Thomas Hoefkens - Senior MLOps and DevOps Engineer for Azure

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Munich, Germany

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Experience

Feb 2024 - Present

2 years 8 months

Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer

Trianel Energy

Build and operate an end-to-end MLOps platform on Azure ML and Kubernetes (Kubeflow) for the automated deployment, monitoring, and scaling of forecasting models (including Temporal Fusion Transformer, Informer, Autoformer).
Implement CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps for the full ML lifecycle – from resource provisioning (Terraform), data transformation (Hugging Face Datasets, Pandas, PyTorch, CUDA cluster) through training and evaluation to model registry and endpoint deployment.
Integrate MLflow for experiment tracking, model versioning, performance monitoring, and automated registration in the Azure Model Registry.
Develop and containerize PyTorch training jobs (Azure Notebook, Jupyter Notebooks) for price and time series forecasting (PFC models) with automatic rollout via Azure ML Endpoints and REST/gRPC interfaces, Docker containerization, secured with OAuth 2.0.
Set up monitoring and alerting mechanisms (Prometheus, MLflow Metrics), log centralization, and cost monitoring.
Automate infrastructure provisioning and model deployment using Terraform, Helm, and Azure CLI; connect to existing market data systems and event pipelines.
Migrate existing workloads and databases (IONOS → Azure, MongoDB) with integration into central MLOps workflows and internal networks.
Extend the platform with LLM-based tools (LangChain, LangServe) to integrate GPT-based analysis modules into existing Spring Boot services for market anomaly detection and automated reports.
Analyze and architect a software solution to process large volumes of data efficiently (>3000 messages/sec.) (market data store).
Spring Boot / Java 21 container development with RabbitMQ for distributing stock market data via MongoDB (Kubernetes) with fast storage of data in Redis RMaps, deduplication, forwarding messages to Read Model queues, and building Read Models for UI display in MongoDB.
Integration of RESTHeart to create a REST API for MongoDB.
Build an Angular frontend to simplify data queries and master data maintenance.
Agentic coding with remote and local LLMs (Claude Sonnet, Ollama Qwen) and MCP servers.
Develop Python scripts for transforming and cleaning incoming stock market data (Pandas, scikit-learn).

Mar 2023 - Feb 2024

1 year

Munich, Germany

Senior DevOps Engineer and Platform Architect

Mynaric Laser Communications AG

Architecture and design of a DevOps / deployment platform.
Build a DevOps and software deployment platform based on Azure AKS and AWS ECS/EKS, GitLab Enterprise, and Ansible.
Migration of VMware workloads to Azure AKS and AWS EKS.
Configure and deploy applications with Microsoft Entra (Entra app registrations, app roles, published Web APIs with OAuth authentication and authorization).
Develop TypeScript backend services (serverless).
GraphQL API development against Neo4J database.
Scripting of Ansible playbooks and inventory setup for VMware-managed virtual machines.
Automated deployment of playbooks via Ansible Control Tower (open source version AWX) for Unix instances.
Set up GitOps via GitLab, develop GitLab pipelines.
Infrastructure deployment on Azure using Pulumi and Terraform.
Agile teamwork, SCRUM.

Nov 2021 - Mar 2023

1 year 5 months

Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer and Platform Architect

Dyrisk GmbH / MunichRE

Build and operate a company-wide MLOps infrastructure on Azure Databricks to automate the full ML lifecycle from data processing to model deployment.
Implement scalable ETL/ELT pipelines with Airflow and Databricks to continuously supply training and inference pipelines with cleaned risk data.
Automate training, evaluation, and deployment pipelines with MLflow, Azure DevOps, and Databricks Workflows including automatic model registration, versioning, and promotion between stages.
Containerize and deploy trained models as scalable REST/gRPC services via Azure ML Endpoints and Kubernetes; integrate them into productive risk and security platforms.
Set up Infrastructure as Code provisioning with Terraform, Helm, and Kustomize for reproducible deployments, including monitoring, logging, and security components.
Implement end-to-end monitoring with Prometheus, Grafana, and Elastic Stack (Beats, Logstash) to track pipeline performance, model metrics, and system status.
Build a secure authentication and access infrastructure (Keycloak, OAuth 2.0, OIDC, JWT) for APIs and internal MLOps services.
Develop and integrate .NET Core microservices to provide model APIs and service orchestration in production.
Design and implement CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitLab CI) for automated testing, container builds, release management, and deployment to multi-cloud environments.
Monitoring, logging, and incident handling for productive machine learning workloads in on-premises and cloud environments.
Central SSH and access management via Teleport to ensure compliance and auditability.
Agile teamwork in the SCRUM process with close coordination between Data Engineering, MLOps, and DevOps.

Jan 2021 - Nov 2021

11 months

Senior AWS Cloud Expert, Digital Transformation Architect

EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg

Set up and configure Red Hat OpenShift, deployment monitoring, alerting, DB operator, Nginx Ingress Controller.
Develop Java (Spring Boot / Spring Cloud) AWS Lambda microservices, OpenAPI API-first development.
Docker containerization of microservices, Docker Compose definitions for local development and testing.
Create automated unit tests using AWS LocalStack.
Develop an Angular 12 / TypeScript frontend to display automated energy trading and manual intervention, correction.
Develop streaming connectors for AWS MSK (managed Kafka), automate processing of marketplace trading streaming messages.
Set up an AWS base resources pipeline and per-microservice pipeline to automate infrastructure creation with AWS CDK, EKS cluster setup with external DNS, AWS Load Balancer Controller for automatic load balancing and Route53 setup.
Set up EC2 instances via Terraform, access via AWS SSM.
Integration with AWS IAM and Cognito (single sign-on), experience with AWS Control Tower and VPC networking via Transit Gateway attachments.
Helm chart development for automated OpenShift deployment.
OpenAPI-first approach for backend services and Swagger UI integration on backend endpoints.
Agile teamwork, SCRUM ceremonies, bi-weekly sprints.

Jul 2016 - Jan 2021

4 years 7 months

Senior Cloud Architect and FullStack Engineer

Bayer AG, Digital Farming

Development of a field and crop management solution for large agricultural companies, consisting of .NET Core (C#) microservices based on AWS Lambda, supported by domain-driven design and event sourcing, as well as 2 frontend solutions (Angular for the web, Xamarin (now MAUI) as a cross-platform mobile management solution).
Frontend TypeScript development (Angular), frontend .NET Standard development (Xamarin) as part of a fully cross-functional team, responsible for implementing all technical components of a requirement (e.g. frontend changes, backend development including Terraforming and CI/CD setup, automated unit tests and Sonar quality checks).
Fully decoupled architecture using SQS, DynamoDB, API Gateway, Route53, AWS Lambda, .NET IDP with Azure AD federation and authentication / authorization JWT.
GraphQL API development (stitching) across multiple backend farming data sources (weather forecasts, spraying recommendations, infestation data).
Development of a .NET Core CLI for technical management of the digital farming platform.
iOS / Android cross-platform development (Xamarin), push integration, mapping using Carto maps, including development of a customization plugin for VS Code that connects JavaScript with C# via the V8 engine.
GitLab CI pipeline development.
Raygun integration for central logging.
Agile teamwork, SCRUM ceremonies, bi-weekly sprints.

Jan 2014 - Jun 2016

2 years 6 months

Paris, France

Senior Cloud Developer

Otis France

Development of applications for field service (Kony platform iOS and Android) and backend endpoints (Java Spring Boot, Spring Cloud).
Integration of internal APIs (Asset Management, Field Service Management).
Development of Azure Functions, Function Apps (C#).
ASP.NET MVC administration interface development.
Azure DevOps (Team Foundation Server) pipeline development.
Oracle 12 PL/SQL development, database design and maintenance.

Jan 2013 - Jun 2015

2 years 6 months

Ingolstadt, Germany

Technical Project Lead

Mobility Media-Saturn E-Business GmbH

Technical lead for the evaluation, selection, and implementation of a mobility platform (MDM and MAM), setup of an internal app store and BYOD policies.
Kony platform development of different apps based on the Kony platform / cross-platform development in JavaScript for Android, iOS, and Windows Tablet.
MC@POS → Kony app for use in stores, product comparison, inventory, prices, online orders in store.

May 2011 - Jan 2013

1 year 9 months

Munich, Germany

Technical Team Lead, Senior Developer, Enterprise Architect for the CRM Domain

Telefonica 02 Germany GmbH & Co KG

Team lead for CRM and order management application teams, CRM Domain Enterprise Architect, developer, and interface to business and operations stakeholders as well as senior management.
Development of service requests, integration of over 40 systems across the provisioning and billing landscape.
Middleware connections via Tuxedo, MQSeries, WebLogic, and WebSphere.
UI development, backend development (Oracle-based and Java server-based) integration with middleware systems such as RabbitMQ and Tibco as well as Tuxedo (REST-, SOAP-based systems and database connectors).
Lead of a complex fat client upgrade that enabled VBA customizations but ran into 32-bit limitations; migration to the Microsoft VSTA engine (unique project worldwide!).

Mar 2003 - May 2011

8 years 3 months

Munich, Germany

Technical Team Leader, Senior Developer

Deutsche Bahn AG

Development of an HR platform and an e-recruiting mirror on the "Internet" side based on PeopleSoft HCMS.
Development of a ticketing system based on JBoss (backend), Apache MyFaces UI.
Development of the Deutsche Bahn Enterprise Portal (employee-focused).
Broker messaging development, asynchronous message delivery.
Development of application runs in batch mode.

Jun 2001 - Mar 2003

1 year 10 months

Munich, Germany

Application Developer

Telefonica 02 Germany GmbH & Co KG

WebLogic 5.1 Java development, EJB development.
Development of a JSP-based frontend.
PoC setup of Oracle 8i jServer.
Migration of web applications to WebLogic 6.0.
Win32 API development.
Vantive 8.2 frontend development support.

Industry experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Transportation, Agriculture, Energy, Telecommunication, Manufacturing, and Information Technology.

Transportation

Agriculture

Energy

Telecommunication

Manufacturing

Information Technology

Business area experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Information Technology, Human Resources, Product Development, Project Management, Operations, and Customer Service.

Information Technology

Human Resources

Product Development

Project Management

Operations

Customer Service

Summary

Passionate Senior MLOps, DevOps, and Cloud/Platform Engineer with extensive experience in developing and operating scalable platforms as well as AI-powered solutions. Expertise in building end-to-end MLOps workflows: data preparation (ETL/ELT pipelines), development of ETL/ELT pipelines in Python (Pandas, PySpark, Airflow, Dask), experiment tracking and model versioning with MLflow, use of Azure Databricks Data Lake for data engineering and training, Feature Stores (Feast), and automated deployment of trained models as services.

Experienced in implementing continuous training and delivery pipelines (CI/CD) for ML and software components using GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps, and KubeFlow.

Solid knowledge in virtualization and container orchestration (Kubernetes: OpenShift, EKS, AKS, OVH Kubernetes, Docker) and Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and Ansible. Strong in observability, classic and model monitoring with Prometheus, Grafana, and classic logging stacks (Loki, ELK, DataDog). Confident in backend development with C#, Java, TypeScript, Python, and Bash scripting as well as SQL and non-SQL databases.

Skills

Programming & Frameworks: C# .Net Core, Java (Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, J2ee), Golang, Python (Pandas, Numpy, Scikit-Learn, Tensorflow, Pytorch), Bash Scripting
Frontend & Cross-Platform: Typescript, Angular, React, Macos, Xamarin, Maui
Cloud & Container Platforms: Aws Cloud, Azure Cloud, Ovh Cloud, Gcp, Docker, Kubernetes, Aks, Eks, Red Hat Openshift, Vmware Tanzu, Cluster Controller, Cluster Operator
Infrastructure As Code & Ci/Cd: Terraform, Ansible, Pulumi, Kustomize, Helm Charts, Github Actions, Gitlab Ci, Azure Devops, Argocd, Flux, Jenkins Pipelines
Messaging, Data & Databases: Rabbitmq, Redis, Mongodb, Neo4j, Sql, Oracle, Aws Msk (Managed Kafka)
Observability & Logging: Prometheus, Grafana, Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, Loki, Datadog
Mlops & Data Engineering: Mlflow, Azure Databricks, Apache Spark, Feast, Dvc
Machine Learning & Ai: Xgboost, Scikit-Learn, Hugging Face Transformers

Languages

German

Native

Dutch

Native

English

Advanced

French

Advanced

Italian

Advanced

...and 5 more

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 10

Experience in Transportation 8 y

Avg length 2 y 8 m

Longest experience 8 y 2 m

Global experience

Countries worked in 2 (Germany, France)

Primary country Germany

Expertise

Recent roles Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer, Senior DevOps Engineer and Platform Architect, Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer and Platform Architect

Main industries Transportation, Agriculture, Energy

Main business areas Information Technology, Human Resources, Product Development

Profile

Member since

June 2025

Last update

August 2026

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Frequently asked questions

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Thomas is based in Munich, Germany and can operate in on-site, hybrid, and remote work models.

Thomas speaks the following languages: German (Native), Dutch (Native), English (Advanced), French (Advanced), Italian (Advanced), Spanish (Intermediate), Hungarian (Intermediate), Norwegian (Intermediate), Hindi (Elementary), Romanian (Elementary).

Thomas has at least 25 years of experience. During this time, Thomas has worked in at least 10 different roles and for 9 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 3 years and 6 months. Note that Thomas may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Based on recent experience, Thomas would be well-suited for roles such as: Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer, Senior DevOps Engineer and Platform Architect, Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer and Platform Architect.

Thomas's most recent position is Senior MLOps, DevOps Engineer at Trianel Energy.

In recent years, Thomas has worked for Trianel Energy, Mynaric Laser Communications AG, Dyrisk GmbH / MunichRE, and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg.

Thomas is most experienced in industries like Transportation, Agriculture, and Energy. Thomas also has some experience in Telecommunication, Manufacturing, and Information Technology.

Thomas is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Human Resources, and Product Development. Thomas also has some experience in Project Management, Customer Service, and Operations.

Thomas has recently worked in industries like Energy, Insurance, and Aerospace and Defense.

Thomas has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology and Operations.

Thomas is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.

Daily rate distribution

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<€720 €720-800 €800-880 €880-960 €960-1040 €1120+

The rates shown represent the typical market range for freelancers in this position based on recent contracts on our platform.

Average rates for similar positions

Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.

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Daily rate avg. 794 €

The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.

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Median rate 780 €

The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.

Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 6 Sep 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.