David Chute

As Cloud Platform Engineering Manager at SIS, I drive the evolution of our platform capabilities, leading the Technology function in delivering scalable DevOps, SDLC, Azure provisioning, and core services to accelerate our development ecosystem.

Achievements:

• Reduced cloud costs by 50% through resource right-sizing, cluster consolidation, and deprecating under-managed Azure products.
• Enhanced monitoring and observability by deploying a unified platform (Grafana, Prometheus, Mimir, Loki, Promtail).
• Boosted developer productivity via a self-service Internal Developer Portal (Backstage) for Azure configuration.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) rollout using OpenTofu to standardize design patterns and eliminate configuration drift.
• Strengthened security and compliance by embedding platform components and design patterns into Architecture HLDs, enabling end-to-end automation.
• Streamlined CI/CD processes with a unified branching strategy, improving code quality, reducing errors, and accelerating time-to-market.

Technologies used:

• Azure Cloud
• Azure DevOps
• Bicep
• Grafana
• Prometheus
• Mimir
• Loki
• Promtail
• Backstage
• Kubernetes
• FluxCD
• Helm
• Traefik
• Cert Manager
• Harbor
• OCI
• GitOps
• OpenTofu
• CI/CD
• Platform Engineering

UKFast merged with ANS mid-2022
As DevOps Team Manager at ANS Group, I led an established team responsible for critical business infrastructure for UKFast's private cloud host provider. I restructured the team to create dedicated SRE and Platform Engineering functions, strengthen focus on service reliability and platform innovation. Focusing in on Kubernetes, GitLab CI/CD and GitOps practices driving deployments and empowering our development team to iterate faster, promoting code through Dev, UAT and Production environments.

Technologies used:

• Kubernetes
• GitLab
• ArgoCD
• Ansible
• AWX
• Bash
• Python
• CI/CD
• GitOps
• Platform Engineering
• Site Reliability Engineering

As Enterprise Linux Team Leader at UKFast, I served as the primary technical support and escalation point for enterprise customers, ensuring the reliability, performance, and security of their Linux-based infrastructure. In this role, I led a team of engineers to troubleshoot complex issues, provide expert guidance on system optimization, and resolve critical incidents. My responsibilities included overseeing the design and implementation of scalable Linux solutions, collaborating with cross-functional teams to align technical strategies with business needs.

Technologies used:

• HAProxy
• VMWare
• Linux
• Bash
• Python
• SQL

As Senior Linux Engineer at THG, I optimized the performance, reliability, and scalability of our Linux infrastructure by managing VM configurations, RHEL package deployments, and HAProxy load balancers. Through the implementation of GlusterFS for distributed Kubernetes storage and Varnish Cache for content delivery, I reduced latency and backend load while ensuring seamless scalability for high-traffic eCommerce applications.

Technologies used:

• Spacewalk
• Chef Infra
• PowerDNS
• Varnish Cache
• HAProxy
• Nginx
• StackStorm
• Artifactory
• Linux
• VMWare ESX
• Ruby
• HashiCorp Consul
• HashiCorp Vault

As Linux Manager at THG, I owned and optimized the core services underpinning our Linux virtual ecosystem. I led the strategic expansion into a multi-region private cloud infrastructure, driving scalability, resilience, and cross-region integration to support business growth.

Technologies used:

• Spacewalk
• Chef Infra
• PowerDNS
• Varnish Cache
• HAProxy
• Nginx
• StackStorm
• Linux
• Artifactory
• VMWare ESX
• Ruby
• HashiCorp Consul
• HashiCorp Vault

As Linux and Virtualisation Engineer at THG, I supported Linux VMs and the developer community by managing and maintaining critical open-source services, including Spacewalk, HAProxy, Chef, and PowerDNS. Took on this role to broaden commercial experience with open-source software, ensuring reliable and scalable infrastructure for technical teams.

Technologies used:

• Spacewalk
• Chef Infra
• PowerDNS
• Varnish Cache
• HAProxy
• Nginx
• StackStorm
• Artifactory
• Linux
• VMWare ESX
• Ruby
• HashiCorp Consul
• HashiCorp Vault

As IT Operations Manager at Neticonic, I led a service desk team and oversaw day-to-day IT operations, including on-site visits, network upgrades, backups, and printer/file server management for a MSP for local SME's

Technologies used:

• Windows Server
• Windows Small Business Server
• Windows Desktop
• Netgear

As Infrastructure Support Engineer at Connells Group, focused on managing network and VPN infrastructure, provided 3rd Line support for internal and external applications across a 3000-user, 400-location estate. Supported 2nd Line escalations, developed the IT knowledgebase, performed incident analysis and diagnosis, and maintained Active Directory, Windows Server, and Network infrastructure.

Technologies used:

• Cisco Technologies
• Windows Server
• AD
• DFS
• DPM
• IIS
• Backups