Dan Grubbs
Austin
Summary
Senior DevOps Engineer with 20+ years of experience in CI/CD pipeline architecture, Azure DevOps administration, and release engineering. Creator and architect of high-impact pipelines, delivering measurable improvements in build efficiency and operational reliability. Proven ability to master complex systems, mentor teams, and apply AI-assisted tools to optimize workflows. Survived multiple organizational changes and layoffs, consistently recognized for performance and strategic impact.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Software Engineer V/ DevOps Lead
KLA
Austin
01.2007 - Current
- Architected and maintained CI/CD pipelines for various products, recently converted classic pipelines to YAML and multi stages reducing build times from 8 hours → 1.5 hours through deep understanding of pipeline architecture and AI-assisted optimization.
- Leveraged YAML and automation tools to streamline processes, improve release velocity, and maintain high reliability.
- Applied modern DevOps practices, including Azure DevOps administration, CI/CD automation, and AI-assisted optimization.
- Provided mentorship and knowledge transfer, ensuring continuity of critical DevOps processes.
- Delivered high-impact results under shifting priorities, contributing independently while aligning with business objectives.
- Migrated to TFS Server and then to Azure DevOps Cloud
- InstallShield MSI author of many installation packages.
CM Specialist
Ultra Electronics
- Built and maintained automated builds to enhance deployment speed and reliability.
- Applied best practices in release engineering and pipeline automation across multiple teams.
- Mentored junior engineers on DevOps principles to boost operational efficiency.
- Developed foundational deployment processes for consistent software distribution.
- Managed Windows and Linux build environments.
- Built and maintained automated builds to enhance deployment speed and reliability.
- InstallShield MSI Projects
- Coordinated with other departments to ensure efficient workflow processes.
Education
Associate Degree - Electronics Engineering Tech
Lakeland Community College
Some College (No Degree) - Computer Science
St. Edwards University
Skills
- CI/CD pipeline design
- Azure DevOps administration
- DevOps automation
- Docker and Kubernetes
- Release engineering
- Mentorship and knowledge transfer
- Problem solving
- Systems administration
- Virtual machine provisioning
- Networking fundamentals
- Terraform Automation
- Azure Cloud Resource Provisioning
- Build optimization
- Linux Administration
- Hyper-V and Vmware VM Infrastructure
- WIM Bare Metal Images
Accomplishments
- CI/CD Build Optimization: Reduced build times from 8h to 1.5h by leveraging pipeline architecture expertise and AI-assisted automation.
- AI-Assisted Workflow Automation: Applied AI to YAML pipelines, improving efficiency and reducing manual effort.
- Promotion & Recognition: Promoted to Senior Software Engineer 5 based on performance and mastery, despite only holding an associate degree.
- Resilience & Performance: Maintained high performance and role security through organizational changes and layoffs.
- Legacy System Expertise: Created and maintained critical CI/CD and release infrastructure over decades.
Timeline
Software Engineer V/ DevOps Lead
KLA
01.2007 - Current
CM Specialist
Ultra Electronics
Associate Degree - Electronics Engineering Tech
Lakeland Community College
Some College (No Degree) - Computer Science
St. Edwards University