Kim Salmi
CTO
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +358 50 524 7597
Website: kimsalmi.com
GitHub: github.com/infr
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/infer
About
I have built software for the last 20 years, with a decade in leadership roles. I have built products and teams from scratch, taken over legacy systems, and kept developers happy and efficient. Mostly passionate about SaaS and AI-amplified developer productivity.
Deep into agentic transformation, rethinking how software and companies get built and how teams work alongside AI agents. I like to read, build stuff and sometimes write about the stuff I build.
Things I believe in / My values:
- Love; anything you do, people around you
- Be best; at what you do, version of you, father, husband
- Impact > Hours spent > Intent
- Execution > Idea
- Iteration > Perfection
- Go to the forest, Be happy
Work Experience
- Future of work, AI first: drove AI assisted development across engineering, and sponsored the wider agentic transformation bringing AI agents into business workflows
- Platform & multi-market scale: evolved a Django monolith on basic AWS into a containerized, Kubernetes-based multi-market ecosystem; reimagined CIAM across the group; unified the platform so new job boards spin up quickly on a sensible stack
- Governance & trust: established architecture governance, technical standards and structured tech debt management; cloud governance for reliability, scalability and cost; security and compliance embedded into development (GDPR, NIS2, EU AI Act, EAA)
- Execution velocity, a team of teams: sprinkled hope into our monster legacy system (from manual deploys twice a week to continuous deployment), shipped a design system for a unified look and feel, and kept the developer experience and engineering culture happy across Finland and Sweden
- Key player in transforming the project-based business into a SaaS
- Building an effective development team of 10 developers + UX
- Cash flow positive 0 to 1m€ ARR
- Support Specialist (Jan 2013 – Dec 2014): various IT administration, support, and development tasks: Windows Server, AD, SCCM, O365, Lotus Domino, iSeries, VoIP, VMware, Cisco, ITIL.
- System Support Technician (Dec 2009 – Dec 2012): IT assistance for internal/external customers: VoIP, O365, Windows, SCCM, AD, Cisco, Lotus Domino, IBM i, VMware, Linux, ~100 services.
- Purchase Ledger Clerk (Dec 2007 – May 2009): handling purchase ledger and related bookkeeping.
- Helpdesk Technician (Apr 2007 – Sep 2007): IT assistance to internal customers.
Education
Projects
- SaturnSQL, AI SQL editor, 2025 – present
- Kaamos, developer experience improver, 2024 – present
- Home Automation, 2024
- SaaS Pricing Tracker, 2023
- Sanuli Solver, 2022 – present
- Finnish Companies directory, 2022 – present
- Oikotie Upgrade, housing data Chrome extension, 2021 – present
- Fall Detector, Raspberry Pi + webcam solution for elderly safety, 2016 – 2018
- Arduino Quadcopter Game, 2016
- Elintravike.info - Finnish food market data mining (discontinued), 2014 – 2015
- HouseCat - Finnish housing market data analysis (discontinued), 2012 – 2013
- Spotify ad blocker (discontinued), 2010
- Irc-Galleria modikopsaaja (~10,000 users, discontinued), 2009 – 2010
- noteTree - for sharing classroom notes (discontinued), 2009
- First FPS game, 2005
- First website online, 1998
Awards
- Scholarship from University of Helsinki, 2017
- Thesis scholarship, Haaga-Helia, 2016
- Slush 2016 - Qvik speed coding challenge (1st place)
- Ultrahack 2016 - Top 3 in Open Track & PRH Bonus Prize
- Wellbeing Hackathon 2016 - 1st place
In Media
Languages
- English - Professional working proficiency
- Swedish - Native
- Finnish - Native
- German - Limited working proficiency
Organizations
- Tavastby Svenska Ungdoms- och Allmogeförening rf - Board member (Nov 2023 – Present)
- As Oy Anianpellontie 14 - Chairman of the board (Jan 2012 – Jan 2014, Jan 2016 – Jan 2018)
- TKO-äly ry - Jr. Evankelista (Jun 2017 – Jan 2018), University of Helsinki affiliated
Recommendations
“I worked with Kim when we were developing Sanoma Learning's virtual learning environment for secondary education. I really envy Kim's skills as a developer combined with a twist of hacker mind, in a good way. Kim is one to solve problems, not create them. I would gladly work with him again and am happy to recommend him to any position in the digital development area.”
Matias Vakkilainen, Product | Mobile & Partners (2021)
“I have been working, studying and participating in many hackathons with Kim. He has an unique ability to solve problems, while also teaching others. As a developer I really appreciate how he takes ownership in projects and always has a clear vision of how the projects should go forward. He is a very good listener, takes everyone's opinion in account and is a really trustworthy guy.”
Max Salmi, Advertising Technology Manager at Schibsted Marketplaces Finland (2019)
“It's very unique in today's world that you meet a software expert with combination of tech and people skills like Kim has. We worked together in a scrum team where he took the responsibility of lead developer. I was impressed by his ability to drive for quality software even under pressure. He also makes sure craft burgers are included in lunch choices :) Kim would be a great leadership asset to any team.”
Tolga Tunçbilek, Director of Engineering @ Virta (2019)
“Kim is a colleague which you want to have in your group. He is a real professional and ready to learn something new. Kim is all the time very friendly, very open to other people in a group, and all the time ready to help. He is also a person with a strong sense of responsibility, I appreciate his working style and everything he did very much. I strongly recommend working with Kim, he is a nice guy and highly qualified person with a positive attitude. I wish you work with him, you won't ever regret.”
Anisia Katinskaia, NLP Researcher at the University of Helsinki (2018)
“Kim and I haven't work together on many projects. The interesting thing is that it does not take that much to see his excel characteristics. He is a person with strong ownership and driving for results all the time. His sense of responsibility, his leadership, and his enthusiasm toward work impressed me a lot. I wish Kim all the best and an even more successful career in the future.”
Lauri Korte, ATC & CNS System Specialist (ATSEP) - CISM-Person at Fintraffic Air Navigation Services Ltd (2013)