OpenShift Experts

Maturing their API practices on both a business and technology level. My role covers strategy, architecture, developer advocacy as well as hands-on software engineering, enabling both technical teams and business leadership to adopt and act on API-centric principles effectively. Coincidentally, we also establish GitOps, DX and platform best practices with this project.

Highlights:

• Aligning executives with the initiative by clarifying strategy, replacing misconceptions and myths with facts, clarifying the value of existing assets and enabling informed decision-making
• Formulating a way forward for API Lifecycle Management at OTTO
• Driving platform progress and fostering developer engagement by hands-on engineering work towards strategic goals

API Lifecycle Management, Team Topologies, Organizational Evolution, Regulatory, Platform Advocate, Developer Platform, Communities of Practice, Terraform, Kotlin, Kafka, Kong, WSO2, Apigee, Gravitee, Backstage, AsyncAPI, OpenAPI, API Design, AWS, React, Node.js, TypeScript, Redocly, reactive programming, CDC, Golang, Gin, GitOps, DX (developer experience), stakeholder management, roadmaps, workshops, discovery.

• Worked as freelance Senior DevOps Consultant on-site for IBM at a European Union Agency, operating in a highly secure, air-gapped environment managing classified systems.
• Led automation and DevOps initiatives for a large-scale OpenShift platform (>400 nodes), driving deployment efficiency, GitOps adoption, and operational automation using Ansible, Python, and Bash while ensuring compliance with security requirements.
• Spearheaded automation of release and deployment workflows in a private cloud environment hosting 400+ OpenShift nodes, significantly improving deployment speed and reliability.
• Migrated existing playbooks, roles, and templates from Ansible Tower to Ansible Automation Platform (AAP), ensuring full compliance with fully-qualified collection names (FQCN) and preparing custom Execution Environments (EE) for containerized automation.
• Implemented GitOps Agent for AAP Controller Configuration as Code, enabling automated synchronization (CRUD) of Ansible Controller objects based on repository-stored configuration definitions using GitHub webhooks.
• Designed and automated complex multi-step operational workflows including environment cleanup, Helix cluster component re-creation, Kafka topic management, and OpenShift object lifecycle management across ~100 environments.
• Achieved a reduction of multi-day manual operations to under a few hours through automation improvements spanning multiple AAP clusters and OpenShift environments.
• Integrated Ansible Automation Platform with Thycotic (Delinea) Secret Server via lookup plugin to enhance secure credential management in automated processes.
• Managed deployment tasks, platform troubleshooting, and Istio network configurations while adhering to stringent EU PSC security and compliance standards.
• Collaborated with infrastructure and application teams to refine deployment procedures, develop naming conventions, and continuously improve automation coverage in an air-gapped, classified environment.

• Analysis of the existing CAN communication between microcontrollers
• Analysis of the sensors used and the measured values collected
• Planning the CAN messages for transmitting the measured values
• Iterative adjustment of the microcontroller code to the new CAN messages
• Cross-compilation from x64 to arm64

• Optimizing and accelera­tion of our Gitlab CI pipeline

• Conceptual work for the PoC of the Zero Trust system

• Extension of the policy-engine backend in Go

• Extension of the policy-testing mechanism in Python

• Architectural design of the PEP component of Zero Trust

• Documentation of the product

• Technologies: Zero Trust, Go, Python, Gitlab CI, Docker, JWT, Domain-Driven Design

• 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.

IT consulting, analysis, architecture design, new and further development, code review, test automation, continuous integration, continuous delivery in backend and frontend areas for Automotive Project Instavalo.

Frontend:

• Implementation of UI components according to specifications, especially style guides and responsive design eith React and Typescript
• Component testing
• Code documentation
• CI/CD with Gitlab Pipeline

Backend / IoT:

• Analysis and architectural design with AWS Greengrass IoT on Edge Devices
• Setting up Microservices containers with Docker Compose on Edge device with AWS Greengrass and AWS IoT IAM, Token Exchange Service, Ansible
• CI/CD with Gitlab Pipeline, Terraform, AWS ECR
• Logging with Fluentbit Lua Language for AWS Cloudwatch
• Python Lambda for AWS Greengrass Recipe deployment on Edge Devices
• Implementation of test-driven development with JUnit, Mockito, and code Coverage
• Jacoco
• Definition of REST interfaces with OpenAPI / Swagger
• Development and enhancement of software based on Java Quarkus, Typescript NestJs NodeJs and Python
• Authentication and authorization in Aws IAM
• Development of REST and gRPC interfaces for the frontend and backend
• Implementation of Maven dependencies with DevSecOps OWASP
• Spring AI, Jetbrains AI Assistant, Junie, Github Copilot, Claude Code, Agents, Skills, Command, Hooks, Subagents

• Short description: Lead a group-wide project to establish standardized cloud governance for Microsoft Azure, including policies, security and compliance controls, automation, and cost and operations control while preserving the autonomy of decentralized business units within regulatory boundaries.

• Tasks and activities:

• Overall responsibility for the design, setup, and implementation of an enterprise-wide cloud governance structure (Azure), incl. target picture, roadmap, and operating model.

• Management of internal and external stakeholders (C-level, IT, Security, Compliance, Cloud Architecture, DevOps) incl. decision-making and escalation management.

• Planning and facilitation of workshops on cloud strategy, governance principles, and the design of areas such as Identity, Connectivity, and Platform Management.

• Definition, implementation, and rollout of cloud policies (Azure Policy / custom policies), security standards, and compliance requirements (including GDPR, ISO 27001, BSI C5).

• Building a cloud governance framework aligned with the Azure Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF), incl. landing zone and guardrail concepts.

• Introduction of automation solutions for governance, security, and cost control (policy/control automation, IaC, CI/CD-based control mechanisms).

• Implementation of cloud security and compliance monitoring mechanisms as well as continuous improvement processes.

• Establishment and operationalization of FinOps in an enterprise environment (central and decentralized FinOps teams), incl. cost management strategies, reporting, and guardrails.

• Integration of governance policies into DevOps processes (e.g. CI/CD principles for security and compliance checks, GitLab Runner concept in spokes, GitLab CI/CD for CAF landing zones).

• Implementation of access concepts incl. RBAC design and "break glass" mechanisms (emergency access) as well as certificate automation (ACME / step-ca).

• Achievements:

• Created a unified, auditable governance and control set for Azure (policies, standards, compliance mapping) and thus laid the foundation for scalable cloud usage in a regulated environment.

• Established repeatable automation for governance, security, and cost control (IaC + CI/CD), reducing manual effort and implementation risks.

• Improved operational and decision-making capabilities across central and decentralized units (clearer roles, responsibilities, escalation paths, balance between autonomy and group requirements).

• Significantly increased workload compliance for lift-and-shift migrations.

• Technologies used:

• Microsoft Azure Policy, custom policies.

• Terraform, OpenTofu, Terragrunt.

• step-ca (ACME).

• Entra ID.

• Azure Firewall.

• Azure networking, hub-and-spoke architecture.

• Azure vWAN (evaluation).

• Azure Front Door, Azure Application Gateway.

• Azure ExpressRoute.

• Azure Key Vault.

• NetBox.

• GitLab (on-premises).

• Infrastructure, concepts used:

• Cloud shared responsibility model.

• Hub-and-spoke connectivity / central shared services (from a hub-spoke context).

• Central governance with decentralized delivery (business unit autonomy with guardrails).

• Methods used:

• Scrum.

• Stakeholder management (C-level to engineering).

• Cloud governance, Azure Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF).

• DevOps, CI/CD.

• Cost and FinOps approaches: tagging/chargeback models, budget/alert concepts, reserved instances/savings plans vs. on-demand scenarios, sensitivity analyses.

• RBAC, "break glass" concepts.

• ACME / certificate automation.

• GitLab Runner concept in spokes, GitLab CI/CD pipelines for CAF landing zones.

• Joined the initial development team and helped transform an n8n prototype into a production-ready 0-to-1 product in a fast-paced environment.
• Owned delivery across CRM and Twilio integrations, customer communication workflows, and administrative interfaces.
• Collaborated on AI evaluation, microservice architecture, and other cross-functional product and engineering topics.
• Supported the CEO across VC communications, customer acquisition, product positioning, onboarding, documentation, pricing, and sales.

• Focus: system architecture, cloud-native platforms, microservices, API design
• Product: Pflege-Pfad is a digital matchmaking platform that connects relatives of people in need of care directly with verified care services and caregivers - without an agency and without ongoing fees.
• Business analysis & process design:
• Analysis of the German care market and identification of the key pain points of both target groups.
• Modeling of the core business processes: registration, verification, care request, application, placement, and rating.
• Definition of the business model as a freemium/premium model with optional contact unlocking.
• Creation of user stories and requirements documentation for relatives, care services, and administrators.
• Design of trust and quality assurance mechanisms with document upload, admin review process, and rating system.
• Coordination with stakeholders and validation of product decisions with potential users.
• Technical implementation:
• Design and implementation of the entire platform architecture as a solo developer.
• Design and implementation of a REST API with Spring Boot and Kotlin, including JWT-based authentication.
• Development of the frontend as a single-page application with Angular 17.
• Implementation of the AWS infrastructure with EC2, RDS PostgreSQL, S3, CloudFront, and IAM.
• Document upload with AWS S3 via presigned URLs for verification of care services.
• Email notifications via Resend API.
• AI-supported care service search via OpenAI API.
• Implementation of complete user flows such as registration, login, password reset, and placement process.
• Building an admin panel for user and care service management as well as analytics.
• CI/CD with GitHub Actions and containerized deployments with Docker.
• End-to-end tests with Playwright.

Technologies: Kotlin, Spring Boot 3, Spring Security, JWT, JPA/Hibernate, PostgreSQL, Angular 17, TypeScript, RxJS, AWS (EC2, ECS, S3, CloudFront CDN, RDS PostgreSQL, IAM), nginx, GitHub Actions, Playwright, Maven, Git, OpenAI API, Resend API, Docker, Scrum, i18n (DE/EN/TR), Kiro, feature-flag architecture.

• 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.

• Development and introduction of operations processes
• Preparation of complete documentation packages (including incident management and operations support) to meet compliance requirements
• Introduction of a workshop on IaC (Infrastructure as Code)
• Technical consulting for the project security concept (ISMS)
• Installation and operation of Kubernetes clusters on AWS, on-prem, and Azure
• Hybrid cloud architecture design (on-prem, Hetzner, AWS)
• Analysis and troubleshooting of incidents and system outages
• Network adjustments for firewall rules, gateways, OpenVPN settings, and IPsec tunnels (pfSense)
• Technical consulting on Bitbucket, Jenkins, and GitLab CI/CD pipelines
• Consulting on Ansible deployments and infrastructure automation
• Consulting on building a scalable system in the cloud (AWS / Azure)
• Technologies / Tools: Ansible, Terraform, AWS, Azure, VPN, pfSense, Jenkins, Bitbucket, Kubernetes, GitLab Runner, ISMS, Golang, Prometheus, Grafana, S3, Lambda, RDS, ECS, Cognito, OIDC, Harbor, MinIO, Postgres, Redis, Keycloak, Ceph, Proxmox, CloudFormation, PostgreSQL, Flux CD, Hetzner, IONOS, Sonatype Nexus Repository, Entra ID, Dex IdP, Pulumi

Task:

• Design and build a proof of concept (PoC) for a future-proof virtualization platform, taking secure system architectures into account
• Assess the current state of existing infrastructures and develop selection and evaluation criteria for the right OS virtualization platform
• Carry out the requirements analysis and then create and prioritize tickets in the ticket system
• Complete and continuously update a tool evaluation matrix based on PoC results
• Support team knowledge building through clear documentation of the approach and results in Confluence
• Enterprise analysis of existing hardware (creating different BoMs)

Technologies: Vmware, Vmware Aria Operations, Osism, Canonical OpenStack, FishOs, Linux, Terraform, Ansible, Confluence, Alma

As project manager for the Odoo implementation at a small company, I was responsible for designing, implementing, and training a fully integrated CRM and accounting system. Through structured requirements analysis, precise data migration, and targeted change management, I was able to complete the rollout in just eight weeks. The project led to a significant reduction in manual tasks, faster business processes, and increased real-time transparency.

Main Responsibilities

Requirements analysis and process mapping Configuration of Odoo modules: CRM, Sales, and Accounting Data migration (Excel/CSV → Odoo) and quality control Creation of workflows, automated email rules, and dashboards Conducting training sessions and providing support after go-live Project coordination (budget, schedule, stakeholder communication)

Key Achievements

Full implementation of the Odoo suite within the set timeframe (8 weeks) 30% reduction in accounting time and 25% acceleration of the lead-to-sale flow 100% customer satisfaction after go-live, based on survey results Successful migration of 100% of existing master data without data loss Establishment of a sustainable support infrastructure (3-month post go-live support)

Impact

Improved decision-making through real-time dashboards and automated reports Increased efficiency and cost savings (≈ €8,000/month) Scalability for future growth (additional modules can be integrated seamlessly) Strengthened sales and finance departments through seamless process integration

This summary highlights how I created concrete and measurable value for the company through structured project work, technical expertise, and targeted training.

Design and implementation of a compact ERP, CRM, accounting, and production-planning platform for a German food manufacturer. The system replaces Rechnung11, self-built Excel sheets, and manual processes for fewer than 10 internal users.

• Designed and implemented the full platform architecture as sole architect and developer.
• Built modules for customer management, B2B order handling, invoicing, production planning, and accounting support.
• Implemented DATEV export, ZUGFeRD/XRechnung e-invoicing, FinTS bank statement synchronization, and GoBD audit trail concepts.
• Used AI-supported workflows for prototyping, test support, and implementation acceleration while retaining full architecture, review, testing strategy, and technical ownership.

Technology: Java 23, Spring Boot 3, Spring Data JPA, Spring Security, Vue 3, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Flyway, REST, OpenAPI, JWT, TOTP, RBAC, DATEV, FinTS, ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, GoBD, JUnit, Mockito, Testcontainers, Playwright, Docker, GitLab CI/CD