About

Hi, I’m Michael Forde

I’m a Computer Science student at Columbia University, deeply passionate about building scalable and efficient systems. From an early age—long before high school—I was fascinated by technology’s ability to shape the world. Whether experimenting with Raspberry Pis, running Minecraft servers, or even surprising friends by tweaking webpages with Inspect Element, I loved exploring how computers really worked.

As I moved into high school, I began focusing on homelabbing, where I taught myself website deployment, Linux, vim, and server management. This deeper understanding of computer systems laid the groundwork for my later studies and made learning programming languages at university feel like a natural next step.

Now, as a university student, I continue to refine my skills, collaborate on projects, and explore new advancements in software engineering. In my early career I have worked on projects spanning from behavioral neuroscience to cloud performance engineering. Most recently, I joined Datadog as a Software Engineer on the Bits AI SRE team, where I build and deploy AI agents that detect and remediate service degradations across distributed systems.

Beyond academics, I am an advocate for diversity and accessibility in tech. I believe that innovation thrives when people from different backgrounds contribute their perspectives. This commitment also guides my involvement in fellowships and student organizations, where I work to build inclusive communities and expand access to opportunities in technology.

My interests extend into entrepreneurship, where I enjoy exploring how technology can drive meaningful change through startups and new ventures. I pursing a minor in entrepreneurship and innovation, to learn more about the business side of technology and how to turn ideas into successful ventures.

When I’m not coding or working on projects, you’ll find me playing the double bass or writing about my experiences in technology and student life at my blog.