About Me
Cloud Infrastructure Architect with over 20 years of hands-on experience in enterprise IT operations. I specialize in designing and running secure, scalable cloud-native platforms, with a strong emphasis on private cloud environments, including air-gapped and self-hosted infrastructures. My work centers on infrastructure automation, Kubernetes orchestration, CI/CD pipelines, and developer enablement, using open-source tools and well-established enterprise practices. I focus on translating real-world operational challenges into resilient, maintainable platforms.
Experience
Cloud Native Architect / DevOps Engineer
MXW COMP, s.r.o. · Contract · Prague, Czechia · Remote
Jun 2024 – Present
Skills: Apache Kafka, Open Sovereign Cloud, Bash, Kubernetes, Linux, Git
- Providing DevOps support for private cloud services in the semi-air-gapped regulated Telco and Insurance sectors
- Designing and maintaining GitOps repository architecture
- Managing Kafka operations: upgrades, L3 support, and migration to KRaft
- Collaborating with a distributed English/Slovak-speaking team
Cloud Architecture Consultant
Sizek s.r.o. · Contract · Prague, Czechia · Hybrid
Apr 2023 – Jul 2024
Skills: Terraform, Ansible, Rancher, Kubernetes, Open Sovereign Cloud, Bash, Open Policy Agent, Linux, Git
- Designed cloud-native architectures using Rancher and RKE(2)
- Led Terraform refactoring and Ansible automation initiatives
- Mentored junior engineers and promoted open-source best practices
Project: krv - Kubernetes Validator
- Goal: Enable automatic validation of Kubernetes objects in a cluster based on their runtime state.
- Implementation: Designed an application that uses JSONPath expressions to validate object fields and updates the test status in the corresponding Custom Resource (CR) based on the result.
- Technologies: Go (Golang).
- Scope: Defined the core concept and provided initial specifications for the development team.
Cloud Castle Architect
Stratox Enterprises · Contract · Prague, Czechia · On-site / Hybrid
Aug 2017 – Mar 2023
Skills: Kubernetes, Helm, Ansible, Open Policy Agent, Private Cloud, Linux, Git
- Air-gapped and regulated environment
- Provided DevOps support for the Speed platform for application developers
- Delivered core functionality: monitoring, logging, auditing, deployment
- Offered L3 support and Kubernetes security consulting
- Extended RBAC using Open Policy Agent and executed Ansible operations on clusters
Project: Authorization and Validation for Kubernetes Clusters – Open Policy Agent
- Goal: Simplify user access management and unify workload deployment rules across Kubernetes clusters.
- Implementation: Designed and developed a set of validation policies enabling user authorization based on assigned groups and artifact validation, with support for exceptions and configurable permissive/blocking modes.
- Technologies: Open Policy Agent (OPA), Rego.
- Scope: Full development and production-ready implementation.
Project: System Operator
- Goal: Separate the deployment of platform system components (monitoring, logging, audit, etc.) from developer workloads managed via ArgoCD.
- Implementation: Designed and implemented a universal operator that provisions platform components based on cluster-specific configurations using Ansible scripts pulled from a Git repository. Included working examples for common components to support team adoption.
- Technologies: Operator Framework, Ansible.
- Scope: Full development and ongoing support for platform and application teams to integrate their components.
DevOps Solution Architect
Unicorn · Prague, Czechia · On-site / Hybrid
Mar 2016 – Jul 2017
Skills: Kubernetes, Linux, Bash, Git
- Designed and implemented CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation solutions
Senior Test Specialist / Testing Environment Administration – Team Leader
Equa bank a. s. · Prague, Czechia · On-site
May 2014 – Feb 2016
Skills: Configuration Management, Linux, Bash
- Led the technical DevOps team for testing environment support
- Oversaw DevOps operations and provided technical development support
Project: Equinox²
- Goal: Provide a streamlined way to manage and track manual deployments and changes across multiple testing environments — a complete rewrite and optimization of the original tool.
- Implementation: Built an internal web-based application to coordinate deployments and improve visibility into environment changes.
- Technologies: Python (Flask), SQLite.
- Scope: Full lifecycle ownership — from analysis and design to implementation.
ITP Team Leader – IT Core Systems Manager
GE Money Bank · Prague, Czech Republic · On-site
Dec 2006 – Feb 2013
- Led IT support and services for core system testing environments
- Managed the development and upgrade of integrated testing pipelines
- Resolved complex configuration and infrastructure issues
Project: Equinox
- Goal: Manage and track manual deployments and changes across multiple testing environments.
- Implementation: Developed an internal web-based tool for deployment coordination and visibility.
- Technologies: PHP, Oracle (prototype in PostgreSQL).
- Scope: Full lifecycle — analysis, design, and implementation.
Project: E-mail portal
- Goal: Unify the format and style of internal information emails, create mailing groups, and optimize message size.
- Implementation: Designed and developed an internal web-based tool to manage email formatting and distribution.
- Technologies: PHP, Microsoft Exchange Server, Oracle.
- Scope: Implemented MIME email formatting. Took on junior developer responsibilities while also mentoring peers.
Tester / QA Manager
Cleverbee s.r.o. · Prague, Czech Republic · On-site
Jun 2004 – Nov 2006
- Managed a team of testers and contributed to the CleverTrack project
- Defined and maintained testing scenarios and quality coverage
Skills
- Cloud Platforms: AWS, OpenStack, Sovereign Cloud
- DevOps Tools: Terraform, Ansible, Helm, GitOps
- Containerization: Kubernetes, Docker, Rancher, RKE
- Languages & Scripting: Bash, Python
- Messaging & Data: Apache Kafka
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins
- Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki
- Other: Linux, Git, Open Policy Agent, Configuration Management
More info at tech stack section
Education
Střední elektrotechnická a strojní škola Varnsdorf
Field of Study: Information Technology
1998 – 2002
Languages
- Czech (Native)
- English (Fluent)
Contact
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stepanpelc
- Email: stepan.pelc@soft-eng.cz
- Location: Prague, Czechia