Confluent Experts in Germany

• Team leadership: Prioritization and coordination of four cross-functional teams.
• Platform strategy: Development and implementation of strategies to optimize existing IT platforms.
• Stakeholder management: Active management of expectations and communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Program and innovation management: Prioritization and coordination of cross-department projects as well as innovation initiatives.
• Product Owner consulting: Advising Product Owners with a focus on product development and continuous product improvement.
• Organizational development: Improving communication and decision-making structures across all organizational levels.
• Change management: Implementing best-practice change management methods to ensure continuous optimization and innovation.
• Quality assurance: Ensuring high quality standards in processes, services, and deliverables.

In my role as Senior Cloud DevOps Architect for BP, an oil and gas company, I had the mission to migrate the Electric Vehicle Charging platform of the EV Division from on-premises and Azure to AWS cloud, resulting in a hybrid multi-cloud, multi-tenant SaaS solution.

Deployment with Kubernetes for the application layer meant provisioning Kubernetes clusters managed by EKS and AKS, with a focus on integrating them into a multi-tenant environment. This integration was achieved by using Kubernetes namespaces and access controls to ensure data isolation and privacy enforcement.

In the database layer, we chose an RDS instance with PostgreSQL to support the backend infrastructure of our applications. Tenants shared the same RDS instance, but each had a dedicated schema.

To ingest near real-time data from physical charge points (CPOs), as IoT devices, via the OCPI protocol, we ran into significant delays with batch processing. As a result, we built a real-time streaming data pipeline using Apache Kafka, while prioritizing an event-driven architecture.

Led collaboration across multiple internal teams, external vendors, cloud providers, and on-site partners to integrate over five systems into a unified solution.

Achievements:

• Successfully designed and implemented hybrid multi-cloud solutions, integrating multiple cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) with on-premises infrastructure, using Site-to-Site VPNs, Firewalls, and Load Balancing.
• Led the migration of on-premises infrastructure to multi-cloud, multi-tenant infrastructure, resulting in 30% faster processing times.
• Migrated workloads from VMware and Hyper-V environments to cloud-based VMs, leveraging cloud-native services to optimize performance, cost efficiency, and scalability.
• Designed a multi-tenant Kubernetes platform leveraging the Kubernetes ecosystem, using Karpenter for dynamic EC2 node provisioning, KEDA for event-driven pod autoscaling (e.g., Kafka message lag), and Rancher for centralized monitoring of multiple clusters (EKS, AKS, or on-prem K8s), replacing Microsoft-centric Azure Arc management service.
• Designed and implemented Python-based FastAPI microservices as part of the EV core-backend on AWS EKS application layer, powering data ingestion and customer analytics pipelines.
• Developed asynchronous, event-driven APIs (Python-FastAPI) for real-time integration with CPOs, supporting OCPI 2.3 and OICP protocols.
• Designed and implemented a secure, production-grade Azure Databricks platform using Terraform, ensuring scalability and cost efficiency.
• Migrated on-premises ERP to a hybrid Dynamics 365 architecture with ERP hosted locally and CRM running in Azure, integrated via Azure Arc.
• Automated CI/CD pipelines for Databricks notebooks and jobs using GitHub Actions & Databricks CLI, reducing deployment time. Reduced infrastructure provisioning time by 70% by automating cloud resource deployment with GitOps.
• Ensured compliance with internal audit and data governance standards (GDPR) through OAuth2/OIDC-based authentication and fine-grained role-based access controls.
• Developed a Zero Trust security model, enforcing least-privilege access and microsegmentation, enhancing security posture and compliance with GDPR and NIST.
• Built interactive analytics dashboards in Amazon QuickSight, integrating data from S3 and Redshift to deliver real-time business insights and visualizations with embedded access for multi-tenant users.
• Led cloud security assessments and full-lifecycle cybersecurity integration during M&A, covering AWS, Azure, IAM (Entra ID), and data protection, while aligning security posture with NIST, ISO 27001, and GDPR across hybrid and cloud-native environments.
• Reduced cloud costs by 64% for a client's dev environment by implementing automated start/stop schedules for EC2 and RDS instances via AWS CDK with EventBridge Scheduler or AWS Systems Manager.

Tech stack:

• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform, AWS CDK, Ansible.
• Containers: Kubernetes on EKS, AKS, Docker.
• Streaming Data Processing: Kafka to Confluent Cloud, after AWS MSK.
• Frontend: TypeScript, React, NextJS, Hooks, Styled Components.
• Backend: Python with FastAPI, also Node.js with NestJS.
• Database: Aurora on PostgreSQL with TypeORM, RDS on SQL Server, Azure Databricks full setup and administration, ETL Pipelines.
• CI/CD and GitOps: GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, ArgoCD.
• Monitoring and Observability: Prometheus and Grafana.
• Virtualization: Hyper-V, VMware Cloud on AWS, Azure Migrate.
• ERP Systems: Odoo, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central on Azure, integrated with Azure Arc.
• Networking: Site-to-Site VPNs, AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute, Firewalls (AWS Network Firewall, Azure Firewall).
• Security: IAM, NIST Framework, Zero Trust Security, AWS WAF, AWS Shield, GuardDuty.

(Maternity/Parental Leave: July 2023 – Aug 2024)

• Domain: Payment Domain | Client: Telefonica Germany
• Project: General Payment Service

The General Payment Service is responsible for processing of online payments via external payment service provider like Safer pay and PayPal

• Developed Design of Use (DOU) and interface contract documentation, ensuring clarity and compliance across system integrations
• Designed and delivered REST/SOAP web services with Spring Boot and Spring Data JPA, publishing Swagger contracts through WSO2 API Gateway to improve accessibility and governance.
• Spearheaded the on-premises to AWS Cloud migration, re-platforming from Oracle to PostgreSQL on AWS RDS and deploying services on EC2, improving scalability and cost efficiency.
• Containerized microservices using Docker and orchestrated deployments with Kubernetes, streamlining deployment pipelines and improving system reliability.
• Implemented proactive monitoring and logging via AWS CloudWatch and Kibana, ensuring stability and performance during cutover.
• Enhanced collaboration through code reviews and peer reviews, promoting maintainability and clean coding standards.
• Strengthened quality by writing comprehensive JUnit tests and preparing detailed test cases enabling early defect detection
• Delivered automated API testing with Ready API, Postman, and SOAPUI, and conducted performance testing with JMeter, ensuring reliability in high-transaction environments.

Project: Tax Exemption Order Application

The client has an existing application for creating and maintaining tax exemption orders for end customers; design and implementation of a comparable application for internal employees.

• Design and implementation of microservices and the UI for the business area "tax exemption orders" using Domain Driven Design as well as Spring Boot and Angular.
• Implementation of reactive, non-reactive, and asynchronous APIs (Spring REST, WebFlux, GraphQL).
• Development of the Angular application, including state management using Signals, RxJS Observables, and subscriptions.
• Securing the API and the application using OAuth2, JWT, and OpenID Connect.
• Configuration and setup of CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins.
• Collaboration with cross-functional teams and conducting code reviews.

Environment: Java, Spring Boot, Angular 18 & 19 (standalone, signals), RxJs, Bootstrap CSS, Vitesting, OpenShift, Istio, microservices, Kafka, Dynatrace, Jenkins, GitLab, Graylog, Sonar, Oauth2, OracleDB

Consumer Cards Solution Architect

• Provided architectural leadership in Consumer Cards Domain establishing best practices and improving architectural transparency and maintainability by designing a structured documentation framework to enable reverse engineering of legacy card systems.
• Standardized architectural artefacts including BIAN Business Capabilities, UML diagrams in draw.io format (Use Case, Component, Sequence), naming conventions, document repository, design templates and blueprints, microservices.
• Produced high-level and low-level designs aligned with enterprise architecture governance processes and artefact standards.
• Provided architectural support to the Strategic Card Simplification Programme, focusing on card product migrations and application decommissioning across all countries. Agile environments (Scrum/SAFe).
• Analysed and designed AI use cases in the architecture domain.

Project: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) Strategic Programme

• Analysed and documented existing data flows across card products and geographic regions to assess PCI DSS compliance.
• Identified areas involving sensitive data at rest and data in motion requiring encryption or masking, ensuring adherence to PCI DSS requirements.
• Collaborated with security, infrastructure, and application teams to align encryption strategies with regulatory and organizational policies.
• Provided strategic advisory services on data strategy, data governance, data management, data quality, data architecture, data mesh, MEGA HOPEX, DAMA-DMBOK, event-driven architecture, end-to-end data flows and card product harmonization models.
• Ensured solution design alignment with regulatory compliance (BCBS 239, DORA, GDPR) and internal policies.

Project: Denmark ATM Outsourcing Project

Objective: Outsource ATM operations and maintenance to a third-party provider while expanding the Denmark ATM fleet, with Nordea retaining ownership of ATMs and cash for the existing and extended infrastructure.

• Led a cross-functional delivery team (project management, business analysis, and architecture) and documented the as-is ATM ecosystem architecture, including end-to-end data flows, integrations, and internal/external application interfaces.
• Designed end-to-end processes for authorization, reconciliation, and settlement, aligning operating model, controls, and compliance requirements across Nordea and the outsourced service provider.
• Produced high-level and low-level solution designs using standardized UML artefacts (Use Case, Component, and Sequence diagrams) to support vendor onboarding, integration planning, and implementation.
• Ensured architectural alignment and decision-making across enterprise stakeholders and third-party providers, managing dependencies and interfaces in the context of the outsourcing initiative.

• Consultant for system architecture, AI agents & integration, coach for data & process logic, Graph-RAG approaches, security and data protection.
• On-premise AI solutions with high compliance and performance requirements.
• Architecture decisions, operational setup, strategic prioritization & deployment.
• Technologies: LiveKit JS SDK, LiveKit Agents, Web Audio API, JS, AudioWorklet, Loki, vLLM, Zscaler, Docker, Neo4j, MySQL, Python.
• Models: GPT-OSS 20B, Whisper large v3 turbo, Qwen3-TTS.

I am an experienced data engineer specializing in end‑to‑end data integration, cloud DWH architectures, and high‑quality, governed data products.

I delivered following projects and engagements as a freelancer.

• Data Migration of CRM System for AL-FA Objekt Service Gmbh
• Microsoft Software Resales Partnership

I am looking for freelance roles like: Freelance Data Engineer Cloud Data Warehouse Architect Data Modeling & Architecture Consultant MDM & Data Governance Specialist BI & Analytics Developer

Technical Focus Areas

• Data Engineering & Integration: SQL Server/SSIS, Informatica PowerCenter/IDQ, Talend, Kafka, Azure Data Factory – Delta/CDC/ELT patterns, robust pipelines, monitoring/recovery, data lineage & impact analysis, medallion architecture Bronze/Silver/Gold layers
• DWH & Cloud: Azure SQL / Data Lake / Synapse, AWS Redshift/S3, on‑prem SQL/Oracle – scalable data marts with a strong cost/benefit focus.
• Data Modeling: Atomic (Inmon) and Dimensional (Kimball), Data Vault (Linstedt), Domain‑Driven Design, clear lineage & contracts.
• MDM & Governance: Informatica MDM, IBM MDM, stewardship processes, data quality rules, survivorship/XREF, catalog/glossary, SIF/BES/REST publication.
• Analytics/BI: Power BI, SSAS, Cognos – business‑ready, maintainable data products.

• Bootstrapping a CloudOps team and building a multi-cloud provider backend for a low-code Internal Developer Platform (IDP) with env zero

• Introducing user story mapping, ADRs, milestones, and backlog management

• Designing and developing core APIs, setting up CI/CD pipelines, OpenTofu/Terraform scripts

• Representing and communicating the team with third-party stakeholders (e.g. env zero)

• (Cross-)team coaching on DevOps, software design, Terraform, Golang, and agile practices

• Cloud Computing Fundamentals & Architecture: Expertise in core cloud concepts, including the three main Service Models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and diverse Deployment Models (Public, Private, Hybrid, Multi-cloud).
• Modern Application Deployment Strategies (GCP Focus): Instruction on the GCP Application Hosting Spectrum, covering Virtual Machines, Containers (Kubernetes and Cloud Run), Platform as a Service (App Engine), and Serverless Computing (Functions as a Service - FaaS).
• Data Management & Big Data Analytics: Comprehensive coverage of Cloud Storage options (Object, Block, File) and Database solutions, including Relational (Cloud SQL), NoSQL (Firestore, BigTable, Memorystore), and serverless enterprise data warehousing (BigQuery).
• DevOps and Infrastructure Automation: Skills in DevOps principles, including Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform, and implementing effective Monitoring and Logging for system observability.
• Emerging Technologies & Responsible Cloud Use: Focus on crucial topics like Cloud and IoT Security, Identity and Access Management (IAM), data privacy, and the ethical considerations of cloud and massive data collection.

Java 21 · Spring Boot 3 · Keycloak · PostgreSQL · Docker · Nginx · GitHub Actions · DigitalOcean · React 18 · TypeScript · Plasmo

• Architected and shipped a production-ready Job Application Tracker end-to-end: REST API with 5-stage workflow, pagination, sorting, and dynamic filtering — full ownership from design to live cloud deployment on DigitalOcean.
• Implemented production-grade identity management: OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect / JWT / RBAC via Keycloak, applying Hexagonal Architecture and DDD principles.
• Built automated CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions); containerised with Docker; Nginx reverse proxy with path-based routing and SSL termination.
• Developed a Chrome Extension (Plasmo framework, Manifest V3) that auto-fills job applications directly from LinkedIn into the tracker — demonstrates full product thinking across backend API and browser client.

• Led end-to-end implementation of the Miles and More Credit Card Service integrating with TSYS systems on Microsoft Azure
• Architected secure, scalable APIs and microservices using Spring Boot, Camunda, and Apache Kafka (Confluent Platform) for real-time event streaming and process automation on Azure Kubernetes Service
• Managed full development lifecycle of the credit card system on Azure Cloud including fraud detection, payment processing, account management, and Kafka-based event-driven data pipelines
• Designed and implemented Kafka Connect integrations and Schema Registry for seamless data flow between microservices and legacy systems
• Introduced Agile best practices, improving team efficiency by 30% and reducing project delivery time
• Directed and mentored a team of 15+ developers fostering a collaborative, cloud-first, and innovation-driven culture
• Managed client relationships achieving 95% satisfaction and securing follow-up projects through consistent delivery excellence
• Designed and deployed BPMN/DMN models in Camunda for complex business workflows and automation
• Configured Camunda Engine with advanced features such as error handling, RPA integration, and multi-version deployments
• Integrated Camunda and Kafka-based messaging with core banking systems ensuring high availability and data consistency
• Managed multi-database schema configurations on Azure and optimized system performance for high throughput and fault tolerance
• Designed and implemented cloud architecture patterns on Azure focusing on multi-region resilience, data sovereignty, and event-driven scalability for critical financial workloads

• Overall responsibility for platform transformation across ERP, CRM, PIM, and AI-driven process automation
• ERP transformation: Implementing and migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
• CRM & growth stack: Implementing HubSpot as the central CRM and a platform for lead and marketing automation
• Product data & commerce enablement: Introducing an ePIM to scale category management and digital commerce processes
• AI-driven process automation: Designing and implementing agent-based AI workflows to automate processes in business services, accounting, tender management, and marketing
• Building a scalable platform organization including product development, DevOps, UX, cloud engineering, and corporate IT
• Implementing modern product and portfolio governance (e.g., OKRs, portfolio boards, value-based roadmaps) to manage technology-driven initiatives
• Harmonizing heterogeneous system landscapes and transforming them into a modular, scalable platform architecture (ERP, CRM, PIM, integrated customer journeys)
• Coaching and developing product owners, tech leads, delivery managers, and UX teams to build a scalable product organization

• Development of microservices according to the TMF standard
• Adaptation of existing workflows to microservices (PNMGT, RADIUS, WBCI, ACS, VOIP, P2P)
• Migration of communication from RabbitMQ/REST to Kafka
• Development of Camunda processes for billing leased infrastructure
• Implementation of Kafka connectors for billing and inventory data systems
• Automation of the WBCI pre-coordination workflow
• Conducting unit, integration, and acceptance tests with business units
• Setting up CI/CD pipelines
• Troubleshooting support tickets
• Performing major refactorings of legacy code to adapt to new microservices
• Participating in meetings to gather and clarify requirements
• Technologies: Kubernetes, AWS DevOps, Apache Camel, Debezium, Python, TMF, Confluent, Kafka, OpenAPI, Java 21, Spring Boot, Docker, MapStruct, PostgreSQL, Maven, Camunda, Keycloak

• Setting up and enhancing an international subscription management system

• Migrating and decommissioning a Hybris-SAP system and integrating Zuora

• Implementing numerous interfaces to various systems (external and internal)

• Setting up and improving monitoring with Grafana, Prometheus, and Databricks

• Introducing logging with Loki

• Implementing business requirements using jQuery, Thymeleaf, Spring Boot, Java, Go, and Python

• Adjusting and extending the GitLab CI pipelines

• Setting up and extending infrastructure as code with Terraform and ArgoCD on AWS

• Setting up and running E2E and performance tests

• Expanding the Databricks business intelligence solution to provide various KPIs

• Responsibilities: Architecture, DevOps, development, unit tests, coaching employees and apprentices, E2E, smoke, and integration tests, agile methods consulting (Kanban, Scrum)

• Technologies and methods: Java, Go, Kotlin, Node.js, Spring Boot, SOAP/REST, Quarkus, Thymeleaf, Vaadin, Slack, Jira, Confluence, IntelliJ, GitLab, SQS, Kafka, AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, Maven, Gradle, GitLab CI, Databricks