Matthew
Kampschmidt
Engineering government-grade systems.
Leading teams that build things that matter.
Engineer. Leader.
Occasional Dungeon Master.
I'm a software engineering leader based in the Rochester, NY area, directing more than two dozen staff in mixed roles across multiple government acquisition systems. It's the kind of work where reliability isn't optional and security is table stakes — and I've built a career around making that work well.
My background spans the full stack: Java/Spring Boot backends, Oracle databases I'd describe as "lovingly complex", Angular frontends, and AWS deployments in robust environments that demand sophistication. I've been in software long enough to know the hardest part is usually the people — and I mean that as a compliment.
Outside of work, I'm rolling dice in D&D/Daggerheart campaigns, exploring procedurally generated planets, or tinkering with the home lab. Sometimes I'm out helping my wife, who runs a 220+ year old family dairy farm in Spencerport that puts "legacy system" in a whole new context, with her robots or IT systems, or just changing a filter.
What I Work With
Backend
Database
Frontend
Cloud & Compliance
DevOps
AI & Developer Tooling
Leading Teams That Build
Things That Matter
Team Development
Managing more than two dozen staff in mixed roles across government acquisition programs, contracts, and corporate systems. Leading, mentoring, fostering career and technical growth — and keeping the team functional under the weight of federal compliance requirements.
Agile Coaching
Leading Scrum and Kanban transitions for teams doing complex, high-stakes work. Building sustainable delivery cadences that don't collapse under government contract pressure.
DoW Domain Expertise
Deep knowledge of government acquisition systems and the constraints that shape them — from procurement lifecycles to the organizational dynamics that make or break a program.
Security-First Engineering
FedRAMP, STIGs, and NIST compliance treated as design constraints — not checklists bolted on at the end. Built into process, tooling, and team culture from day one.
The Rest of It
Work is a big part of who I am. It's not the whole picture.
Tabletop RPGs
Running D&D and Daggerheart for the adults, Magical Kitties Save the Day for the kids. Character builds get the same methodical energy as system architecture — with too many notes.
Exploration Games
Planet Crafter, No Man's Sky, Civilization, anything that drops you on an empty planet and says "build." It's professionally relevant, honestly.
Home Automation & Lab
Home Assistant, local AI models, surveillance systems, and robust home and farm networking. The infrastructure obsession doesn't clock out.
Family Farm
My wife runs a 220+ year old family dairy farm in Spencerport, NY — a thread connecting Rochester's agricultural history to the present. The original legacy system: no patches, no rollbacks.
What's on the Table
What I'm actually focused on right now.
Building AI agentic tooling and workflows — custom agents, MCP servers, and integrations that actually change how the team operates.
Expanding our applications to align with DoW executive orders and guidance. The compliance landscape is moving fast and the architecture has to keep up.
Deepening Agile maturity across teams — closing the gap between the ceremonies we do and the principles behind them.
Designing printable web games — browser-rendered, printer-friendly, no install required. Early stages.
Building a party invitation management app — invites, RSVPs, guest logistics, without a corporate platform in the middle. Planning to open source it.
Expanding Home Assistant to track our pets and plants — presence, motion, feeding, soil moisture. The infrastructure brain applies to small problems too.
Migrating away from big corporate automation and media platforms toward local-first: local AI via Ollama, local music, local media. Less cloud, more control.
Storm King's Thunder — running as DM. Giants, intrigue, a lot of notes.
Call of the Netherdeep — in the party on this one. Different side of the table.