CV

About

Passionate about crafting software and systems that are robust, secure, reliable, and built to scale under real-world pressure. My path has taken me from hands-on electronics and computer repair, through system administration and founding an early ISP, into deep network engineering, and now senior programming at Schell Brothers. Along the way I’ve designed, deployed, and hardened infrastructure that quietly keeps mission-critical operations running 24/7.

I love the intersection where elegant code meets unforgiving reality — turning complex problems into clean, maintainable solutions that last. Whether it’s optimizing network backbones, locking down security postures, scaling distributed systems, or writing code that anticipates failure before it happens, the goal is always the same: systems that just work, so people can focus on what matters.

Outside the purely technical, I’m fascinated by how technology continues to blur the line between imagination and execution — poetic sci-fi slowly becoming everyday reality through smarter, more capable machines. That curiosity keeps me experimenting, reading, tinkering, and occasionally writing about the overlap of code, creativity, and the bigger questions.

• Founded and operated an independent ISP in the dial-up-to-broadband transition era — learned scalability, customer uptime, and security the hard way.
• Designed and implemented enterprise-grade network architectures that supported high-availability environments with near-zero unplanned downtime.
• Developed and maintained custom software solutions that automate critical business processes, reducing manual effort and error rates significantly.
• Led infrastructure hardening initiatives that strengthened defenses against evolving threats without sacrificing performance.
• Continuously bridge legacy systems and modern stacks, ensuring smooth evolution rather than painful rip-and-replace.
• Always happy to connect with fellow builders, thinkers, and tinkerers. If you’re working on interesting systems, exploring AI’s next chapters, or just want to talk shop (or poetry), drop a note.

Experience

• Senior PHP Programmer — Schell Brothers May 2016 – Present · Full-time · Rehoboth Beach, DE

  Continuous innovation using PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and related stacks in a production business environment.

• Vice President Business Technology / Software Engineer — Trinity Logistics Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 · Seaford, Delaware

  Architected, planned, and developed intranet/extranet systems, mobile apps, responsive websites, and data warehouses. IT/BT, high availability, web services, data transformation, Linux. PHP, Python, ColdFusion, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, PhoneGap, SQL.

• GIS / Database Programmer — Peter Angelos Law Firm Apr 2010 – Dec 2013 · Washington DC–Baltimore Area

  Built custom courtroom maps visualizing property, client, and test-result data with Google Maps, Bing Maps, ESRI/USGS topo extensions, and custom PHP/JavaScript. Integrated and developed client management systems with Symfony, PHP, jQuery, XHTML, and CSS.

• Owner — Self Employed Jan 2010 – Sep 2011 · Georgetown, DE

  Website development and design, publishing, photography, and technology consulting — drawing on decades across management and production in web development, systems, and hosting administration.

• Author & Publisher — Living the Poem 2003–present · poetry, fiction, essays

  Long-form archive of poems, prayers, stories, and reflections. Titles on Amazon; site at livingthepoem.com.

Selected writing

• Persistence of Memory for Smart Websites Essay · 2026 · metacognition, LanceDB, production architecture
• Living the Poem archive Poetry, fiction, prayers · livingthepoem.com

Contact

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
steve@srobison.com
linkedin.com/in/livingthepoem