DevOps Engineer | 3.5+ years | Gurgaon, India | Open to remote roles

Building reliable
AWS & Kubernetes platforms.

I help engineering teams build reliable delivery systems on AWS and Kubernetes with strong focus on CI/CD automation, infrastructure as code, observability, and cost-aware operations. My strongest value comes from turning manual, fragile deployment workflows into repeatable platforms that are easier to ship on, easier to monitor, and easier to scale.

AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
Terraform - Kubernetes - Jenkins - GitHub Actions
Prometheus - Grafana - Cost Optimization
AI-powered DevOps workflows
0%
faster deployments after CI/CD optimization and test integration
0%
lower AWS staging cost through scheduling, audits, and right-sizing
EC2 to EKS
migrated legacy deployment patterns toward Kubernetes with Helm and ArgoCD

About

A quick recruiter-friendly summary of what I do and where I add value.

I am Vikash Kumar, a DevOps Engineer focused on building predictable, observable, and cost-efficient platforms on AWS. Over the last few years I have worked closely with engineering teams to improve release workflows, modernize infrastructure, containerize workloads, strengthen observability, and bring more operational discipline to growing systems. I work best in environments where delivery speed matters, but reliability, rollback safety, and operational clarity matter just as much.

  • Design CI/CD pipelines that improve release speed while keeping deployments traceable, testable, and safe.
  • Use Terraform and infrastructure as code so environments stay repeatable, reviewable, and easier to scale.
  • Build observability around metrics, dashboards, and alerting to reduce blind spots and speed up debugging.
  • Partner with developers to simplify release workflows instead of turning DevOps into a ticket queue.
  • Approach infrastructure with equal attention to reliability, operational simplicity, and cost efficiency.

Achievements

Outcomes that reflect how I approach platform and DevOps work.

Modernized Deployment Architecture

Platform migration and delivery maturity
Infrastructure

Helped move legacy deployment patterns toward a more scalable Kubernetes-based model using Helm, Terraform, and ArgoCD, improving consistency across environments and creating a stronger foundation for repeatable releases.

Improved Delivery Speed

CI/CD optimization and automation
0% faster

Reduced deployment time by around 70% through pipeline optimization, better automation, and cleaner release flow design, helping engineering teams ship changes faster with fewer manual steps and better confidence in the process.

Cloud Cost Optimization

FinOps mindset in day-to-day operations
0% savings

Reduced AWS staging infrastructure cost by roughly 46% through usage review, smarter instance scheduling, and resource right-sizing, showing that reliability and cost awareness can be improved together instead of treated as separate priorities.

Centralized Observability Rollout

Monitoring, visibility, and incident response
SRE mindset

Rolled out Prometheus and Grafana based monitoring to provide centralized visibility into service health, performance, and operational signals, helping teams detect issues earlier and reduce time spent debugging production behavior.

Technical Stack

Core tools grouped the way recruiters and engineers actually scan them.

I work across cloud infrastructure, containerization, CI/CD engineering, observability, automation, and platform reliability. My strongest hands-on focus is on AWS, Kubernetes, Terraform, Linux-based operations, and the delivery workflows that help teams move from manual releases to repeatable, production-ready systems.

Cloud

AWS EC2, S3, IAM, VPC, CloudWatch Cost optimization and environment hygiene

Containers and Platform

Kubernetes and Amazon EKS Docker, Docker Compose, Helm ArgoCD and GitOps workflows

CI/CD and Automation

Jenkins and GitHub Actions Terraform and infrastructure as code Python and Bash automation

Reliability and Operations

Prometheus, Grafana, and monitoring strategy Linux administration and networking basics Release reliability and security awareness

Case Studies

Technical work presented as problem, stack, execution, and outcome.

Legacy EC2 to Kubernetes Migration

Migration, deployment consistency, and platform modernization
Migration
Problem

Legacy deployment patterns on EC2 made environments harder to standardize, slower to evolve, and more dependent on manual operational steps.

Stack

AWS, Kubernetes, EKS, Helm, ArgoCD, Terraform

What I Changed
  • Helped move workloads toward Kubernetes-based deployment patterns.
  • Used Helm for packaging, Terraform for repeatable infrastructure, and ArgoCD for GitOps-style delivery.
  • Improved consistency between staging and production through more predictable deployment workflows.
Result

The platform became easier to manage, easier to replicate across environments, and better aligned with scalable release practices.

CI/CD Acceleration and Release Reliability

Faster deployments with safer automation
CI/CD
Problem

Slow pipeline execution and inconsistent release steps reduced engineering velocity and made deployments more operationally expensive.

Stack

Jenkins, GitHub Actions, automated tests, container delivery workflows

What I Changed
  • Optimized CI/CD stages and improved automation around build, test, and deployment flow.
  • Integrated better testing into pipelines to reduce manual validation pressure.
  • Focused on repeatable release behavior instead of ad hoc operational fixes.
Result

Deployment time dropped by around 70%, giving teams faster feedback cycles and more confidence in shipping changes.

Observability and Cost Efficiency Improvements

Operational visibility with FinOps discipline
Operations
Problem

Teams needed stronger visibility into service behavior while cloud environments also needed tighter control over unnecessary spend.

Stack

Prometheus, Grafana, AWS CloudWatch, resource audits, scheduling and right-sizing

What I Changed
  • Implemented centralized monitoring with dashboards and better operational signals.
  • Reviewed resource usage and removed waste through smarter scheduling and infra tuning.
  • Improved the quality of operational awareness so issues could be found and understood faster.
Result

Monitoring became more actionable and staging infrastructure cost was reduced by roughly 46% without compromising usefulness.

How I work

Simple, fixed-scope, no surprises.

🔍 1. Audit

We start with a free 20-minute call. Then I audit your setup — your AWS bill, your pipelines, or your cluster — and tell you honestly what's worth fixing.

📋 2. Plan

You get a fixed-scope plan in writing: what I'll deliver, what it costs, and when it ships. No hourly meters, no scope creep.

⚙ 3. Implement

I do the work async with regular updates — zero disruption to your team's day. You always know what's done and what's next.

🤝 4. Handover

Docs, dashboards, and a walkthrough — your team owns everything after I'm gone. No lock-in, no mystery boxes.

FAQ

Questions founders usually ask me.

You have a full-time job — how do timelines work?

I take on a small number of projects at a time and work on them evenings and weekends (IST). Every project is fixed-scope with the deadline agreed upfront — a cost audit, for example, ships in 7 days.

What do you need from me to start?

For a cost audit: read-only access to AWS Cost Explorer. For CI/CD or Kubernetes work: repo and cluster access. We scope everything on a free 20-minute call first, so there are no surprises later.

How does payment work?

50% to start, 50% on delivery. UPI or bank transfer for India-based clients; Wise or PayPal for international ones.

What if I'm not happy with the work?

The scope is fixed in writing before we start. If a deliverable doesn't match the agreed scope, I fix it — that's part of the deal.

Experience Snapshot

A recruiter-friendly view of roles, ownership, and impact.

DevOps Engineer

National Institute of Urban Affairs (NUDM) - May 2026 to Present - New Delhi
Current

Leading core DevOps responsibilities across CI/CD, cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes adoption, and observability for multiple products, with strong emphasis on release reliability, delivery speed, and infrastructure efficiency.

  • Migrated legacy workloads from EC2 to Kubernetes using Helm, ArgoCD, and Terraform.
  • Optimized Jenkins pipelines and integrated automated tests, reducing deployment time by around 70%.
  • Reduced AWS staging costs by roughly 46% through instance scheduling, usage audits, and right-sizing.
  • Implemented Prometheus and Grafana for centralized monitoring and faster incident response.
  • Worked across infrastructure and application delivery concerns to improve operational consistency between environments.
EKS Kafka Prometheus - Grafana Loki FinOps

Associate DevOps Engineer

Dhwani Rural Information System - Nov 2023 to May 2026 - Gurgaon
Previous

Built and maintained automation pipelines and cloud environments for containerized applications, helping teams standardize deployments and reduce manual operational effort.

  • Created CI/CD workflows with GitHub Actions for build, test, and deployment stages.
  • Developed Shell and Python automation scripts for backups, housekeeping, and log management.
  • Deployed and managed containerized applications on AWS and Kubernetes.
  • Supported development teams with infrastructure troubleshooting and smoother release workflows.
AWS Kubernetes Terraform Jenkins Prometheus - Grafana

DevOps Engineer

Solulab - Dec 2022 to Aug 2023 - Remote
Previous

Built and maintained CI/CD pipelines and cloud infrastructure for containerized applications running on AWS and Kubernetes.

  • Created CI/CD workflows with GitHub Actions for build, test & deploy.
  • Developed Shell & Python automation scripts for backups and log management.
  • Deployed and managed containerized apps on AWS & Kubernetes.
GitHub Actions Docker Kubernetes Python

Selected Work

Additional examples of delivery, observability, and platform improvement work.

mGrant Platform - DevOps Enhancements

Dhwani - Core product
Infra redesign

Led DevOps initiatives to improve scalability, reliability, deployment consistency, and operational efficiency for a major grants management product used in a production environment.

  • Moved from EC2-based deployments to Kubernetes with Helm and ArgoCD.
  • Redesigned staging infrastructure, cutting costs while keeping performance intact.
  • Built Python scripts to generate daily test reports and speed up debugging cycles.
  • Strengthened delivery workflows by making infrastructure and deployment steps more repeatable.
Kubernetes ArgoCD Terraform Python

Observability & Uptime Initiative

Cross-product monitoring
Reliability

Introduced centralized monitoring and alerting patterns to reduce operational blind spots, improve mean time to resolution, and give teams a clearer picture of service behavior across environments.

  • Rolled out Prometheus and Grafana template dashboards for key services.
  • Defined SLIs around latency, error rate, and resource saturation.
  • Helped teams debug issues faster by correlating logs, metrics, and deployments.
  • Improved the quality of operational visibility so alerts could better support action instead of noise.
Prometheus Grafana CloudWatch

National-Scale Cloud Cost Modeling

FinOps - Cost engineering
Cost analysis

Cloud bills were growing faster than usage. I broke costs down service-by-service, found the real drivers — data transfer, idle capacity, oversized instances — and delivered a prioritized savings plan with calculator-verified numbers. This is the same audit process I now offer as a fixed-scope freelance service.

  • Bottom-up modeling across compute (EKS/EC2), databases, storage, and data transfer.
  • Cross-checked estimates against live production billing data for accuracy.
  • Identified the real cost drivers most teams miss: transfer, storage growth, and idle capacity.
AWS Pricing Calculator FinOps Cost Modeling

smartloggingAI — AI-Powered Monitoring

SRE · AI-assisted observability
AI + SRE

Tired of 2 AM "CPU is high" alerts that say nothing, I built a monitoring system that thinks like an SRE: detects issues in real time, finds the root cause with AI, suggests fix steps, and auto-creates Jira tickets.

  • Pipeline: Flask → Logstash → Elasticsearch → Kibana, with an AI monitor on top.
  • 5-layer optimization cuts AI inference cost by ~90% — the right model at the right time.
  • Alerts carry root cause + suggested fix + one-click ACK instead of noise.
Python ELK Docker Jira

View on GitHub →

DevOps Labs — Open Source

Hands-on repos on GitHub
Code

Public repos where I practice what I preach — real infrastructure code, not tutorial copies:

Terraform AWS Open Source

Certifications

Some formal proof I take this seriously.

AWS Solutions Architect - Associate

Amazon Web Services
Cloud Architecture

Validated my ability to design and operate scalable, secure, resilient, and cost-optimized solutions on AWS, reinforcing the architectural side of my hands-on DevOps and platform work.

Docker Essentials - DevOps on AWS - GCP Milestone

IBM - Coursera - Google Cloud
Continuous learning

Completed multiple learning programs across containers, CI/CD, and cloud fundamentals, strengthening the practical knowledge I apply in day-to-day infrastructure and delivery work.

Contact

Let's build something reliable together.

Got a role, project, or idea?

I'm open to DevOps / Platform / Cloud roles where I can own infrastructure, CI/CD, and observability. I also take on select freelance DevOps consulting projects — AWS cost audits, CI/CD pipelines, and Kubernetes setups.

📍 New Delhi, India - Open to remote

I'll tailor my reply based on what you pick here.