Kevin Markwardt
Buffalo,NY
Summary
Highly skilled DevOps Engineer and database specialist with extensive experience in designing, deploying, and optimizing MySQL and PostgreSQL environments. Adept at container orchestration (Kubernetes), CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure as code (Terraform/Ansible). Demonstrated success in both startup and enterprise settings, leading cross-functional teams, standardizing processes, and driving continuous improvement.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
DevOps and Postgres DB Engineer
Caesars Sportsbook & Casino
02.2024 - 01.2025
- Oversaw a 400+ PostgreSQL database infrastructure deployed via AWS RDS and CNPG Kubernetes.
- Created and documented PostgreSQL support procedures and provided training to internal teams.
- Utilized GitLab CI/CD automation and Terraform for infrastructure deployments.
- Automated systems and PostgreSQL tasks using Bash and Python.
- Provided on-call support to ensure continuous uptime and availability.
- Wrote, reviewed and edited technical document in accordance with template requirements.
Sr. Member of Technical Staff
VMware
03.2021 - 11.2023
- Performed the development of a Kubernetes MySQL operator for VMware Tanzu for Kubernetes.
- Built BOSH.IO and Cloud Foundry Tiles for MySQL to automate deployments using Percona XtraDB Cluster.
- Wrote Golang code using Test-Driven Development (TDD), and pair programming to enhance code quality.
- Managed 20+ Concourse CI/CD pipelines for product testing and customer deployments.
Senior Database Project Engineer
Pythian
04.2018 - 03.2021
- Consulted with 50+ clients on MySQL and PostgreSQL databases for root cause analysis, performance tuning, and architecture design.
- Optimized production deployments using ProxySQL, MySQL, Orchestrator, and Docker, among other technologies.
- Automated restore validation of GCP snapshots and developed Check_MK monitoring plug-ins using Python/Bash.
- Built and delivered training labs, mentoring 20+ database consultants in MySQL and PostgreSQL best practices.
- Helped grow the PostgreSQL practice and served as a sales engineer, closing 20+ new client deals.
- Established internal standards and processes, streamlining GitHub usage and improving cross-team collaboration.
- Authored 10+ blog articles and delivered presentations at Percona conferences.
MySQL Database Consultant
Pythian
02.2016 - 04.2018
- Provided MySQL database support and optimization for multiple clients.
- Led a major MySQL infrastructure redesign (40+ servers) utilizing ProxySQL, Pacemaker/Corosync, and Orchestrator.
- Automated database backups with Bash wrapper scripts (mysqldump, xtrabackup, mydumper, binlog streaming).
- Migrated storage engines from InnoDB to TokuDB, reducing database size by 90%.
- Deployed AWS infrastructure and RDS instances with Ansible, and created Python/Bash scripts for database growth monitoring.
Senior Systems Administrator
Salsa Labs
08.2012 - 02.2016
- Served as MySQL DBA, VMware Engineer, and Backup Engineer in a high-traffic production environment.
- Designed and implemented VMware architecture on EMC VNX 5300 and Cisco Nexus hardware.
- Learned MySQL administration from the ground up, eventually rebuilding/upgrading 30+ MySQL servers (v5.5.28 & 5.6.12).
- Introduced Zmanda ZRM MySQL Enterprise Backups for ~15TB of databases.
Education
No Degree - Information Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY05-2000
Skills
- Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, PGBouncer, ProxySQL, performance tuning
- Cloud & Containerization: AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, Docker
- Automation & CI/CD: GitLab CI/CD, Concourse CI, Terraform, Ansible, Bash, Python
- Programming: Golang, Python, Bash scripting
- Infrastructure: VMware, HAProxy, Pacemaker/Corosync
- Additional Skills: PowerShell, Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS), Networking
Accomplishments
Spoken at multiple Percona Conferences on database topics.
Certification
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (Obtained Feb. 2024)
- Certified Professional Google Cloud Architect (Expired Nov 2020)
- Certified AWS Solutions Architect (Expired Oct 2019)
Timeline
DevOps and Postgres DB Engineer
Caesars Sportsbook & Casino
02.2024 - 01.2025
Sr. Member of Technical Staff
VMware
03.2021 - 11.2023
Senior Database Project Engineer
Pythian
04.2018 - 03.2021
MySQL Database Consultant
Pythian
02.2016 - 04.2018
Senior Systems Administrator
Salsa Labs
08.2012 - 02.2016
No Degree - Information Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
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