Portrait of Miguel Velez
About Miguel

I build systems
that don’t shout.

Current focus on custom software, AI automation, and cloud infrastructure — workflows to automate procedures.

How I work

Four principles, learned slowly.

Systems serve people first.

01

The best architectures optimize for the humans who work inside them — operators, technicians, auditors. A clever diagram is meaningless if a field tech can’t use it on a weak cellular connection.

Hand-built beats off-the-shelf.

02

Every AI assistant, every automation, every piece of custom software I’ve shipped is hand-coded. Full source-code control, zero third-party platforms between the problem and the solution.

Boring is a compliment.

03

Power Automate instead of yet another SaaS. Windows Server where Windows Server fits. Novelty is expensive; boredom is cheap and — ten years in — quietly excellent.

Built to run, not to require me.

04

If a system needs me to keep it alive, it’s not done. The best things I’ve shipped have run for two, five, ten years with virtually zero maintenance. That’s the bar.

Trusted voices

What clients say.

Miguel always provided dependable technical support, and everything went smoothly and worked exactly as expected. I appreciated how straightforward the process was from start to finish.

Jamil Salomon
Jamil Salomon
Wellspring Capital

Highly professional, deeply knowledgeable, and patient throughout the entire engagement. Miguel listened carefully, explained options clearly, and delivered without surprises.

Edwin Lee
Edwin Lee
Independent Client

Extremely reliable and efficient throughout the entire project. A straightforward process from start to finish — the kind of partner you come back to whenever the next thing comes up.

Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings
Fire Safety Alarms, Inc.

Miguel is the rare kind of technologist who actually hears what you are trying to accomplish before reaching for the toolbox. The result worked on day one and kept working.

Chuck Wimbley
Chuck Wimbley
Independent Client

Miguel always provided dependable technical support, and everything went smoothly and worked exactly as expected. I appreciated how straightforward the process was from start to finish.

Jamil Salomon
Jamil Salomon
Wellspring Capital

Highly professional, deeply knowledgeable, and patient throughout the entire engagement. Miguel listened carefully, explained options clearly, and delivered without surprises.

Edwin Lee
Edwin Lee
Independent Client

Extremely reliable and efficient throughout the entire project. A straightforward process from start to finish — the kind of partner you come back to whenever the next thing comes up.

Michael Jennings
Michael Jennings
Fire Safety Alarms, Inc.

Miguel is the rare kind of technologist who actually hears what you are trying to accomplish before reaching for the toolbox. The result worked on day one and kept working.

Chuck Wimbley
Chuck Wimbley
Independent Client
A short timeline

How I got here, roughly.

Two decades, three roles, and one city. The longer version is in the resume.

2004
Started as Systems Administrator at Bentax Services — Windows Server rooms and 60 workstations, learning the fundamentals on the job.
2010
Went independent. Consulting across network engineering, system administration, and cybersecurity for small-business clients.
2014
Joined Fire Safety Alarms, Inc. Designed the inventory platform (FSA v1.4) that still runs daily operations today.
2022
Built the SDU-4 extraction tool — the first of several hand-coded tools that replaced proprietary access with shareable reports.
2023
Shipped first production AI assistants hand-coded with direct OpenAI API integration. No wrappers, no third-party platforms.
2024
Architected the Azure zero-trust network — WireGuard, Samba, firewall rules, all configured from scratch. On-premise replaced.
Beyond the work

Other rooms I spend time in.

Learning

Currently deepening my work with LLM evaluation, agentic frameworks, and prompt engineering. New tools come in weekly; the fundamentals stay the same.

Safety systems

Seven active certifications across NICET, EST, FDNY, NYC DOB, and OSHA — fire-safety and life-safety is where theory meets consequence.

Cities

Manhattan-based, working across the NYC Metro Area. I like work that keeps a city running behind the scenes — unglamorous, essential, specific.

Let’s talk

Got a vision?
Let’s bring it to life.

Whether it’s a legacy system that’s outlived its usefulness or something greenfield waiting to be shaped — I’d like to hear about it.

Start a conversation