Adam Schaefers - CV

Table of Contents

Curriculum Vitae

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import random

wearer_of_many_hats = [
    'DevOps Engineer',             #          _##_
    'DevSecOps Engineer',          #          (^^)
    'Site Reliability Engineer',   #         --  --
    'Systems Sorcerer',            #          /  \
    'Cloud Whisperer',
]
print(f"Today, I'm your: {random.choice(wearer_of_many_hats)}")

Contact

Avatar

Summary

I am a Devops engineer with about 7 years of professional experience specializing in AWS and Terraform Infrastructure as Code (IAC), with an open-source background in Linux distro development and package maintenance. While my recent professional experience has been heavily focused on AWS and Terraform, I'm also comfortable diving into alternative cloud platforms, Ansible codebases, writing Python scripts, and handling traditional Linux system administration. My passion for automation drives me to create efficient CI/CD pipelines to support teams in delivering their products to market.

Troubleshooting complex issues is my niche, where I excel by applying the KISS principle and embracing the Unix philosophy, while crafting creative solutions. I have no problem supervising and overseeing production operations, writing detailed documentation, and making strategic recommendations to guide companies into the future.

Skills

Languages: Bash, Python, Terraform, Lua, Nix, Emacs lisp, Common lisp, Scheme. And I am studying Go-lang.

AWS Cloud: IAM, VPC (Public/Private Subnets, Route tables, Internet Gateway, NAT Gateway), Route53, ACM, Cloudfront, WAF, ALB, EC2 Auto Scaling Groups, Security Groups, RDS/Aurora, Dynamodb, Cognito, Elasticache, S3, EBS, EFS, Codecommit / Codebuild / Codedeploy (CI/CD pipelines), Image builder, ECR, SNS, Event Bridge, Systems Manager, Cloudwatch, Lambda, SAM, Fargate, etc.

Google Cloud: I'm currently studying to administer GKE (Google Kubernetes Engine) and working towards my Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certificate from the Linux Foundation. I've noticed that most other things on the GCP platform, both Terraform and service-wise, are relatively similar to AWS.

Misc: Linux, Docker, Git, Prometheus, Grafana, Ansible, ZFS, Nginx, Openresty, Varnish, MySQL, Postgres, Redis, Memcached.

Experience

Immaculata Studios - Senior Devops Engineer - Remote (Oct. 2021 - Mar. 2024)

  • Developed a cross-account AWS Codecommit repository syncing platform using Terraform, AWS EventBridge, and AWS Lambda with Python scripting. This system enhanced development workflows and improved AWS environment isolation by employing least-privileged IAM permissions.
  • Created Codecommit CI/CD pipelines across accounts for applications ranging from Ruby on Rails to Strapi and Next.js. These pipelines automated the building and pushing of Docker images to a private ECR. Upon completion, they triggered an image pull or a fleet refresh in the backend, ensuring seamless updates across environments.
  • Authored and maintained a significant custom (5,000+ SLOC) Terraform module codebase. Ensured comprehensive documentation to facilitate team use and updates.
  • Developed a self-hosted, in-house private Terraform module registry pipeline, enabling centralized management and versioning of Terraform modules.
  • Implemented autoscaling AWS infrastructure solutions, using AWS EC2 Auto Scaling groups or AWS Fargate, ECR, EFS, RDS, Elasticache, and EC2 Image Builder, etc. This optimized infrastructure adaptability and performance for evolving business needs.
  • Managed legacy Linux-based monolith LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) stacks, integrating Varnish Cache to enhance scalability and performance. Automated monolith patching and security of critical applications via AWS Systems Manager.
  • Established a comprehensive monitoring and alerting system using AWS CloudWatch and SNS, significantly enhancing incident management and providing thorough oversight of system health. This setup included the integration of a custom Python-based AWS Lambda EventBridge relay messenger, ensuring proactive responses to potential issues through timely team notifications.
  • Deployed and maintained a suite of tools such as Redmine, Mattermost, Vaultwarden, and Wireguard to streamline operations and enhance security.

Skvare - Devops Engineer - Remote (Feb. 2020 - Oct. 2021)

  • Implemented GitLab Runner, pioneering CI/CD pipelines to automate software testing and delivery.
  • Authored detailed documentation on Redmine to streamline project workflows.
  • Led migration and deployment of high-traffic Drupal and CiviCRM websites across development, staging, and production environments.
  • Maintained Prometheus and Grafana monitoring solutions and LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) stacks with Memcached, using an Ansible codebase.
  • Maintained a high-volume Postfix mail server, averaging 1 million emails monthly, enhancing deliverability by implementing DMARC, DKIM, SPF, Postfix rate limiting and tuning.
  • Collaborated with a team using GitLab, Redmine, and Mattermost, while supporting developers and project managers with clear communication methods easily relayed to end-clients.

Open Source - Linux Distro Dev & Package Maintainer - Remote (Jul. 2017 - Aug. 2020)

  • 10+ hours daily mastering fundamentals: Bash, SSH, GPG, Git, Emacs, Linux (boot, kernel, init, path, env, ports, sockets), TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS, Iptables, Tracing, Logging, Filesystems, AWS / Cloud, Docker, Libvirt, Qemu and beyond.
  • KISS Linux Distro Dev / GNU Stack Package Maintainer, with Dylan Araps (creator of KISS Linux, Neofetch.)
  • Technical Documentation Writer and Q&A Troubleshooter with Daniel Robins (creator of Gentoo Linux), at funtoo.org
  • Creating Themelios, a NixOS zfs-on-root installer
  • Creating Spartan Emacs, a simple base Emacs configuration framework
  • Misc. commits merged to upstream open-source software, e.g. https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=206741

Education

  • Southwestern Oregon Community College, 2007-2008

Certifications

  • Terraform - Associate
  • AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
  • LFS158x Introduction to Kubernetes
  • LFD259 Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (in progress)