System Administrator / Cloud Engineer ➡️ Transitioning to Platform & DevOps Engineering

I am an IT professional with a rock-solid foundation in system administration, networking, and operating system internals. Currently, I am executing a strict 6-month roadmap to pivot fully into Cloud-Native Architecture, Automation, and GitOps.

I believe that true engineering isn't just about knowing how to use a tool, but understanding the underlying systems—from kernel spaces and TCP handshakes to distributed consensus. I am shifting my focus from "managing servers" to "writing the code that builds the data center."

• 🤖 Project ai-skills (Public): A framework for building, managing, and evolving custom Claude Code skills — reusable slash commands that extend Claude's capabilities with domain-specific workflows (active)
• 🖥️ Project lab (Public): My journey with Kubecraft, Architecting and maintaining a kubernetes cluster on Rancher Desktop with the goal to learn kubernetes and get my CKA, eventually migrating my current homelab to Talos (active)
• 🖥️ Advanced Homelab: Architecting and maintaining a local bare-metal environment to safely experiment with virtualization, advanced networking, and self-hosted infrastructure (bridging the gap between hardware and cloud).
• 🤖 AI & Automation Lab (Private): Experimenting with LLMs, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems, and API-driven AI tools to optimize engineering workflows and data processing.
• 📚 Currently Learning: Deep-diving into Terraform (state management), Python for DevOps automation, and building zero-downtime pipelines.
• 🎯 Current Goal: Rebuilding my homelab to a homelab as code with k3s and flux using GitOps.

• The Solid Foundation (What I already know & do):
• 🖥️ OS, Bare-Metal & Virtualization: Basic expertise in Linux and deep expertise in Windows Server environments. Extensive experience with hypervisors (Proxmox, VMware, Nutanix), container runtimes (LXC, Docker), and bare-metal server provisioning.
• 🌐 Advanced Networking: Beyond basic TCP/IP. Fluent in Azure networking, routing protocols, VPN tunneling (WireGuard, IPsec, OpenVPN), and configuring Reverse Proxies (Nginx, Traefik). I understand how packets travel from the switch port to the application layer.
• 💾 Storage & Disaster Recovery: Designing and maintaining resilient storage architectures (ZFS, RAID, iSCSI, NFS/SMB). Strong grasp of Enterprise Backup Strategies (the 3-2-1 rule), point-in-time recovery, and high-availability setups.
• 🔐 Security & Identity: Identity and Access Management (Active Directory, Entra ID / Azure AD), PKI & Certificate Management (Let's Encrypt, internal CAs), and hardening edge firewalls (pfSense, OPNsense, or enterprise equivalents).
• 📊 Systems Monitoring: Experience with classic infrastructure monitoring and alerting (e.g., Zabbix, PRTG) to ensure maximum uptime and proactive incident response.
• ⚙️ Scripting & Automation: Writing robust Bash and PowerShell scripts to eliminate manual toil and automate complex administrative tasks.
• 🛠️ Concepts: Security by design, Principle of Least Privilege, Web Server configuration, Cloud Adoption Framework.

The Current Focus (What I am actively mastering):

"Don't just learn the tool. Learn the problem the tool was built to solve."

I focus on T-shaped growth: keeping a broad understanding of the tech landscape while developing deep, specialized expertise in infrastructure automation and platform reliability.

📫 How to reach me: Let's connect on LinkedIn 🌐 My website & Portfolio