Senior Cloud/DevOps Architect

FIRAS J ABBAS

Email: ad5wp7@r.postjobfree.com

Phone: 860-***-****

SENIOR AWS/CLOUD ENGINEER DEVOPS ARCHITECT PROFESSIONAL

•Possess 24+ years of total IT experience including 12+ years of rich experience in AWS DevOps, specializing in cloud technologies and system architecture, leveraging deep industry insights to drive significant revenue growth and enhance network efficiencies, and 12+ years of initial experience in IT.

•Proven track record includes securing $13M in new business, boosting sales productivity by 34%, and reducing security incidents by 25%.

•Excelled in implementing DevOps methodologies and executing seamless cloud migrations, consistently delivering innovative solutions to complex technical challenges.

•Expert in Amazon AWS Cloud Services, encompassing EC2, S3, EBS, ELB, CloudWatch, ECS, EKS, RDS, SNS, SQS, Lambda, IAM, VPC, CloudFormation, and Control Tower, Code Pipeline, Glue, ETL Jobs.

•Contributed to Azure DevOps processes for system building and deployment, utilizing Azure services such as Azure Repos, Azure Pipelines, and Azure Artifacts.

•Enhanced application deployment and orchestration processes by implementing Docker and Kubernetes, improving efficiency and scalability.

•Played a key role in ensuring a robust and secure infrastructure by effectively managing security groups on AWS, contributing to the resilience of the cloud environment.

•Implemented and managed robust monitoring and alerting systems using tools like Prometheus and Grafana, enabling proactive identification and resolution of performance bottlenecks and potential issues within the AWS environment.

•Employed Ansible for efficient configuration management, ensuring consistency across the infrastructure.

•Leveraged CloudWatch for monitoring and managing cloud resources and applications, enhancing system reliability.

•Established CI/CD workflows in AWS environments through GitHub Actions, Jenkins & AWS CodeCommit, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, and CodePipeline, facilitating streamlined software delivery.

•Advocated for the adoption of Infrastructure as Code (IAC) principles, utilizing tools like Terraform to automate the provisioning and configuration of AWS resources, promoting scalability, consistency, and version control.

•Orchestrated end-to-end DevOps processes, including CI/CD and automated testing, resulting in accelerated software delivery cycles and improved collaboration across development and operations teams.

•Expanded AWS-native monitoring capabilities with tools like Check Point CloudGuard or Splunk, strengthening visibility into cloud resources and applications.

•Rich knowledge of Agile and DevOps practices with experience guiding multiple-sized teams through planning, development, rollout, and migration.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

•DevOps & Containerization: CI/CD, Jenkins, Terraform, Docker, Ansible, Kubernetes, Git, AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy, AWS Code Commit, ECS, EKS, AWS Pipeline.

•Operating Systems: Ubuntu, Windows, Linux, UNIX, Windows Server (2008-2016), VMware, vSphere, VirtualBox.

•Observability Tools: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack.

•Cloud Technologies: AWS (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, CLI/API), Auto Scaling Groups, EC2, ELB, EFS, Amazon S3, CloudFormation.

•Data Extraction & Manipulation: SQL, NoSQL, AWS (RedShift, Kinesis, EMR, EC2, Lambda), Nagios, Prometheus, Splunk.

•Programming Languages: Python, JavaScript, SQL, R, Bash, PowerShell, JSON, Perl, XML.

•Artifactory Management: Nexus, Docker Hub, Harbor.

•Project Management Tools: JIRA.

•Development Tools: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, PyCharm, IntelliJ, Visual Studio, Sublime, JIRA, TFS, Linux, Unix.

•Code Quality Testing Tools: SonarQube.

•Databases: MongoDB, SQL, MySQL, AWS RDS, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL

•Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC): Agile, Waterfall Methodologies.

•Source Code Management/Version Control: Git.

•Machine Learning and AI: = ML and AI concepts, including TensorFlow, Scikit-learn, data analysis libraries like Matplotlib

•Exposure to Web App development and Probability concepts

WORK EXPERIENCE

Mar 2022-Present: Bayer, St. Louis, MO AWS DevOps/Security Architect

•Implementing security best practices in AWS environment design and configuration, incorporating principles of least privilege and defense-in-depth to protect against security threats.

•Conducting regular security assessments and vulnerability scans using tools like AWS Inspector and Nessus, identifying and remediating security vulnerabilities in infrastructure and applications.

•Implementing security controls and configurations in Kubernetes clusters, such as network policies and RBAC (Role-Based Access Control), to prevent unauthorized access and ensure data confidentiality and integrity.

•Integrating security testing into CI/CD pipelines using tools like OWASP ZAP and SonarQube, automating security scans and code analysis to identify and remediate security issues early in the development lifecycle.

•Implementing security automation using AWS Lambda functions and CloudWatch Events, automating response to security incidents, and enforcing compliance as per Devsecops.

•Implementing encryption mechanisms for data at rest and in transit using AWS KMS (Key Management Service) and SSL/TLS, ensuring data confidentiality and integrity.

•Implementing logging and monitoring solutions using AWS CloudTrail and Amazon GuardDuty, monitoring for security events and suspicious activities to detect and respond to security threats in real-time.

•Effectively containerizing applications using K8s/EKS/AKS with ECR/ACR and Docker Hub, implementing security controls and best practices to ensure secure deployment and management of containerized applications, aligning with DevSecOps principles.

•Conducting regular security audits and compliance assessments to ensure adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements, such as PCI DSS and HIPAA.

•Providing security awareness training and education to development teams, raising awareness of security best practices, and promoting a security-first mindset across the organization.

•Collaborating with security teams to implement security controls and measures, ensuring alignment with organizational security policies and standards.

•Implementing Nagios and integrating Datadog for comprehensive infrastructure monitoring, proactively identifying security threats and vulnerabilities, and responding in real-time aligning with the devsecops and integrity of the cloud environment

•Participating in incident response and security incident management processes, coordinating with relevant stakeholders to investigate and remediate security incidents effectively.

•Collaborating efficiently on Jira and Confluence, facilitating effective project management and seamless API server integration for enhanced productivity.

Jan 2020- Mar 2022: Allianz, Richmond, Virginia DevOps/Security Solution Architect

•Orchestrated migration of Linux environments to AWS, ensuring robust security measures were implemented using AWS CloudFormation templates and Ansible modules.

•Collaborated closely with development teams to design database capacity and assess instance classes while prioritizing security considerations.

•Employed Ansible for continuous deployment automation, crafting YAML-based playbooks, and orchestrating Ansible Tower for playbook scheduling.

•Conducted performance tests and failover evaluations for PCF applications connecting to RDS Multi-AZ instances to fortify reliability.

•Utilized Docker, Jenkins, and Maven for builds and maintenance, with secure handling of scripts and artifact storage using Nexus and JFrog Artifactory repositories.

•Engineered Elastic Load Balancers and EC2 Auto Scaling groups, monitoring CloudWatch alerts to fine-tune optimal launch configurations with a focus on security and efficiency.

•Developed Ansible Playbooks and Puppet Manifests for secure server and application provisioning, integrating Ansible with Jenkins for automated deployments.

•Engineered Lambda services for enhanced cloud security and conducted code analysis for vulnerabilities, prioritizing security in the development lifecycle.

•Implemented log monitoring for performance and database troubleshooting, utilizing CI systems like Jenkins and Bamboo for secure builds and change list management.

•Customized Jenkins and Bamboo with various plugins and tools, integrating Maven for continuous integration processes to ensure secure development practices.

•Orchestrated Puppet configurations across systems, overseeing installations, upgrades, and configurations in compliance with security protocols.

•Managed Kubernetes clusters and Docker containers, implementing security measures using Ansible playbooks for Kubernetes.

•Leveraged Ansible Tower for software development process automation and crafted Terraform templates for secure virtual network provisioning.

•Managed Kubernetes and Docker images for diverse cloud environments, ensuring secure handling of containerized applications.

•Automated AWS virtual servers using Ansible roles, orchestrating administrative tasks across multiple servers with a focus on security and efficiency.

Sep 2017 – Jan 2020: Macy’s Inc., New York, NY Lead Cloud/Data Engineer

•Architected and deployed data pipelines using Amazon Kinesis, enabling real-time streaming data ingestion, processing, and analysis for informed business decision-making.

•Ensured seamless operation and data integrity by leveraging RDS and EC2-based databases in the cloud, and implementing robust database solutions.

•Managed GitHub repository configuration to facilitate efficient version control and collaboration among team members, ensuring smooth development workflows.

•Implemented comprehensive performance and security alert monitoring using CloudWatch and CloudTrail, enhancing cloud security posture and enabling proactive threat detection.

•Utilized AWS Glue for data cataloging, ETL processing, and data preparation, ensuring data consistency, quality, and regulatory compliance.

•Optimized query performance and data retrieval efficiency by implementing data partitioning and indexing strategies in RDS and EC2-based databases.

•Streamlined development and deployment processes by integrating GitHub and Bit with Jenkins, scheduling multiple jobs in the build pipeline for faster software delivery.

•Managed network settings and configurations, including Route53, DNS, ELB, IP Address, and Cider configurations, to optimize performance and minimize downtime.

•Developed highly available and resilient applications using AWS Services such as Multi-AZ, Read replicas, and ECS, ensuring maximum uptime and reliability.

•Successfully migrated containerized environments from ECS to Kubernetes Cluster, optimizing resource utilization and scalability.

•Provided diverse storage solutions including S3, EBS, EFS, and Glacier, meeting varied data storage requirements while ensuring accessibility, durability, and security.

•Simplified deployment processes and ensured consistency across environments by deploying applications using Elastic Beanstalk.

•Seamlessly migrated petabytes of data from on-premises to AWS Cloud using AWS DataSync, capitalizing on cloud storage scalability and durability.

•Managed continuous integration and continuous delivery processes, accelerating time-to-market for software updates and enhancements.

•Resolved issues within Kubernetes clusters, ensuring smooth operation of containerized environments through technical expertise and analytical skills.

•Enhanced application performance and functionality using Web Services, API Gateways, and application integration development and design principles.

•Developed and implemented event-driven and scheduled AWS Lambda functions, automating routine tasks and improving operational efficiency in alignment with Data Engineering principles.

Feb 2016 - Sep 2017: B&BT Bank, North Palm. Beach, FL Sr. Cloud Engineer

•Managed network settings, including Route53, DNS, ELB, IP Address, and Cider configurations, optimizing performance and maintaining reliable connectivity.

•Implemented data pipelines using AWS services like Amazon Kinesis and AWS Lambda to ingest, process, and analyze streaming data in real-time.

•Utilized AWS Glue for data cataloging, ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processing, and data warehouse integration, ensuring data consistency and availability.

•Designed and maintained data lakes on Amazon S3, organizing and storing large volumes of structured and unstructured data for analytics and machine learning applications.

•Developed data processing workflows using Apache Spark on Amazon EMR (Elastic MapReduce), optimizing performance and scalability for big data analytics tasks.

•Implemented data governance policies and access controls using AWS IAM (Identity and Access Management) to ensure data security and compliance with regulatory requirements.

•Leveraged Amazon Redshift for building and managing data warehouses, enabling fast and efficient querying of large datasets for business intelligence and reporting purposes.

•Collaborated with data scientists and analysts to design and implement machine learning models on AWS SageMaker, deploying and scaling models for predictive analytics and data-driven insights.

•Integrated data visualization tools like Amazon QuickSight with AWS data sources, creating interactive dashboards and reports to communicate key insights to stakeholders.

•Implemented data encryption and data masking techniques using AWS KMS (Key Management Service) and AWS Secrets Manager to protect sensitive data at rest and in transit.

•Optimized data storage and retrieval performance using AWS DynamoDB, implementing partitioning and indexing strategies for efficient data access.

•Conducted performance tuning and optimization of SQL queries and data processing jobs, identifying and resolving bottlenecks to improve overall system efficiency.

•Implemented data replication and synchronization mechanisms using AWS DMS (Database Migration Service) and AWS DataSync for disaster recovery and data backup purposes.

•Monitored data pipeline performance and health using AWS CloudWatch, setting up alarms and notifications to proactively identify and address issues in real-time.

Aug 2014 – Feb 2016: Protiviti, California, US AWS Data/ DevOps Engineer

•Implemented Agile/Scrum practices and Jenkins-based CI/CD pipelines for continuous integration.

•Managed AWS applications on S3, RDS, EC2, Route53, and IAM, ensuring smooth operations within the AWS stack.

•Spearheaded Jira migration from multiple tools, contributing to problem resolution and project planning.

•Enhanced CI environment efficiency by automating functions using Python and Bash Scripts.

•Deployed AWS resources through CloudFormation and Terraform, optimizing resource utilization.

•Integrated build deployment pipelines and utilized Ansible for seamless environment deployments.

•Applied DevOps practices with AWS, Elastic Beanstalk, Docker, and Kubernetes.

•Integrated SonarQube for code quality inspection and performed testing using Java frameworks.

•Oversaw AWS applications on S3, RDS, EC2, Route53, and IAM, ensuring seamless operations within the AWS stack.

•Managed multifaceted projects, overseeing users, project roles, security, and plugins.

•Executed comprehensive DevOps tasks, encompassing automation, building, deploying, managing, and releasing code across various environments, maintaining a robust CI/CD pipeline.

•Upgraded and integrated Jira with Atlassian apps and Git, Artifactory, and Jenkins.

•Provided end-user and leadership recommendations for best practices within the Jira platform.

•Installed, configured, and managed GitHub repositories, generating Docker containers from scratch and utilizing existing Linux containers and AMIs.

•Optimized automated server build management and deployment across diverse platforms such as Amazon EC2, Jenkins Nodes/Agent, and SSH.

•Offered technical expertise in security analysis and threat assessment, leveraging AWS Inspector.

•Demonstrated expertise in Agile/Scrum, Waterfall methodologies, Use Cases, and SDLC processes.

Jan 2012 – Aug 2014: Black Rock, New York City, NY DevOps Engineer

•Worked with the team and successfully deployed an ASP.NET web application on AWS infrastructure by setting up and configuring IIS (Internet Information Services) and application pools, ensuring seamless operation in a cloud environment.

•Implemented an automated build and deployment process for the application, laying the foundation for a robust continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) system, enhancing agility and reliability in software delivery.

•Designed and implemented fully automated server build management, monitoring, and deployment using the Chef configuration management tool, enabling consistent and scalable infrastructure provisioning.

•Installed Tomcat instances and managed multiple application configurations by creating Puppet manifest files, facilitating efficient management and scalability of application deployments.

•Implemented various DevOps practices including continuous integration, continuous delivery, continuous testing, and continuous monitoring, fostering collaboration and efficiency across development and operations teams.

•Developed a robust test environment that reduced integration issues and improved code quality, ensuring smoother development and deployment cycles.

•Performed JUnit testing and deployments using multiple Jenkins plugins, integrated builds using ANT and Maven as build tools, and configured Jenkins pipelines with SSH for continuous deployments, optimizing software delivery processes.

•Configured CloudTrail to monitor API activity of users, enhancing security and compliance measures, and managed the release cycle of the product across various environments including Development, QA, UAT, and Production.

•Managed source code repository, build and release configurations/processes, and tools to support daily development, testing, and production builds, ensuring version control and consistency in software releases.

•Managed and analyzed scalable data using AWS RDS (Relational Database Service), ensuring efficient data storage and retrieval for the organization's applications.

•Modified the Software Configuration Management (SCM) database for software lifecycle process flow, user permissions, access, and file attributes in response to user requests, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of SCM processes.

•Provided deployment services to development teams from initial development through production deployments, facilitating smooth and efficient software releases.

•Worked closely with the Release Manager to improve build automation and reduce bottlenecks in the delivery pipeline, redefined processes, and implemented tools for software builds, patch creation, release tracking, and reporting.

•Automated daily tasks using Bash (shell) scripts, documented changes in the environment and each server, and analyzed error logs, user logs, and /var/log messages, ensuring system stability and reliability.

•Administered local and remote servers using SSH daily, and utilized Nginx and Apache Tomcat web servers for application deployment, ensuring optimal performance and availability of deployed applications

Mar 2006 – Jan 2012: Talia Limited, Herndon, Virginia Network Operations Centre Engineer

•Involved in Network Management, developed and maintained satellite systems networks. Identify, diagnose, and correct network hardware and software problems.

•Worked in System Commissioning, Upgrades and Planning, Design, and planned for future satellite system upgrades. Provide Level 3 (high-level) technical support to the Operations Centre.

•Played a key role in Technical Issue Resolution, Oversaw and resolved complex technical issues related to satellite network operations.

•Played a key role in the successful transition of 8 websites from traditional hosting to AWS, enhancing reliability and performance through cloud computing technology.

•Performed domain resolutions for web hosting with 99.9% accuracy, reduced downtime, and ensured seamless website accessibility for clients.

•Protected sensitive information and improved system reliability by leading a Cisco network infrastructure upgrade, resulting in a 25% reduction in network security incidents.

Jul 2000 – Mar 2006: CMC, Irving, Tx Supervisory Information Technology Specialist

•System Analysis and Upgrades: Analysed existing computer systems to recommend and oversee upgrades and improvements, including the installation of software and hardware.

•Quality Assurance and Troubleshooting: Performed tests and troubleshooting to ensure system functionality, implemented safety procedures, and developed data recovery plans.

•Personnel Management: Recruited, trained, and evaluated staff members, providing supervision for staff when the IT Operations Lead was unavailable.

•Security and Strategy: Provided authoritative advice and guidance on the division’s IT security program, and planned, developed, and coordinated division-level information security programs and strategies.

•Managed and oversaw computer networks, ensuring robust connectivity and security.

•Offered technical support for end-users, addressing hardware and software concerns.

•Delivered IT support through over 50 remote troubleshooting sessions, ensuring minimal downtime: enhanced IT security through system upgrades, achieving zero security breaches.

CERTIFICATIONS

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner • 03/2024 - 03/2027

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

MCSE completion of Microsoft Certified Systems Engineering• 01/2004 - 01/2007

TaBiaa Institute of Technology

ACADEMICS

Master’s degree in computer web development

Gannon University

Bachelor of Computer Software Engineering and IT (B.A.Sc.) in Computer Software Engineering

University of Technology - Iraq

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