cloud OPEX Reduction: Engineered a comprehensive AWS migration and data compression strategy for a high-growth startup, reducing monthly cloud infrastructure expenditures by 97.5%.

Tech Support - Field Services

Oakland Schools
2016 – 2018
  • Managed deployment and maintenance for a network of 10,000+ devices across 3 primary facilities.
  • Audited existing onboarding workflows and developed automated equipment management solutions, successfully reducing total device deployment time by 70%.

Contract Process Engineer

FCA Group (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles)
2012 – 2014
  • Manufacturing Optimization: Engineered and executed two major process optimization initiatives for high-volume manufacturing lines, with each project independently generating millions of dollars in annual operational savings.
  • Workflow Automation: Architected and deployed automated Engineering Work Order (EWO) tracking software as an independent, proactive initiative, slashing redundant data entry by 90% and permanently reclaiming thousands of engineering man-hours.

Education

Oakland University

Undergraduate Studies in Mechanical Engineering (Thermodynamics focus)

Circuit Design & Analysis Programming & Algorithm Design Process Optimization Industrial Engineering Software Design

Ready to Optimize?

Whether you need to rescue failing infrastructure, eliminate technical debt, or radically reduce operational costs, I build systems that solve the root problem.

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