Resume

Joel Merrick

Senior DevOps Engineer & AI Integration Specialist

Experienced DevOps professional with expertise in infrastructure automation, cloud architecture, and AI integration. Passionate about creating efficient, scalable systems that leverage modern AI capabilities to solve complex operational challenges.

As an accomplished Systems Administrator and DevOps Engineer, I have extensive experience across:

Server builds and maintenance
Security implementation
DevOps practices and tooling
Machine Learning/AI integration
Large Language Models (LLMs)

My proven expertise spans multiple industries including:

Telecommunications
Internet Service Providers
Hardware/software consultancy
Pharmaceutical
Service provision
Public sector

I possess strong technical awareness combined with excellent communication and negotiation skills to ensure service delivery and customer satisfaction. I am a self-motivated professional, equally comfortable with technical implementation and explaining complex matters in clear, concise terms.

Professional Experience

Company	Role	Period	Key Achievements
Clear Route Technologies	Lead DevOps Engineer	2023 - Present	Led the design and implementation of a comprehensive CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions and Terraform, reducing deployment times by 70% Developed the Chef to Ansible Converter tool using Claude API, automating the migration of legacy infrastructure code Architected and deployed a multi-region Kubernetes cluster on AWS with automated failover capabilities Mentored junior team members on infrastructure-as-code best practices and AI integration techniques
Quantum Solutions	Senior Infrastructure Engineer	2020 - 2023	Designed and implemented cloud-native infrastructure on AWS and GCP for high-traffic applications Created automated deployment pipelines using Jenkins, Docker, and Kubernetes Reduced infrastructure costs by 35% through optimisation and right-sizing initiatives Implemented comprehensive monitoring and alerting systems using Prometheus and Grafana
TechForward Inc	DevOps Engineer	2018 - 2020	Migrated legacy applications to containerised environments using Docker and Kubernetes Automated infrastructure provisioning with Terraform and Ansible Implemented GitOps workflows for infrastructure and application deployments Developed internal tools to streamline development and operations processes

Core Competencies

Technical Skills

Category	Skills
Infrastructure as Code	Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, Chef
Containerisation	Docker, Kubernetes, ECS
CI/CD	GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, ArgoCD
Cloud Platforms	AWS, GCP, Azure
Monitoring	Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack
Programming	Python, Go, Bash, Ruby
AI Integration	LLM APIs, Prompt Engineering, AI-assisted Automation

Professional Skills

Leadership	Technical	Collaboration
Team Mentoring	Problem Solving	Cross-functional Communication
Project Management	System Design	Stakeholder Management
Strategic Planning	Technical Documentation	Knowledge Sharing
Process Improvement	Performance Optimisation	Client Relations

Education

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  <h4>MSc in Computer Science</h4>
  <p>University of Technology | 2016 - 2018</p>
  <p class="specialisation">Specialisation in Distributed Systems</p>
</div>

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  <h4>BSc in Software Engineering</h4>
  <p>Technical University | 2012 - 2016</p>
  <p class="specialisation">First Class Honours</p>
</div>

Certifications

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  <h4>AWS Certified Solutions Architect</h4>
  <p>Professional Level | Valid until 2026</p>
</div>

<div class="certification-card">
  <h4>Google Cloud Professional DevOps Engineer</h4>
  <p>Valid until 2025</p>
</div>

<div class="certification-card">
  <h4>Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)</h4>
  <p>Linux Foundation | Valid until 2026</p>
</div>

<div class="certification-card">
  <h4>HashiCorp Certified Terraform Associate</h4>
  <p>Valid until 2025</p>
</div>

Projects

Chef to Ansible Converter

An AI-powered tool that automatically converts Chef cookbooks to Ansible playbooks, saving hundreds of development hours.

View Details

Multi-Region Kubernetes Cluster

Designed and implemented a fault-tolerant Kubernetes architecture spanning multiple AWS regions with automated failover.

Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard

Created a comprehensive monitoring solution using Prometheus, Grafana, and custom alerting integrations.

Contact

Feel free to reach out to discuss opportunities or collaborations.

[email protected] LinkedIn Profile