Future Work Opportunities

calendar Oct 16, 2023 · 5 min read · career  ·
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Future Roles: Getting back to Development AND Devops in 2024.

Background

What You Get With Me

I am targeting a role change during Q4-2023 or Q1-2024. I have been working with AWS Cloud technologies heavily since 2017, and more recently with GCP (Google Cloud Platform). Before that, I developed many applications going back to the early 1990s. I'd like to return to my development roots next time around. So I'm looking for a product team that produces the application and the infrastructure. I'm proficient in front-end, back-end, and cloud, and I want a role where I can shine on all three fronts.

My canonical resume is on my LinkedIn page, and a skill summary is here, but I'll go over the broad strokes.

What I hate to work with

I don't have a lot of no-go zones, so let's get them out of the way first.

  • Microsoft Windows
  • WSL2
  • Oracle
  • J2EE

What I love to work with

  • Linux
    I have been a nearly-daily Linux user and developer since Fall '94 Yggdrasil Linux. I have built many custom PCs for Linux Desktop use over the years. I was a RedHat guy until 1999, then switched to Debian, and Ubuntu. I have toyed around with a bunch of other distros, but mostly prefer Ubuntu over CentOS/RHEL/AmazonLinux.

    Today, most cloud workloads are Linux-based, from tiny docker containers to entire virtual machines, along with most IaaS/PaaS/SaaS offerings. MacOSX has been Linux-like for many years, and even Microsoft has finally embraced the Linux way (WSL2).

  • Cloud Computing
    Despite having acquired a boatload of Cloud Skills since 2017, I recognize there are still legitimate requirements and demand for on-prem/local servers. Between 1992 and 2016, I worked entirely for companies that operated entirely from data centers and machines in their local headquarters, and in one case, even shipped physical rack-server units with custom apps pre-installed. I still possess those local Linux sysadmin and networking skill sets, and am open to doing this kind of work again.

    • AWS
      Since 2017, I have passed 3 AWS certifications over the years (DevOps Pro, Solutions Architect, Deveveloper Associate) (credential SFJZ9X8J1FRQ1HSV)

    • GCP
      Since 2022, I began working with Google Cloud Platform, and vastly prefer it for speed, ease of use, more Unix-like tooling, and much lower costs. I am studying for Google's Professional Cloud Architect certification, and will complete it by Thanksgiving 2023.

    • Terraform / OpenTofu
      At first, I learned AWS using CloudFormation for IaC (Infrastructure as Code). Later, I learned the far superior (and portable!) tooling of Terraform, and after that, it become an easy way to become productive with Google Cloud Platform, Azure, and even other services that are not full cloud providers. (Okta, DigitalOcean, GitLab, Kubernetes, all other Hashicorp products among them)

    • Digital Ocean - I love these small developer-oriented cloud services. They work with terraform too!

    • Before 2017, all my experience was with on-premises servers. I am comfortable with server hardware and Linux system administration.

  • Backend Development

    • I worked with most of the major programming languages over the years, from C/C++ back in the 1990s, to Java, python, JavaScript/TypeScript/Node, GoLang, NodeJS, and Java Servlets.
    • I have written many applications that interface to large RDMBS systems, including Postgres, MySQL, Vertica DB, MS SQL Server, and Informix, through ODBC and JDBC connections.
    • I am fluent in SQL, query tuning/optimization for a few databases, and Database administration.

  • Frontend Development
    I saw my first webpage in 1991 on NetCom, and have been writing web applications ever since. Today, I am fluent in React, and for legacy sites that aren't react, I find that jQuery is still quite relevant. I have generated lots of HTML content with Java Server Pages, PHP, and ColdFusion.

What I look for in employers

  • Full-time / Remote Work
    In addition to the usual exultations of remote work, working from home enables me to tend to my aging parents, and makes my hearing loss a non-issue.

  • Variety
    I do my best work on small teams that truly embrace devops, where each contributor shares responsbility for design, development, testing, deployment, monitoring, and iteration planning. With my very long experience with front-end and back-end development (since 1992), and several years of AWS/GCP work, I look forward to wearing many different hats.

    Unfortunately, in some environments, "devops" has become a misused term that describes a team that only works on infrastructure, and doesn't actually develop the application.

    I have spent a lot of time in consulting, and that gives me the chance to work in multiple client teams, working practices, and tech stacks. I don't really care what industry I'm working in, because it is the art of building software that interests me above all else. However, I also love building products intended for external consumption, particularly if it is published under an OSI-approved license.

  • Social Responsibility
    Like most developers, I believe in corporate social responsibility, and would be attracted to organizations that promote causes like:

    • Universal broadband / access for rural areas & the disadvantaged.
    • Better healthcare access & outcomes.
    • More access to higher education, voting and civic opportunities.

    Conversely, I would not consider working in fossil fuels, polluters, gambling, misinformation, exploitation of others, etc.