Identity and Access Management Experts in Cologne

• Technical leadership across hardware, firmware, and software teams; scope: hardware/firmware team (4 people) and leadership group (5 people)
• Consolidated and documented a product family that had grown over more than 15 years and aligned it with CRA compliance — from the bare-metal I/O module to the cloud interface.
• Provided the most important customer product with the essential requirements and architecture documentation within two months — for a firmware landscape that had grown over more than 15 years. It now supports the customer’s modernization strategy.
• Established a monthly reporting line to the supervisory board and executive board within three months: nine meetings since 12/2025. The report itself is versioned and built from the CI pipeline; it is based on automatically collected activity and release data instead of assessments.
• Built a container-based CI/CD infrastructure from scratch: cross-compilation, host tests, and documentation builds in one continuous pipeline.
• Introduced declarative QA gates for DevOps and development artifacts — from the start using lefthook instead of pre-commit, executed in a dedicated container image.

Technologies used: arc42, req42, tpo42, docToolchain, PlantUML, ArchiMate, C4 model, ADR, C, C++ (GTest), CMake, Bare Metal (ARM Cortex-M3/M7), OCI containers, Jenkins, lefthook, Prometheus, Grafana, SBOM, CRA, OPC, SCADA, PLC integration, IPv6 migration, Zero Trust, Sociocracy 3.0, Cynefin

• Project: ESU Windows and SQL Server consolidation / Configuration Management in ServiceNow
• Creation of an as-is analysis of all servers worldwide
• Creation of an as-is analysis of all SQL servers worldwide
• Creation of requirements analyses for SQL and server migrations
• Coordination of requirements with partners for migrations to Hyper-V (on-premises) or Azure Cloud
• Moderation of jour fixe meetings
• Creation of roadmaps and solution models for server migrations
• Setup of test scenarios
• Moderation of workshops for the introduction of a Global Admin Team
• Creation of data models (CMDB) in ServiceNow
• Conducting workshops for the CMDB data model
• Creation of solution models for the CMDB
• Creation of seamless configuration and work documentation for the CMDB
• Creation of reports for license management
• Creation of KPIs for data quality in ServiceNow
• Creation of a service catalog
• Moderation of workshops for creating service requests
• Interface between needs analysis and ServiceNow development team
• Systems used: Windows 7, Windows 10, Microsoft Office 365/2010, Windows Server 20xx, SQL Server 20xx, SharePoint, Azure Cloud, Hyper-V, ServiceNow, various tools

• PRISMA project
• Ansible automation
• Windows third-level support for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 2013, Windows 2016, Windows 2019

Industry: digital sovereignty, public sector

Responsibilities:

• Project coordination (teams: consulting, development, testing, deployment/operations)

Products and standards:

• Jira, Confluence, Asana, Miro, Mural
• Open Source, Keycloak, Open Xchange, ownCloud

• Client: STROTH Telecom GmbH (formerly Tele2 Comm. Services GmbH) Business Development B2B / B2C

• Development of growth & go-to-market strategy for new products

• Content strategy for brand relaunch

• Selection and setup of a marketing automation solution

• Concept and marketing of a white-label mobile solution

• Project management of partnerships with WEtell and ENTEGA Mobile

• Client: S-Communication Services GmbH (Sparkassen Financial Group) Project Management IAM (Integrated Address Management)

• Analysis of current product portfolio

• Market analysis of banking & finance

• Identification of required adjustments for medium-term planning

• Formulation of IAM vision

• Client: ERGO Group AG Sales Promotion

• Activation of sponsorship partnership with the German Football Association (DFB)

• Media collaborations

• Social media communication

• Support for sales partner network

• Client: E.ON SE Innovation Domains / Strategy & Innovation

• Coaching on business case development (individual / teams)

• Training on key financials (NPV calculation) / scenario planning

• Development of sales strategies for innovations

• Teaching storytelling skills

• Creation of templates

• Target KPI alignment / metrics (portfolio performance)

• Analysis of business requirements
• Integration of different data sources such as ERP systems, production systems, and external data sources
• Implementation of load processes and processing logic with MSSQL
• Data modeling and optimization of data models
• Setting up data quality management incl. data profiling with dynamic programming
• Support in designing and establishing data governance, especially in the areas of data quality management and data protection
• Support in developing BI solutions with Tableau to help decision-making processes

• Support in fit-gap analysis for three RM-CA systems focusing on sub-ledger reconciliation, dunning, and collections processes.
• Stakeholder management in international teams (business colleagues, IT colleagues, and external partners).
• Escalation and risk management (PM).
• Cost and budget calculation (PM).
• Support in shaping the strategic direction of the global collections system.
• Resolving technical challenges for the central collections system (multi-company operation).
• High-level design of the central AR system with focus on scalability and process harmonization.

• Regulated environment within a German banking group (approx. 8,500 employees, hybrid cloud strategy).

• Responsible for operating, provisioning, and continuously securing business-critical platforms – including a GenAI chat application, a big data/AI platform, and data science workspaces based on Azure Virtual Desktops and VMs. Ownership of Azure DevOps projects for ShaiHulud and React2Shell, as well as BSI alerts – Security Operations improvements across the SDLC.

• Deployment responsibility for the GenAI chat application, big data/AI platform (BDAI), and data science workspaces (AVD/VM-based) in the respective landing zones.

• Deployment & release management: end-to-end responsibility for deploying portal and service applications across multiple Azure landing zones, including technical approvals, compliance with development team deployment guidelines, and ensuring ITIL-based change and release processes via ServiceNow.

• Azure landing zones & network architecture: design, provisioning, and operation of Azure landing zones for 3-tier web applications with enhanced network segmentation, VNet peering, hub-and-spoke architectures, private endpoints, and firewall integration across separate subscriptions and tenants.

• Azure DevOps governance & operations: ownership of the Azure DevOps organization, including projects, repositories, and CI/CD pipelines; implementation of governance requirements such as branch policies, approval gates, permission models, and audit-ready operating structures.

• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform): design, implementation, and operation of a modular Terraform architecture for standardized cloud infrastructure deployment, including state management, provider versioning, reusability, and policy-as-code approaches.

• CI/CD pipeline engineering: design, operation, and optimization of complex YAML-based CI/CD pipelines with multi-stage deployments, template standardization, self-hosted agents, integrated secret management, and automated quality and security checks.

• Git migration & platform consolidation: planning and execution of repository and pipeline migration from Azure DevOps to GitLab CI/CD, including automated scripts, full Git history transfer, pipeline porting, and platform consolidation.

• Container & platform operations (AKS): operation and security assessment of containerized workloads on Azure Kubernetes Service, centralization of on-premises container registries for ACR.

• OpenShift (OCP) security reviews: security assessment of code baselines, build pipelines, and deployment processes for on-premises OpenShift clusters with critical applications, and derivation of specific hardening recommendations.

• Shift-left security & DevSecOps transformation: introduction of a company-wide shift-left approach for early security integration in development and deployment processes, enabling developers to perform self-led security checks and sustainably reduce vulnerabilities before production (IDE integrations, pre-commit hooks, local scanners).

• Software supply chain security: analysis and mitigation of supply chain risks in NPM- and Yarn-based applications through dependency audits, CI/CD pipeline hardening, token rotation, and restriction of risky build and lifecycle mechanisms.

• Frontend & framework security (React / Next.js): security assessment and coordination of critical vulnerability remediation across platform applications and web frameworks, including coordination and complementary technical mitigations with all teams following BSI alerts.

• Software composition analysis (SCA): introduction and operation of automated vulnerability scans for container images, pipelines/artifacts, and third-party dependencies, including SBOM exports within CI/CD pipelines.

• SAST/DAST integration: design and piloting of static and dynamic application security tests in close collaboration with security architecture and development teams, for continuous improvement of code and runtime security, and establishing operational acceptance tests.

• Artifact & registry consolidation: analysis and consolidation of all package and container repositories for service applications and AKS workloads, aiming for a centralized, secured registry strategy with centralized vulnerability scanning and governance.

• Dependency-Track & SBOM strategy: advising the compliance board on introducing a central SBOM and vulnerability management platform to increase enterprise-wide dependency transparency and accelerate CVE response capability.

• CI/CD pipeline hardening: security analysis and cleanup of the existing pipeline landscape by removing unused pipelines, improving secrets hygiene, implementing least-privilege principles, and isolating build agent environments.

• Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) optimization: analysis and tuning of existing Azure WAF rules (OWASP Top 10 Core Rule Set, DSR/SDC, custom rules) to defend against known vulnerabilities and exploit patterns, including reducing false positives and improving threat detection.

• Documentation & stakeholder communication: creating and maintaining technical documentation, runbooks, and architecture overviews in Jira and Confluence, as well as active knowledge transfer between operations, development, security, and compliance stakeholders.

• Full product responsibility from a business perspective: requirement analysis, UX design, product strategy, and go-to-market implemented without an internal dev team using fully AI-supported development (Claude Code / Anthropic)
• Technical differentiation: KRITIS-compliant air-gapped deployment (Windows/NSIS), GDT interface for PVS integration, DATEV-LODAS export for payroll
• Managed pilot operation with initial external client (Dormagen medical practice): structured requirement gathering, test support, error analysis, and release management
• Developed rollout and sales strategy for market entry in the segment of private practices and small medical centers
• Human-in-the-Loop development principle: business decision → AI implementation → manual review → approval → release – each sprint documented in Jira (TIME project), every change traceable via co-authored commits
• Product outcome: Tauri/Rust desktop app with GDT watcher, multi-tier model (Starter/Professional/Enterprise), cloud mirror on Hetzner/Traefik, complete ISMS framework based on ISO 27001 and BSI basic protection as product foundation
• Direct method validation for the test manager role: hands-on experience with quality assurance of AI-generated products from a user perspective, review gate discipline, release approval under GDPR and the EU AI Act

• Improvement of the Information Security Management System (ISMS) based on ISO 27001, NIS2, DORA, B3S, TISAX and BSI IT Baseline Protection
• Conducting comprehensive gap analyses to identify gaps and derive action plans according to the above standards and regulations; management and KPIs
• Data Loss Prevention strategy and implementation using MS Purview
• Vulnerability and patch management, security monitoring
• Risk analysis and threat modeling using the STRIDE methodology
• Development of vendor risk assessments, implementation of risk classifications, conducting supplier assessments and implementing technical monitoring solutions (e.g. Security ScoreCard)
• Securing cloud environments (AWS and Azure); expertise in CSPM/CNAPP (Wiz), cloud migration, secure CI/CD pipelines, container security and best practices in AWS, Azure and Office 365
• Application security: penetration testing, DevSecOps, OWASP, pre-commit hooks, key and secret management, IDE plugins, static source code analysis, dependency checks, container scanning, vulnerability management, CIS benchmarks and compliance
• Security assessment and hardening according to CIS benchmarks and cloud conformity in AWS, Office 365 and Azure

• Developed a shop website
• Integrated an AI language model
• Developed tools for AI-powered webhooks
• Technical tools: REACT.js; Elevenlabs; MCP; n8n; HTTP

• Network elements, network, operational and operator-related systems
• Supporting around 20 different products (managed agile)
• Requirements analysis and management (functional and non-functional)
• Test concept and planning (scope, test phases, effort, schedule, resources, organization, etc.)
• Aligning approach with clients and service providers
• Managing and assisting in creation of test cases for system, integration and end-to-end tests
• Guiding and supporting test execution
• Defect management and planning bug fixes with external providers
• Preparing and facilitating workshops
• Regular reporting and creating automated test reports
• Further development of agile testing methodology and configuration of supporting tools
• Conceptual support in developing a quality seal for rating product and service quality of internal and external providers
• Requirements engineering based on ISO/IEC 25010, Scrum, SaFE
• BMC Remedy, Atlassian Confluence, Atlassian Jira (including plugins Xray, Structure), Microsoft Office (incl. Visio), Obsidian, doxis document management system, Gitlab, Obsidian

• All Windows clients are managed in a hybrid, central AD
• Client standardization
• Implementation of information security policy requirements
• Development of new infrastructure services delivered as a managed service by a new provider
• New IT platform is a central and secure directory service
• M365 Azure AD
• MS terminal services
• Zscaler
• M365 cloud for workplace management
• PaaS / SaaS is procured through a new provider

• Developed a SCIM-compliant Python interface to connect external systems
• Expanded and enhanced UCS modules in Python
• Extended and newly developed Helm charts for container orchestration in Kubernetes
• Maintained and further developed CI/CD pipelines in GitLab
• Implemented automated tests with Pytest and Playwright

'Nubus' is based on a microservice architecture, relies on open source technologies, and runs in Docker containers.

UCS is an IAM complete solution based on Debian, used as an alternative to Microsoft's Active Directory. The work was characterized by the close integration of infrastructure and application logic.