Derrick Bryant
Staff Engineer | Cloud-Native Systems & Developer Enablement
Washington,DC
Summary
I'm a software engineer with 18 years of experience who specializes in helping engineering organizations ship better software, faster — through reliable CI/CD pipelines, cloud-native infrastructure, and the kind of cross-team collaboration that actually sticks.
Most of my career has been spent at the intersection of development and infrastructure. I architect the platforms and practices that let developers focus on creating value instead of fighting their tooling. I'm proficient in serverless computing, IaC tools like Terraform and AWS CDK, and cloud platforms — primarily AWS. At CareJourney, I led numerous cross-team efforts — including transforming deployments from monthly releases to multiple deployments per day, architecting AI-powered internal tools, and delivering all of it in a HIPAA-compliant environment.
As a private pilot, I think about reliability differently than most engineers. Aviation doesn't forgive sloppy design or heroic workarounds — it demands systems that work predictably, especially when humans are stressed and time is short. I bring that same standard to software: design for failure, reduce cognitive load, and stay calm when things go sideways. Because they always do eventually.
I'm currently looking for Staff Engineer roles where I can work across teams, raise the engineering bar, and build systems that people actually trust.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
2
2
Certificates
Work History
Senior Staff Engineer
CareJourney by Arcadia
03.2023 - 09.2025
- Spearheaded modernization of cloud infrastructure with a focus on CI/CD scalability, platform reliability, developer velocity, and cost — enabling a deployment transformation that went from monthly releases to multiple deployments per day.
- Architected and implemented true continuous delivery pipelines that increased deployment frequency from monthly to multiple times per day, while also delivering AI-powered internal tools to streamline engineering workflows and improve observability.
- Led a company-wide shift-left initiative, integrating security, compliance, and testing earlier in the development lifecycle.
- Operated in a HIPAA-compliant environment, ensuring infrastructure and processes met strict security and privacy standards.
- Drove sprint planning and roadmap alignment, ensuring team efforts tracked to long-term goals and business impact.
- Owned infrastructure improvements using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CDK) and implemented security best practices across AWS environments.
- Developed automated monitoring and compliance tools using AI/ML (Amazon Bedrock), improving incident response and system reliability.
- Known as a go-to problem solver across engineering — frequently pulled into cross-team efforts for architectural input and issue resolution.
- Tech stack: AWS (EKS, Lambda, CDK, API Gateway, CloudFront), CircleCI, Git, Kubernetes, Serverless Framework, Terraform, Python
Senior Cloud and DevOps Engineer
Carejourney by Arcadia
09.2021 - 02.2023
Cloud and DevOps Engineering Leader
Datometry
01.2016 - 06.2021
- I work across engineering, product, and customer focused scrum teams to design, develop, and implement cloud engineering efforts by educating, negotiating, and prioritizing efforts. I work with team leads to prioritize new development and technical debt across AWS, Azure, and GCP clouds to provide multiple Enterprise grade SaaS products.
- Some of my efforts include:
- Architecting cloud infrastructure for enterprise grade products with unique requirements
- Cloud cost management that lead to significant cost reduction
- Testing framework optimization greatly improving developer productivity
- Product test framework for newly supported platforms
- Cross team dependencies coordination
- Product observability improvements leading to less time troubleshooting customer issues
DevOps Team Lead
Millennial Media
10.2013 - 09.2015
- Led the DevOps team, coordinating efforts and negotiating requirements with the Director and cross-functional scrum teams.
- Directed development of automation tools for testing and deployment of a highly available digital ad service.
- Improved productivity, feature completion rates, and release speed through efficient CI/CD practices.
- Delivered reliable self-service tools that enhanced visibility and empowered development teams.
DevOps Engineer
Library of Congress
05.2012 - 10.2013
Systems Administrator
Driven, Inc
08.2011 - 04.2012
Systems Engineer
Cooper Notification
04.2009 - 08.2011
Systems Administrator
Symplicity Corporation
02.2008 - 03.2009
Education
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
01.2007
Certification
Private Pilot Certificate
Timeline
Senior Staff Engineer - CareJourney by Arcadia
03.2023 - 09.2025
Senior Cloud and DevOps Engineer - Carejourney by Arcadia
09.2021 - 02.2023
Cloud and DevOps Engineering Leader - Datometry
01.2016 - 06.2021
DevOps Team Lead - Millennial Media
10.2013 - 09.2015
DevOps Engineer - Library of Congress
05.2012 - 10.2013
Systems Administrator - Driven, Inc
08.2011 - 04.2012
Systems Engineer - Cooper Notification
04.2009 - 08.2011
Systems Administrator - Symplicity Corporation
02.2008 - 03.2009
University of Tennessee, Knoxville - Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
Skills
Cloud & Infrastructure: AWS, Azure, Terraform, CDK, Serverless Framework, Docker, Kubernetes
CI/CD & Delivery: CircleCI, TeamCity, GitHub Actions, GitOps, Continuous Delivery
Languages & Tools: Python, Bash, Git
Practices: Microservices, Shift-Left, IaC, Observability, HIPAA Compliance
AI/ML: Amazon Bedrock, LLM Integration
Links
LinkedIn | GitHub