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About Me I am a Senior DevOps Engineer with over 25 years of experience in software development and cloud engineering, specializing in AWS and Terraform. My expertise lies in designing, automating, and optimizing cloud-based solutions while ensuring best practices, security, and cost efficiency. Certified across multiple AWS domains, I bring in-depth knowledge of cloud infrastructure, serverless architectures, and DevOps tools to deliver scalable, reliable, and high-performing solutions. Certifications AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (2022) AWS Certified Developer – Associate (2022) AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (2022) AWS Expertise - Automation & Orchestration: Terraform (Infrastructure as Code) Step Functions CloudFormation - Compute: EC2 Lambda (Python, Java) - Networking & Security: VPC, Subnets, Security Groups API Gateway IAM Secrets Manager Key Management Service (KMS) - Data & Storage: RDS DynamoDB S3 - Monitoring & Management: Cloudtrail CloudWatch EventBridge - Developer Tools: CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, CodePipeline - Key Skills Cloud & DevOps: AWS, Terraform, Terragrunt, Docker, Linux Programming: Python, Java (Spring Boot), Gradle, Maven Version Control & CI/CD: GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins Project Management: Jira What I Offer Infrastructure automation with Terraform and AWS. Serverless solution design with Lambda and API Gateway. Security and compliance implementation with IAM and KMS. Cloud cost optimization aligned with the AWS Well-Architected Framework.

𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐌𝐖, 𝐍𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐀𝐖𝐒 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 | 𝟴+ 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞-𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Hi, I'm Christiaan! I'm a senior software engineer who loves turning complex technical challenges into elegant solutions that drive real business results. With over 8 years of experience, I've had the privilege of working with industry leaders like BMW and Nedbank, building robust applications and cloud systems that scale beautifully. Whether you need a sleek web application, a cloud migration, or a complete DevOps overhaul, I bring both the technical expertise and collaborative spirit to make your project a success. 🎯 What I Bring to Your Project Full-Stack Development: I craft high-performance applications using Java (Spring Boot), C# (.NET Core), JavaScript (React, Angular, TypeScript), Python (Django, Flask), Go, Kotlin, and Rust. From front-end user experiences to back-end architecture, I handle it all. DevOps & Cloud Engineering: Expert in AWS, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, and GitHub Actions. I design, build, and automate cloud infrastructure that's reliable, scalable, and cost-effective. Database & API Integration: Skilled with PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, NoSQL, and microservices architecture. I ensure your data is fast, secure, and seamlessly integrated across your systems. Monitoring & Performance: Proficient with Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK Stack to keep your applications running smoothly with proactive monitoring and quick issue resolution. 💡 Real Projects, Real Results BMW – Central Ordering Pipeline: Built a critical ordering system using Java and Spring Boot that dramatically improved efficiency. Led a major AWS migration using PostgreSQL, Docker, and Kubernetes, ensuring rock-solid performance under heavy loads. Nedbank – Property Valuation Platform: Developed a comprehensive property valuation application with React and .NET Core. The result? A secure, user-friendly platform that streamlined operations and delighted end users. Nexi Group – Reserve Bank Systems: Maintained mission-critical financial systems across multiple countries, ensuring 99.9%+ uptime for infrastructure that keeps economies running. 🌍 Industry Experience You Can Trust I've delivered solutions across diverse industries: • Automotive – High-performance systems at scale • Financial Services & Banking – Secure, compliant applications • Accounting – Precision-driven tools • Media – Fast, responsive platforms • Healthcare Technology – Reliable, HIPAA-aware systems This breadth of experience means I quickly understand your unique challenges and deliver solutions tailored to your industry. ✨ Why Work With Me? Clear Communication: I keep you informed every step of the way. No jargon, no surprises—just honest, straightforward updates. Problem Solver: I don't just write code; I solve business problems. Whether it's slow deployments, technical debt, or scaling challenges, I find solutions that save you time and money. Quality Focus: My AWS certification and hands-on experience mean you get enterprise-grade quality without enterprise-level complexity. Collaborative Partner: Your success is my success. I work with you, not just for you, ensuring the final solution matches your vision perfectly. 🚀 Services That Drive Results • Custom Web Application Development – Modern, responsive apps built to scale • API Development & Microservices – Clean, efficient integrations • Cloud Architecture & Migration – Seamless moves to AWS or Azure • CI/CD Pipeline Automation – Faster, safer deployments • DevOps Implementation – Streamlined workflows that boost productivity • Legacy System Modernization – Breathe new life into old systems • Database Optimization – Fast, reliable data management 💬 Let's Talk About Your Project Are you dealing with slow development cycles? Complex integrations? A cloud setup that's costing too much? I'd love to help you solve these challenges. I'm available for projects of all sizes, from quick fixes to long-term partnerships. Let's have a conversation about what you're building and how I can help bring your vision to life. Ready to get started? Send me a message, and let's create something great together! Technical Keywords: Full-Stack Developer, Java, Spring Boot, C#, .NET Core, React, Angular, DevOps Engineer, AWS, Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, Microservices, Cloud Migration, API Development, Database Design, Software Engineer, Python, Django, Flask, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Kotlin, Rust, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, NoSQL, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Terraform, Ansible, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack

I am passionate about working with technologies that can greatly enhance human life. I enjoy working and battling with new ideas and solving problems. I have experience tackling problems that require mathematical modelling and simulation through a wide array of problems from control of a helicopter to fluid-flow modelling problems. My main interests are in Biomedical engineering and working on problems that deal with integration of technology with the human body. I am capable and motivated to work in high-stress deadline oriented environment. I am able to take initiative within a project environment and will enjoy showing my colleagues what a South African Wits student is capable of doing. I have experience building Proof of Concept products using rapid development languages like Ruby on Rails and Python. I also have some experience building corporate-grade software using C#, .NET and Angular. My main focus over the last couple of years has been software architecture, design and maintenance. I have developed multiple software deployment, security and hosting strategies for different kinds of ML and conventional software projects in AWS and have recently begun exploring Azure and Google cloud in an effort to design resilient and cloud agnostic solutions.

I have 3 years of full-time Rust only development experience. This was sparked after I wrote my undergrad thesis on creating procedural macros in Rust. And subsequently decided to be a full-time Rust freelancer. Most of these Rust projects got started here on Upwork. I still provide technical inputs and modifications for some of these projects from time to time. Some of my other Rust work has been contributions to libraries or conference presentations. However, my biggest project turned into a full-time Technical Lead at Shuttle for the past 2 years. Shuttle is a startup that had a successful seed round a year and a half ago. We focused on making a platform for deploying Rust backend applications with ease. To achieve this, we used AWS and some procedural-macro magic to create a new development paradigm called Infrastructure from Code. I was the first employee, and engineer, to help the Shuttle founders. My biggest contribution was using my macro development knowledge to create the magical experience Shuttle is known for today. And for some months I was also the only engineer producing code for the project. About a year ago the CTO founder also left the startup. This led to me also covering that role for about a year. During this time, Shuttle was named one of the 100 fastest Y-Combinator startups and Shuttle also won some UK startup awards. All this happened while I also oversaw development projects, hired new engineers, mentored current engineers, and provided community support. # Projects and experience Being Technical Lead at Shuttle from May 2022 - May 2024. This was at least my title since I also had to fill in for the CTO for the last year after the founding CTO left. Before being the Tech Lead I was the Rust engineer at Shuttle from Feb 2022. Before Shuttle, I helped the same founders on another startup called Synth from Oct 2021. My role was, again, being a Rust developer for any features they wanted to add to Synth or any bugs that needed fixing. Also, from Jun 2021, I've helped Elerian to modify their Rust plugin for a telephony system. I still help them from time to time when they need new modifications or bug fixes. I was also a speaker at Rust Nation 2024 where I delivered a technical tutorial on writing microservices in Rust.

BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW I am a native English-speaking linguist, researcher, English content writer and editor with a degree in English Language and Linguistics and minors in English Literature, Journalism & Media Studies and several other languages. I also have a background in UX design and software development spanning 2013-2020 when I worked full-time in the software industry and I like to keep current and connected, keeping plugged into what's going on in the tech and dev scenes, as well as building my own open-source side-projects, as you can see from my attached Github! As a linguist, I am passionate about language meta, linguistic structures, and communication in general. Please note I do not offer translation from other languages to/from English. Being a linguistics graduate means I have studied the structures, use, and evolution of language, with a specialisation in English. LINGUISTICS: Please see my Linguistics-specialised profile labelled "Language Tutoring" for more details on my linguistics offerings and the related portfolio item on rewriting a character's dialogue to sound South African. As my other linguistics work is not public, please instead see my glowing reviews and five-star ratings for my linguistics-related past work, also available on this profile. WRITING, EDITING, BETA READING I offer creative writing and editing and beta reading services, as well as blog and article writing and editing. Please see my portfolio for samples, as well as my glowing reviews and five-star ratings for my past projects. RESUMÉS I additionally offer job application writing and editing services, including resumés and cover letters. Please see my portfolio for samples of these, too. The "Brainstorming" portfolio link contains some of my paid research and creative contribution links for general internet research for discussion board posting on an ideation site. ACADEMIC RESEARCH I have also done multiple academic and formal editing, writing, and research projects, which you will see from my past reviews, as unfortunately, I do not have the rights and permissions to share this research publicly. TRANSCRIPTION: I also offer transcription services. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND UX DESIGN BACKGROUND From 2013-2014 I worked as a UX designer, then from 2014-2020, I worked as a software developer and DevOps engineer in the software industry. Please see my attached GitHub repository's pinned items for samples of coding projects I have done.

Experienced Software Developer | Full-Stack Developer | CMS Specialist Greetings! I'm an adept software developer with a passion for innovation and a proven track record in delivering high-quality solutions. With a diverse skill set spanning .NET, Angular, React, React Native, Node.js, Umbraco, Optimizely, and Strapi, I bring a unique blend of technical expertise and creativity to every project. Key Strengths: Full-Stack Prowess: Proficient in building end-to-end applications, I excel in both frontend and backend development. My proficiency in .NET, Angular, React, and Node.js empowers me to create seamless, responsive, and scalable solutions. CMS Specialization: As a specialist in Content Management Systems (CMS), I bring extensive experience with Umbraco, Optimizely, and Strapi. Crafting dynamic and user-friendly websites is my forte, ensuring clients have robust platforms to manage and showcase their content effectively. I'm also a Umbraco Certified Expert. Agile Collaboration: I thrive in dynamic team environments and can seamlessly switch between collaboration and independent work. My ability to take the lead when necessary ensures projects are on track and deadlines are met. Adaptability and Quick Learning: One of my greatest strengths is the ability to learn and adapt swiftly. Whether it's diving into a new technology, tackling a challenging problem, or adjusting to evolving project requirements, I approach each situation with enthusiasm and efficiency. Why Choose Me: Innovative Solutions: I don't just code; I craft innovative solutions tailored to your unique needs, leveraging the latest technologies and best practices. Reliability: With a commitment to deadlines and project milestones, I ensure timely delivery without compromising on quality. Clear Communication: Communication is key. I provide regular updates, ensuring transparency and collaboration throughout the development process. Client Satisfaction: Your satisfaction is my priority. I work closely with clients to understand their vision and deliver solutions that exceed expectations. Let's Build Something Amazing: Whether you need a custom web application, a scalable CMS-driven site, or a responsive mobile app using React Native, I'm ready to bring your ideas to life. Let's collaborate to create something extraordinary that aligns perfectly with your goals. If you're looking for a versatile and skilled developer who can adapt to any challenge, I'm here to help. Let's discuss how we can turn your vision into reality!