☕ Buy me a coffee

Financial Infrastructure · DevOps · Boston

Engineering inside
financial services.

Ten years across private equity, retail, and asset management. Real technical experience covering infrastructure, cloud, security, and trading systems. Written plainly to help other engineers navigate this world.

Michael Harlow
Michael Harlow // sys.ghost  ·  Boston, MA
☕ Buy me a coffee
All posts

Archive

Hey, I'm Michael.

// Online as sys.ghost

I'm Michael - 32, a Systems Engineer based in the Boston area, currently in asset management. Before this I've had stints in private equity, retail tech, and broader technology roles, which means I've seen how infrastructure holds up (or doesn't) across very different business contexts.

In PE, I learned that data quality is the difference between a deal and a disaster. In retail, I learned what scale actually means. In asset management, I'm learning that the hardest problems are almost never technical. This blog is my honest journal of all of it: equal parts deep-dive and field notes from someone who has spent a decade at the intersection of systems engineering and financial services.

I started Packet & Profit because the writing I wanted to read - candid, technically grounded, from inside finance rather than adjacent to it - didn't really exist. If you're an engineer in financial services, or curious about what that world looks like from the infrastructure side, you're in the right place.

My Stack

RHEL / Ubuntu
Kubernetes
Terraform
Ansible
Prometheus
Grafana
Python / Bash
AWS / Azure
Cisco / Palo Alto
PostgreSQL
Redis
HashiCorp Vault

Journey

Now
Senior Systems Engineer, Asset Management
Managing trading infrastructure, network security, and cloud migration. Boston, MA.
Mid-career
Systems Engineer, Private Equity
Built and maintained data infrastructure supporting deal teams and portfolio monitoring. Survived multiple due diligence seasons.
Earlier
Infrastructure Engineer, Retail Technology
Learned what scale actually means. Inventory systems, real-time pricing, supply chain integrations under peak load.
Foundation
IT Engineer, Technology Sector
Building the fundamentals. Data centers, networking, and a healthy respect for cable labeling.
Get in touch

Contact

Whether you are an engineer in financial services, have a question about something I have written, or just want to say hello - feel free to reach out. I read everything.

Powered by Resend · No spam, ever

Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 2026

This policy explains what information Packet & Profit collects when you visit this site, how it is used, and what choices you have.

Information We Collect

We do not require you to create an account or provide personal information to read this blog. The only personal information we collect is what you voluntarily submit through the contact form: your name, email address, and message. This information is transmitted via Resend and used solely to respond to your enquiry.

Google AdSense and Advertising

This site uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google AdSense uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. This means Google may use information about your visits to this site to show you personalised ads on other sites across the web.

You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, aboutads.info, or optout.networkadvertising.org. See Google advertising policies for more.

Cookies

This site uses a single first-party cookie to remember your theme preference (light or dark mode). This cookie contains no personal information. Third-party cookies may be set by Google AdSense for advertising purposes as described above.

Analytics

This site does not currently use any analytics platform beyond what Vercel provides as part of its standard hosting service (aggregated, anonymised traffic data).

Contact Form

When you submit the contact form, your name, email address, subject, and message are transmitted to the blog author via Resend. This data is not stored by this site and is not shared with any third party beyond Resend. See Resend's privacy policy for details.

Third-Party Links

Posts on this site may link to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites.

Your Rights

If you have submitted a message via the contact form and would like that information removed, or if you have any questions about this policy, please use the contact form to get in touch.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page reflects when it was last revised.

Legal

Terms of Service

Last updated: April 2026

By accessing and using Packet & Profit (packetandprofit.com), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use this site.

Use of Content

All written content, illustrations, and code examples published on this site are the original work of Michael Harlow unless otherwise stated. You are welcome to share links to posts and quote brief excerpts (with attribution), but you may not reproduce full articles, copy content to other websites, or use the content for commercial purposes without written permission.

No Professional Advice

Content published on this site reflects personal opinions and professional experience. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing on this site constitutes financial, investment, legal, or professional advice of any kind. See the for more detail.

Third-Party Links

This site may contain links to third-party websites. These links are provided for convenience and do not constitute an endorsement of the linked site or its content. We have no control over and accept no responsibility for external sites.

Advertising

This site participates in Google AdSense, which displays advertisements from third-party advertisers. The presence of an advertisement does not constitute an endorsement of the advertiser's products or services. Ad content is determined by Google based on the content of this site and your browsing history.

Accuracy of Information

While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of information published on this site, technology and financial markets change rapidly. Information that was accurate at the time of publication may become outdated. We do not warrant the completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of any content on this site.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Packet & Profit and its author shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, this site or its content.

Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to update these terms at any time. Continued use of the site following any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Contact

If you have questions about these terms, please use the .

Legal

Disclaimer

Last updated: April 2026

Packet & Profit is a personal blog written by Michael Harlow, a Systems Engineer based in Boston, MA. The views expressed here are entirely his own and do not represent those of any employer, client, or organisation he is affiliated with.

Not Financial or Investment Advice

This site discusses financial services technology, investment management infrastructure, and related engineering topics from a technical practitioner's perspective. Nothing published here is financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security, asset, or financial instrument. The author is not a registered financial adviser, broker, or investment professional.

Content that references financial markets, trading systems, or investment firms is provided for technical and educational context only. Any figures, case studies, or examples are illustrative and should not be relied upon for financial decisions.

Not Legal or Professional Advice

Nothing on this site constitutes legal, compliance, regulatory, or professional advice. Readers should consult qualified professionals for advice specific to their circumstances.

Professional Experience

Posts on this site draw on the author's professional experience in systems engineering across private equity, retail technology, and asset management. Specific details about employers, clients, projects, and colleagues have been anonymised or generalised. Any resemblance to specific organisations is incidental.

Accuracy

The author makes reasonable efforts to ensure published information is accurate at the time of writing. The technology and financial services landscape changes quickly. Readers should verify any technical or regulatory information against current primary sources before acting on it.

Affiliate Links and Advertising

This site displays advertisements through Google AdSense. The site may also contain links to tools, services, or products that the author uses or finds useful. These are not paid endorsements unless explicitly stated. The author's opinions are his own and are not influenced by advertisers.

Questions

For questions about anything on this site, please use the .

This site uses cookies for theme preferences and displays ads via Google AdSense, which may use cookies to personalise ads.