Sterling Schwieger
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Curriculum Vitae

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Sterling B. Schwieger

Senior IT Engineer · Full-Stack Developer · Platform Architect
St. Cloud, MN 56301

Career Overview

Senior IT engineer and full-stack developer with 30+ years across the computer industry — hardware and enterprise-systems support, cross-platform software development, and website design and development. In recent years I've focused on self-hosted AI infrastructure and platform engineering: architecting and building Glass, a 16-microservice RMM/PSA platform, and deploying open-weight foundation models locally on enterprise GPU clusters. I take projects from concept through deployment and maintenance, work equally well in small teams or independently, and take pride in my work.

Qualifications

  • AI & open-source LLM infrastructure — deploying, hosting, and optimizing open-weight foundation models locally on enterprise clusters and high-end consumer hardware.
  • Software development & design — full-stack development, architecture design, and containerized deployments.
  • Infrastructure & hardware — desktops, laptops, servers, cluster hardware, storage systems, and networking.
  • Systems & automation — advanced script orchestration (Bash, VBA, PowerShell) and system optimization.
  • Project ownership — taking complex projects from concept to deployment and maintenance.

Flagship Project

Glass — Self-Hosted MSP Platform · Beta, in active development

PHP · Go · Python · JavaScript · SQL · Lead / Sole Engineer
  • Architected and built 16 independently deployable microservices (~29 Docker containers, ~120K LOC) covering ticketing, RMM, CMDB, billing, telephony, and security.
  • Designed a local-AI intelligence layer on GPU (Ollama): ticket triage, email classification, Whisper transcription, and an NLP→SQL report builder over 70+ tables.
  • Implemented a Dual-LLM privilege-isolation pattern that screens untrusted input for prompt injection before any privileged model runs.
  • Built semantic search/RAG with 768-dim pgvector embeddings, event-driven Redis pub/sub, and centralized JWT/OIDC + MFA authentication.
  • Ongoing: released continuously under CalVer; features and versions continue to evolve as the platform matures.

Technical Skills

AI & LLM Infrastructure (2+ yrs): Ollama, open-weight models (Llama, Mistral), custom Modelfiles, GPU passthrough, quantization
Specialized Hardware (2+ yrs): NVIDIA DGX Spark (unified-memory architectures), high-end consumer GPUs (RTX series)
Backend & Core Dev (5+ yrs modern): PHP, Go, PostgreSQL, Redis, Symfony Messenger; legacy Fortran 4, Visual FoxPro
Automation & Scripting (30+ yrs): Bash, Excel VBA, PowerShell, shell scripting, DOS
Web & Full-Stack (21+ yrs): HTML5, CSS3, XML, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Go, responsive web design
Virtualization & DevOps (5+ yrs): Docker, Docker Compose, VMware, VirtualBox, Hyper-V
Operating Systems (30+ yrs): Windows Server, Linux (Ubuntu/Debian), Unix, macOS, DOS, VM
Mobile & Hardware Dev (6+ yrs): Android Studio, Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, Java, Arduino, Raspberry Pi

Work Experience

Senior IT Engineer & Software Developer — Computer Repair Unlimited (CRU Technology)

St. Cloud, MN · 08/2021 – 07/2026
  • Platform architecture: lead architect and developer for Glass, an enterprise-grade, proprietary RMM and PSA platform built to replace commercial IT-management software.
  • Full-stack development: engineered, deployed, and maintained core application logic on a modern stack — PHP, Go, PostgreSQL, Docker, Redis, and Symfony Messenger on amd64 Linux servers.
  • Local AI integration: built localized AI environments to run open-weight foundation models, managing GPU passthrough and optimizing memory residency on dedicated hardware clusters and high-end desktop GPUs.
  • Model orchestration: designed custom Bash frameworks to hot-swap large language models, adapting to hardware constraints such as unified-memory allocations and VRAM ceilings.
  • Data-pipeline engineering: implemented a real-time sync pipeline ingesting call metadata, SMS, voicemails, and audio from UniFi Talk into local storage via custom systemd services and audio-conversion workflows.
  • Infrastructure optimization: executed a container-sanitation project, retiring duplicate and non-compute containers to maximize cluster efficiency.
  • Workflow automation & agentic development: built Bash orchestration and Excel VBA macro engines for bulk email campaigns, and integrated AI-assisted engineering into the dev lifecycle for multi-file refactoring and documentation.

Senior Engineer, Hughes — WorldWide TechServices LLC

Tewksbury, MA · 10/2004 – 09/2021
  • Provided break/fix and desk-side support for major global technology brands — Dell consumer and enterprise systems, Hughes Network Systems, Apple, Canon, Cisco, EMC, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Lexmark, and Toshiba.

Computer Consultant — Sterling Internet Solutions

St. Cloud, MN · 08/1987 – Current
  • Designed and developed the adVenture software component for the auditing textbook "Auditing: Concepts for a Changing Environment" (2nd ed.) using Visual Basic 6, Excel, and Access.
  • Redesigned and updated the Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula, CA) website and the DISC Information Services Corp. web platform.
  • Managed programming, marketing, consulting, and responsive web development for regional clients including Dennis Warner and St. John Cantius Church.
  • Consulted with Midwest Professional Satellite Systems on VSAT, WAN, distance-learning, and network installations for enterprises such as Ford Credit and regional dealerships across MN and IA.

Senior Computer / Satellite Technician — Zylla Consulting Group

St. Cloud, MN · 02/2001 – 10/2004
  • Provided on-site computer and satellite break/fix and installation services; served as a primary subcontractor for WorldWide TechServices before transitioning to a direct role in 2004.

Director / Senior Programmer — United Systems, Inc. / RtVision, Inc.

Pierz, MN · 03/1993 – 09/2000
  • Led R&D of new software products, establishing system specifications and technical documentation.
  • Designed and deployed a cross-platform (Mac/PC) CD-based Parts Book/Manuals database using Visual FoxPro, Adobe Acrobat, and Macromedia Director; planned its migration to corporate Intranet/Internet.
  • Programmed interactive application training software with Macromedia Authorware, Asymetrix ToolBook, HTML, and JavaScript.

Debugger / Programmer — Merry Mechanization, Inc.

Forest Lake, MN · 03/1991 – 02/1993
  • Debugged, tested, and added core functionality to proprietary CAD/CNC code-generator software using Fortran 4.

Education & Training

Google IT Support Professional Certificate

Coursera (Online)

Computer Hardware Certifications

Waite Park, MN
  • 200+ individual vendor certifications (Dell, IBM/Lenovo, Hughes, HP) for servicing laptops, desktops, enterprise servers, storage arrays, printers, and network communications.

Computer Information Technology (coursework)

Minnesota School of Business · Waite Park, MN
  • Extensive technical training with an emphasis on web application development (degree not completed).

HP Software Training Certificate

Hewlett Packard · Atlanta, GA
  • Coursework in Workmanager, 2D/3D CAD software, and HP Allbase database systems.

Computer Science & Photo Science (coursework)

St. Cloud State University · St. Cloud, MN
  • Three years of foundational degree-focused coursework (degree not completed).

Community Involvement

St. John Cantius Church — Parish Council for 10 years (5 as President); dedicated IT systems technician for 26+ years; Cluster Integration Team and Technology Committee for 16 years; church choir member for 30 years, with performances alongside the Diocesan special-events choir at St. Mary's Cathedral.

Interests

Android application development, open-source LLM optimization, Arduino microcontroller programming, Raspberry Pi hardware projects, ongoing self-directed study of Python, C#, .NET, Go, and Java — plus digital photography, hiking, fishing, canoeing, camping, bicycling, and softball.