I like to know how things work.
I'm RJ (Robert James) Palombo. I've been taking things apart and putting them back together since I got my first Nintendo (yes, I had an Atari and a ColecoVision too, and somehow never took those apart). I never grew out of it.
I've worked in technology since 1998. Today I lead solution architecture and AI enablement for sales technology at a large enterprise. I guide architects and development teams and design shared capabilities that many teams build on, so the work isn't limited to any single platform.
My day-to-day spans enterprise architecture, data, integration and Salesforce, where I hold multiple certifications. I also lead how my group adopts AI: showing teams what's possible, what good practice looks like and where the guardrails go.
I'm still hands-on. I write code, prototype ideas and build my own apps. The latest is FasTune, an instrument tuner for iPhone and Apple Watch.
Away from work I play guitar, run a small home lab and network, get outside every chance I get and travel when I can. More on that below.
About this site
This is my personal home on the web and the place I write. If you're looking for consulting help, that's RJP Solutions. Otherwise, say hello or find me on LinkedIn.
The other half of the story.
Technology pays the bills, but this is what fills the rest of the week.
Guitar
I picked up a guitar at 12 and never really put it down. It's still how I unwind after a long day of architecture reviews. Every so often I get to play out at local venues and events, which is a different kind of nerve-wracking from a board presentation, and a lot more fun.
Playing since age 12On the water
Kayaking and boating whenever the weather cooperates. A quiet morning on the water is the best reset I know.
Travel
Castles, coastlines and anywhere with a good story. The photo up top is from Dunnottar Castle on the northeast coast of Scotland.
Tinkering
It started with that Nintendo and never stopped. These days the taking-things-apart happens at home, and most of it runs around the clock.
The home lab
A pair of Linux servers I built and run myself. A reverse proxy sits in front of my own file sync, notes sync and other self-hosted services, and central logging plus a mail relay let the boxes tell me when something needs attention.
The network
I've been designing and running networks since long before the cloud made it optional. At home that means a three-node mesh Wi-Fi network on its own subnet, encrypted DNS, and a private mesh VPN so I can reach everything securely from anywhere.
Web servers
From IIS and Apache in the early days to the server that hosts this site today. I still manage my own web hosting for a handful of sites, including this one.
Building things
A Voron 2.4 3D printer I built from a kit, wiring and firmware included, and Arduino projects like a Bluetooth MIDI foot controller and a garage parking sensor.
And yes, I'm still an Apple nut. Most of my favorite gear has an Apple logo on it.
The original About pageWritten August 6, 2011 · last updated June 23, 2018
I love technology. You could say I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to tech. I'v been trying to take things apart and put them back together ever since I received my first Nintendo. Now I know what you are thinking - yes, I had Atari and ColecoVision too. For some reason I never took those apart.
I consider myself a "code monkey". I love to learn new languages and keep up on what is current in the development world and try to join as many local meet-ups as I can.
Other than tech, I've been playing guitar since the age of 12. Sometimes I even find myself playing out at local venues or events. I love the outdoors (golf, kayaking, boating, etc..). Whenever I have free time and weather permits I try to make it out as often as possible. I'm also quite the Apple® nut. Almost all of my favorite tech gizmos including the one I'm writing on was developed by Apple®.
On to more boring topics; in my professional life, I'm a Solutions Architect with a proven track record in the architecture & development of enterprise level applications, expert level technical translation/communication skills, and the mentor, coach & management of high performing development teams. Some of my specialties include:
- Salesforce.com Administration/Development (Certified Advanced Developer / Platform Developer II)
- SalesLogix Administration/Development (Certified Web/Lan Developer)
- Web Application Development
- iPhone/iPad and Hybrid Mobile Application Development
- Wordpress Customization
- Web Server Setup/Administration (IIS/Apache)
- Network Design/Administration/Installation
- Development/Scripting Languages: Java, Groovy, Scala, Swift, C#, APEX, JavaScript, JSON, XML, HTML5, CSS, VisualForce, SOQL, SOSL, SQL, PHP, VBScript, VB.Net, too many more to list them all...
Thanks for reading!
-RJ (Robert James Palombo)