Who am I?#
Hi there! I’m Rich.
I’m a Sr. Principal Security Engineer at Oracle OCI, a father of two, and someone driven by a simple question: “What makes this work?”
What I Do#
My days are spent exploring how we can improve Safety practices at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure—helping engineers perform their work in ways that strengthen rather than weaken our security posture. This involves deep-diving into services, experimenting with Security Chaos Engineering, and constantly questioning how we can do better.
The Path Here#
I started as a System Administrator with a focus on Network Engineering (that’s what my degree was in), but I kept gravitating toward the Security and Programming side of things. Eventually, I transitioned into a Linux Engineer role with a DevOps focus—think SRE meets DevSecOps.
Somewhere along the way, I got consumed by the world of Security. I wanted to understand the hackers, their mindset, how they think. I threw myself into red teaming, CTFs, anything I could get my hands on to understand security best practices and, more importantly, how to break things apart.
Beyond the Terminal#
Car Hacking#
That childhood question—“How does this work?"—never really left me. I bought a project car to work on, and it’s become one of my favorite forms of escapism. I’ve done everything from basic maintenance (rocker cover gaskets, anyone?) to more ambitious upgrades: retrofitting the most advanced infotainment system the car permits, implementing an Android system, adding cruise control, and even designing and 3D printing a custom pedestal for a rear dashcam mount using CAD. There’s something deeply therapeutic about working with your hands on something tangible.
Keyboards & PCBs#
My journey into mechanical keyboards started in an unlikely place: an offsite in Cancun, Mexico, where my former boss introduced me to split keyboards. The concept seemed completely alien—a keyboard split down the middle into two halves?
Later, working with Lucas Contreras, I discovered the Corne keyboard (crkbd) and realized there was an entire world out there. That’s when I went down the rabbit hole.
My first split was a ZSA Moonlander—functional but bulky. Then my former boss showed me the ZSA Voyager, and it blew my mind. I built my first Corne in October 2025, then a Lily58. To date, I’ve built 8 keyboards, and I’m not stopping anytime soon.
This obsession with keyboards has led me deeper into Engineer ergonomics—something I’m so passionate about that I’d like to write a book about it one day.
The Tools I Use#
I fundamentally work with Go these days, though I’ve spent plenty of time with Python and Ruby. I’m exploring Rust when time permits, but Go has become my go-to language. I can’t wait for my children to want to learn programming—Python will be my teaching language of choice.
Beyond programming, I work with:
- Proxmox, QEMU for virtualization
- Terraform, Chef, Ansible for infrastructure provisioning
- Kubernetes and Docker for micro-services management
- API and CLI design architecture—interfaces matter
- 3D Printing on a Bambu P1S with various Slicers and CAD with Fusion360
- PCB Design with Kicad
Why This Blog?#
I’m just documenting my journey in life. Since college and university, I’ve been driven by learning more. I consider myself a generalist—a bit picky about what I learn, but versed in a wide variety of topics. I like to write, learn, study, contemplate, and dream of new ideas.
This blog is where I put those thoughts down.
Get in Touch#
Feel free to reach out via email or connect on GitHub. I’m always happy to chat about security, keyboards, cars, ergonomics, or whatever else sparks curiosity.