Identity and Access Management Experts in Munich

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.

GenAI – Chat & Voicebot

Setup of a GenAI solution with a knowledge base as well as chat and voicebots.

• Definition of use cases and chat/voicebot functionalities
• Project setup for cloud, knowledge base, LLMs and RAG
• AI guardrails, IAM concept
• Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

Result:

Setup of an enterprise GenAI solution with knowledge base, chat/voicebots, IAM and governance.

• 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).

• Idea, design and initial implementation of a service that aggregates publicly available data to estimate prices for certain types of objects
• Collection of data from different data sources and its normalization. Embedding the data using SentenceTransformer and training gradient boost models
• Implementation of a web service that
• reads arbitrary user text
• extends it if some parts of data are missing
• uses a local LLM model to prepare the data for prediction
• embed the data and call for prediction from the gradient boost model
• uses a LLM model to generate a report for the user request including explanations
• Stack: BigQuery, Vertex AI, Cloud Run (GCP), Python, Terraform, DBT, SentenceTransformer, Qwen
• Minor SEO optimizations
• More to come...

• Operations and extensions of Azure DevOps pipelines

• Operations and extensions of AWS services

• Citrix (Windows 10, Bitwarden)

• AWS: ECR, EKS, CloudFront CDN, Route 53, VPC peering and CNI upgrade, Atlas MongoDB, S3 buckets, static website hosting

• Azure: build and deploy with DevOps pipelines

• Built Collective Minds as an AI-first company, embedding AI into operating model, delivery and client solutions.
• Built and lead an international offshore delivery organization of 25 professionals, complemented by senior specialists in Germany.
• Act as Interim CDO for ALWITRA, supporting the company-wide digitalization agenda across ERP, CRM, enterprise knowledge, AI, data and operating model.
• Advise managing directors, CIOs and IT leaders on transformation strategy, target operating models, governance, prioritization and execution.
• Own program structures, budgets, staffing, vendor coordination, risks and executive stakeholder communication.
• Develop scalable technology and delivery models across AI, CRM, IAM, integration and manufacturing-related initiatives.

• Lead Architecture in an interdisciplinary architecture team covering enterprise, solution, NOOTS, cloud and security architecture as well as regulatory and European interoperability requirements.

• Public / Government

• Development and management of target architectures, principles, standards and technical guardrails; assessment of Security-by-Design, IAM, data protection and interface/integration architectures; architecture reviews, security assessments, risk analyses, and preparation of decision records, target visions, roadmaps and decision papers. Architectural knowledge and consideration of relevant AD-NOOTS requirements, particularly for IAM, authorization, secure integration and interoperability.

• Technologies / Methods: Enterprise Architecture, Solution Architecture, Security Architecture, Cloud Architecture, NOOTS / EU-OOTS, IAM, Authorization, Security-by-Design, API/Integration Architecture, Interoperability, Risk Analysis, Architecture Governance

• Security and integration requirements as well as technical decisions are structured in reliable architecture and decision artifacts.

AI Assistance and Target Vision for Partially Autonomous Energy Portfolio Management

Building an AI control layer directly on the up-to-date daily live portfolio of a large energy provider — not as an isolated pilot, but as an operational extension of the existing DB1 and portfolio management. The goal is the gradual development from assistance through monitoring/alerting to analysis agents with Human-in-the-Loop approvals, supplemented by a role-specific System of Engagement alongside the BI System of Record. At the same time, the business case, target vision and management pitch compared with static monthly reporting are being developed.

• AI control layer: Design and build on the existing live portfolio data product (several million contracts) — development stages assistance → monitoring/alerting → agents with Human-in-the-Loop approvals.
• LLM-supported data analysis: Semantic queries, SQL/tool integration and additional RAG components based on portfolio, plan-versus-actual and data quality data (Azure OpenAI, Snowflake), with drill-downs to individual contract level.
• Analysis agents: Multi-stage agents for variance and driver analyses of churn, price adjustments, volumes and procurement costs.
• Views concept: Role-specific interfaces for business units, management and C-level as a System of Engagement alongside the BI System of Record.
• Business case & pitch: Target vision and cost-benefit argumentation compared with static monthly reporting.
• LLM setup (privacy & security): Coordination with IT Security and Data Protection — EU region, data separation and approval processes.
• Agent architecture: Multi-stage agent pipelines (analysis → validation → summary) with documented data sources, tool calls, review steps and source references for each statement.
• Data foundation: Built on the up-to-date daily DB1 data product (Snowflake, dbt) — portfolio, plan-versus-actual and data quality metrics as the common basis for all AI analyses.
• Guardrails & evaluation: Evaluation and approval processes for LLM responses relating to management-relevant statements — test sets, metrics and human review.
• Prototyping & validation: Iterative validation of agent responses with the business unit — test question catalogue, feedback loops and response quality for each release.
• Roadmap & development stages: Detailed stages from assistance → monitoring/alerting → partially autonomous management, including transition criteria and governance for each stage.
• Integration: Integration into the existing BI and data landscape — BI remains the System of Record, while the AI layer provides interactive drill-down paths as the System of Engagement.
• Enablement: Enablement of business users — prompting guides, training and an operating model for ongoing use.
• Management: Coordination of business units, Data Engineering, IT Security and Data Protection.
• Change Management: Communication and expectation management with business units and management throughout the development stages.

Results:

• Built on an existing up-to-date daily data product with several million contracts
• Established an LLM setup coordinated with Data Protection and IT Security in the EU region, including data separation and approvals
• Defined three development stages through to partially autonomous management
• Designed role-specific views for business units, management and C-level
• Developed the business case and management pitch for the development stages
• Established an iterative response-quality validation process with the business unit
• Designed the operating model for assistance operations and initiated validation

Stack: Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Foundry, Snowflake, dbt, React, TypeScript, Entra ID, RAG, Agentic AI, analysis agents, Human-in-the-Loop, Prompt Engineering, LLM Evaluation, LLMOps, GDPR / EU region, Azure DevOps, Python, SQL, Change Management

• Spearheaded the EU market entry strategy for L3/L4 autonomous logistics vehicles, driving the technological localization and deployment of the parent company’s smart robotics portfolio.
• Orchestrated technical alignment between top-tier autonomous driving suppliers across China and Europe, translating complex client requirements into precise engineering specifications compliant with EU standards.
• Cultivated strategic joint R&D initiatives with leading European universities, research institutes, and enterprises, accelerating the transition of cutting-edge robotic concepts into commercial products.
• Directed the end-to-end architecture of intelligent warehousing solutions, guiding cross-functional teams in optimizing hardware integration for autonomous vehicles & robots, and overall system performance.
• Led the R&D of high-fidelity simulation and AI algorithms using NVIDIA Isaac Sim & Lab, establishing robust "Sim-to-Real" pipelines to train and validate dynamic path planning optimization, intelligent obstacle avoidance, and complex navigation stacks prior to physical deployment.
• Maintained hands-on oversight of the core system architecture, focusing on bottom-level performance tuning, AI model inference acceleration with TensorRT/ONNX Runtime, and sensor integration.

• Support for implementing the Pimcore CMS, support assistance, and partner management for the existing application landscape.
• Know-how transfer to the existing application landscape.
• Advising stakeholders on the new implementation.
• Support in data modeling for Pimcore.
• Designing and overseeing data migrations from Salesforce to Pimcore using ESB.
• Creating user stories.
• 3rd level support for business-critical processes.
• Technologies: Salesforce Marketing, Sales, and Service Cloud; Talend ESB; Pimcore; Shopware; ERP system Move; DB2; MySQL; MS Office; MS Visio; Jira; Confluence.

• Integrated LangChain middleware between AEM and SAP PIM system
• Developed a FastAPI interface for system communication
• Implemented vector embeddings for semantic product search
• Evaluated LLM models (Vertex AI/Gemini, LM Studio, Hugging Face, OpenAI) for product analysis
• Developed an AEM component to display product recommendations and integrated the recommendation API into the AEM authoring process
• Designed and implemented Pinecone vector database for product embeddings
• Optimized response times and caching strategies
• Evaluated Vertex AI Studio for LLM testing and prompt workflows
• Implemented secure API routing and access control for AI components via FastAPI and gateway validation

• Conducted a comprehensive due diligence review for a potential acquisition of a Swiss manufacturing company as part of a pre-merger analysis
• Assessed production capacities and technical infrastructure
• Evaluated integration possibilities into existing business processes
• Performed risk assessment and developed recommendations for action
• Documented the findings and presented them to management

• Test concept creation
• Creation of test processes
• Coordination of TC development: stress tests, functional tests, performance tests, high data rate tests, integration tests, etc.
• HW testing: FPGA, RF
• Test automation and regression tests
• Ensuring 24/7 operation of the test system
• Analysis & reporting
• Regular coordination of the test team, meetings with other stakeholders
• Communication and coordination with stakeholders and the project manager