// hello world

I'm Marcelo Schmidt.
Tech builder, policy nerd,
tennis obsessed.

Argentine roots, German DNA, American by choice. 25+ years building networking infrastructure in Silicon Valley. Two patents. A robotics coach. Polyglot. Now living in Portugal, where I split my time between economics debates, clay courts, and explaining BGP routing to people who didn't ask.


01 — About

The short version

🧑‍💻

The tech side

I've spent most of my career deep in networking infrastructure, monitoring systems, and IoT platforms. I've designed BGP route servers, built asset monitoring alarm systems, and led engineering teams across startups and enterprises. I like the plumbing of the internet — the stuff nobody sees until it breaks.

🌍

The life side

Born in Argentina with German roots, became an American by choice, and built a life in Silicon Valley — the place I still call home, even when it drives me crazy. Now based in Cascais, Portugal, spending my days on clay courts, mountain biking coastal trails, reading about economics, and having opinions about monetary policy that nobody asked for.

🗣️

The languages

Spanish (castellano — the real kind), English, and enough German, Italian, and Portuguese to get into trouble in five countries. I love learning languages — there's no better way to actually understand a culture than to stumble through ordering coffee in it.

💡

The philosophy

Technology should be explained simply. Policy should be debated openly. Sports should be played frequently. Dogs should be spoiled unconditionally. I follow all four rules strictly.


02 — What I'm Into

Interests & rabbit holes

🤖

AI & Autonomous Systems

From AI agents to cybersecurity implications — how autonomous systems reshape trust, work, and infrastructure.

📡

Networking & Infrastructure

BGP, routing, IoT, monitoring — the invisible systems that keep the internet running. My first love.

📊

Economics & Policy

Fiscal policy, immigration economics, housing markets, tax strategy. I read central bank reports for fun. Don't judge me.

🏛️

Geopolitics

US-EU dynamics, migration patterns, trade policy. Living between two continents gives you a front-row seat.

🎾

Tennis

USTA rated 3.5 player, formerly competing out of Los Gatos, CA. Now grinding it out on European clay — slower courts, longer rallies, and I really should use more drop shots. Solid serve though.

🚴

Mountain Biking

Coastal trails around Sintra and Cascais. Nothing clears your head like a single-track descent with an ocean view.

🎵

Music

Classically trained vocalist, multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, drums). Former rock/pop band singer. Now I compose and record my own tracks — all instruments, one guy, one studio.

Listen to my recordings →

🔭

Physics & Space

Quantum mechanics, cosmology, astrophysics. The universe is wild and I want to understand as much of it as one lifetime allows.

🗣️

Languages

Spanish, English, German, Italian, Portuguese. Always learning. A new language is a new way to see the world (and order food).

🐕

Dogs

Three of them. They run the house. I just pay the vet bills and pretend I'm in charge.


03 — Career

Professional journey

AGE 15–22 — THE FIRST CAREER

Classical Singer & Musician 🎶

Started singing classical music at 15, then trained at Buenos Aires' legendary Teatro Colón from 18 to 21. Yes, that Teatro Colón — one of the top opera houses in the world. Also picked up guitar, piano, and drums along the way, and sang in several rock and pop bands. Eventually traded arias for algorithms, but the music never stopped. I still compose my own tracks and play all the instruments, recording everything on a multi-track setup when the mood hits.

25+ YEARS IN TECH

Networking, Infrastructure & IoT

Built and led engineering teams focused on networking infrastructure, asset monitoring, and IoT platforms across Silicon Valley. From startups to enterprise-scale systems — always working on the critical infrastructure layer that everything else depends on.

PATENTS

Two U.S. Patents

Invented systems for intelligent alarm management in infrastructure monitoring and BGP route server architectures for multi-provider networks. The kind of problems that keep network engineers up at 3 AM — I built solutions so they could sleep.

NOW

Retired in Portugal 🇵🇹

Stepped away from the corporate world, relocated to Cascais, and now focus on what actually interests me: understanding AI's impact on security and work, tracking economic policy across continents, writing about technology and immigration, and playing way too much tennis on European clay.

Patents

US 10,574,558 — Issued Feb 2020

Limiting Alarms in an Asset Monitoring System

A smart alarm suppression system that prevents alert fatigue in infrastructure monitoring. Uses one-time trigger conditions to suppress notifications until an alarm condition has been validated — reducing noise while keeping critical alerts front and center.

US 08849351.5 — Issued Nov 2007

BGP Route Server for Multi-Provider Networks

A route server architecture that connects users to multiple ISPs, maintaining multiple routing table views and BGP instances to optimize path selection. Think of it as a smart traffic director for internet routing — matching users to the best available path across competing providers.


04 — Community

Giving back

🤖

VEX Robotics — Judge & Coach

7 years coaching kids in competitive robotics. STEM education, teamwork, and the joy of watching a robot you built actually work (sometimes).

AYSO Soccer Coach

Coached elementary school kids in Palo Alto. Teaching offsides to 8-year-olds is harder than BGP configuration. I'm serious.

🏥

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Proud supporter of St. Jude's mission — no child denied treatment regardless of a family's ability to pay. Incredible people doing incredible work.