Etheline Cimatu

Etheline
Cimatu, EIT

Set the reference point. Build from there.

I spent ten years on the contractor side of Central Coast public works, coordinating projects and preparing estimates. I also build practical web apps and self-hosted systems for small businesses and neighbors.

This page collects the construction work I've supported and the software, systems and community projects I've built or am building now. Each one is marked with its status.

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10+years in contractor-side public works
140+public works projects supported
~$94Mconstruction value
$200M+bid volume
STA 1+00 · 2014 – 2025
C-101

Construction and public works

Project coordination and estimating support, Monterey Peninsula Engineering

Sheet 1 of 5

01Scope of work

Contractor-side support on Central Coast public works, from bid through closeout. Project types: roads and paving, underground utilities, water and wastewater, transit, and K-12 facilities.

  • Unit-cost estimating, quantity takeoffs and bid item worksheets
  • Subcontractor and supplier quote tracking and comparison
  • Submittals, RFIs and subcontractor coordination
  • Compliance and documentation tracking through closeout
  • Plan and spec review, bid clarifications and exclusions

02Selected projects

ProjectTypeRole
Salinas ITC Sewer and Storm Drain Relocation
City of Salinas · $849K		Underground utilitiesProject manager (EIT)
TAMC Rail StationTransitCoordination and tracking
Salinas Stormwater Phase 1AStorm drainCoordination and tracking
2019 Citywide Street RepairPavingCoordination and tracking
Freedom ElementaryK-12 facilityCoordination and tracking

03Independent estimating support Available

Freelance bid preparation for contractors and small construction companies: plan and spec review, takeoffs, bid item worksheets, quote tracking, proposal organization and post-bid documentation. Local or remote. Not stamped engineering or licensed contracting services.

STA 2+00 · 2025 – Present
B-201

Independent ventures

Two small brands, both focused on the Central Coast

Sheet 2 of 5

Ground Up Blend

Live

Practical web apps and tools for small local businesses. Includes a client hub, a five-module landscaping operations demo and a guided business-discovery tool built for a client.

HTML · JS · PHP · Hostinger groundupblend.com

The Local Shift Project

Live

Career services and plain-language technology help for the community. Home of the UpShift resume platform, the AI for the Rest of Us learning site and a client art-gallery service.

PHP · MySQL · Hostinger thelocalshiftproject.com
STA 3+00 · Applications
S-301

Software projects

Self-taught full-stack work, mostly PHP/MySQL and React

Sheet 3 of 5
Status:LiveIn progressPlanningPrototype / retired

01Career tools

UpShift

In progress

Resume and cover letter service platform. One client can hold many resumes, intake takes free-form notes or a structured form, and every draft gets a human edit pass.

PHP · MySQL · guided intake upshift.thelocalshiftproject.com

Job Tracker

In use

Personal job search app and application tracker with drafted cover letters and tailored resumes, held to a short, direct house style.

React · Flask · SQLite

Candidate Profile Builder

In progress

Phased pipeline that reads resumes and project write-ups, builds a profile, names strengths and gaps, suggests best-fit and stretch roles, then drafts a master resume.

Python · modular pipeline

Job Scout

Prototype

Small dashboard for scanning and sorting job postings.

Python · Streamlit

02Marketplaces and resale operations

Marketplace

Design complete

Multi-seller local pickup marketplace. Buyers browse without an account and reach sellers through a one-time email link. Product plan, wireframes, state model and a 20-table schema are done.

Next.js · TypeScript · Prisma · MySQL

The Display Case

In progress

Public storefront for items I'm selling, growing into my main resale tool: where-listed tracking, price-scaled overhead and crosslisting copy.

PHP · built locally, then Hostinger

Ground Up Inventory

In progress

Inventory lifecycle app for a one-person resale business, from intake to shipped and accounted for. Each item shows its next action, so the app works like a checklist.

PHP 8.3 · SQLite · Docker · TrueNAS

Manor Exchange

Live

Community marketplace with automated listing moderation and a quick-capture flow that drafts a listing from a photo.

PHP · MySQL manor-exchange.niventilabs.com

Strung

In progress

Storefront for a friend's handmade bracelets and wallets. Inquiry-first, with checkout to follow.

React/Vite · PHP · MySQL

Item Rehoming Site

Planning

No-sign-up listings for things that need a new home (for sale, trade or free) to keep usable items out of the landfill.

PHP · MySQL

Earlier iterations. Offload, Market Dunes, E's Market, Solo Market, Listing Tracker, Listing Inventory, Crosslist Tool and Shelf Savvy each tested one piece: drafted listings, mobile image compression, sell-through pricing, eBay API crosslisting, chat notifications. What worked carried forward into The Display Case and Ground Up Inventory.

03Smaller tools

Game Night Concierge

Prototype

Board game library app with a picker by player count and time, a rules viewer and a play log, seeded with a 200-game collection.

React/Vite · PHP · MySQL

Shipping Calculator

In progress

Single-page calculator for estimating board game shipping costs.

HTML · JS

Lamplight

In progress

Self-hosted ambience player for focus and mood sound, replacing streaming video loops.

Self-hosted
STA 4+00 · Systems
I-401

Infrastructure and self-hosting

Networks and servers I've designed, built and documented

Sheet 4 of 5

Home network build

Retired

Segmented network with a firewall appliance, six VLANs, managed switches, local DNS, a virtualization host, reverse proxy, internal certificate authority, intrusion prevention and monitoring. Built, rebuilt once and documented.

OPNsense · Proxmox · Pi-hole · Grafana

Local AI compute node

In progress

Dedicated GPU server for running language models and agent workflows locally, behind a private mesh network.

Ubuntu · Docker · Ollama · n8n

Family network kit

Deployed

Mini PC setup for family in Roxas, Palawan: media server, ad-blocking DNS, uptime monitoring, automatic updates and remote support from California.

Docker · Jellyfin · AdGuard · Tailscale

Network storage

In use

25 TB storage server hosting the media library, photo backup and self-hosted apps.

TrueNAS SCALE
STA 5+00 · Neighbors
P-501

Community projects

Local groups and the sites that support them

Sheet 5 of 5

The Meeple Pantry

Live

Lending library and catalog for my board game collection, shared with a Marina game group. A weekly pickup hour at the library and an availability grid let neighbors set up game nights on their own.

PHP · SQLite · vanilla JS themeeplepantry.com

AI for the Rest of Us

In progress

Plain-language learning site and glossary, paired with a Monterey Bay neighborhood group, for people new to AI. Covers basics, everyday uses and the risks.

Companion site · Hostinger aifortherestofus.thelocalshiftproject.com

Local jobs board

Planning

Neighborhood group where local employers and job seekers post openings and availability, with posts that expire.

Nextdoor group

Self-hosting group

Planning

Local meetup for reusing old PCs, cutting subscriptions and running your own services, with a companion site.

Nextdoor group · website

GSkills and tools

Project delivery

Estimating and takeoffs, bid preparation, submittals and RFIs, subcontractor coordination, compliance tracking, closeout

Web development

PHP, MySQL, SQLite, JavaScript, React, Vite, TypeScript, Next.js, Python (Flask, Streamlit)

Systems

Linux, Docker, Proxmox, TrueNAS, OPNsense, VLANs, DNS, reverse proxies, Tailscale, monitoring

How I work

Phased plans with clear stopping points, decisions written down, the simplest setup that does the job