# Octavian Helm (@dvps.at)

Profile: https://sifa.id/p/dvps.at
Headline: reason before dogma
Location: Vienna, Vienna, Austria

## About

devops practitioner, 20+ years of linux experience, automater, former pythonista, active gopher

passionate about open source, web and social

## Career

- **Lead Platform Engineer at SQUER** (Nov 2026 - Present)
  Full-time · Währing, State of Vienna, AT · Hybrid
- **Senior Platform Engineer at BearingPoint** (Jan 2025 - Oct 2026)
  Full-time · Vienna, Vienna, AT · Hybrid
  ▪ Internal Developer Platform design
  ▪ Team transformation
  ▪ Knowledge management
  ▪ Driving initiatives
  ▪ Product management
  ▪ Operating and evolving an Apache Kafka cluster on Kubernetes via Strimzi Operator with GitOps (ArgoCD)
- **Technical Director at SmartDigital Group** (Jan 2024 - Jul 2024)
  Tulln, Lower Austria, AT · Hybrid
  ▪ Transition process analysis and planning
  ▪ Defining candidate profiles
  ▪ Interviewing candidates
  ▪ Project management
  ▪ Strategic technical roadmap and development planning
  ▪ Technical debt reduction ▪ Leading an agile team of 6 developers
  ▪ New product planning and design
  ▪ Use case development
  ▪ Requirements gathering
  ▪ Continued DevOps responsibilities from prior role at Integrated Object Oriented Satellite Information GmbH
- **Lead DevOps Engineer at Integrated Objectoriented Satellite Information** (Sep 2023 - Dec 2023)
  Hybrid
  Note: A subsidiary of SmartDigital Group
  
  DevOps Engineering
  • Managing GitLab CI pipelines
  • Optimising Docker builds
  • Maintaining Kubernetes deployments
  • Managing and evolving GCP infrastructure via Terraform/Terragrunt (IaC)
  
  Linux Server & Services Administration
  • Ubuntu Server, Proxmox
  • AI tooling (CVAT, FiftyOne, etc.)
  • Prometheus/Grafana deployment
  • FlashBlade array (data backup and migrations)
  
  Satellite Data Processing — Product Development
  • Use case development
  • Product integration
  
  
- **Head of DevOps Engineering at LEAN-CODERS** (Mar 2023 - Aug 2023)
  Hybrid
  ▪ DevOps Engineering — continued responsibilities from prior role
  ▪ Building and managing a small DevOps team
  ▪ Delivering Docker/Kubernetes training for external partners
- **Senior DevOps Engineer at LEAN-CODERS** (Aug 2022 - Aug 2023)
  Hybrid
  DevOps Engineering
  ▪ Maintaining and optimising GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines, Docker builds, and Kubernetes deployments
  
  Systems Administration (Microsoft Stack)
  ▪ Azure AD
  ▪ Microsoft 365
  ▪ Exchange administration
  
  Azure Cloud Infrastructure Management
  ▪ Codifying existing infrastructure as Terraform (IaC)
- **Senior DevOps Consultant at Consensium Processing Services** (Aug 2022 - Jun 2023)
  Remote
  Note: A subsidiary of SmartDigital Group
  
  DevOps Engineering
  
  ▪ Creating and managing GitLab CI pipelines
  ▪ Application containerisation
  ▪ Authoring and maintaining Kubernetes manifests
  ▪ Managing and evolving GCP infrastructure via Terraform (IaC)
  ▪ Developing data pipelines using ArgoCD Workflows and Events
  ▪ Monitoring via Prometheus/Grafana
  
  Software Development (Scala, Go, Python)
  
- **DevOps/Software Engineer at University of Graz** (Aug 2021 - Jul 2022)
  On-site
  DevOps Engineering
  ▪ Creating GitLab CI pipelines
  ▪ Managing Jenkins pipelines
  ▪ Application containerisation
  
  Web presence maintenance and development (TYPO3/PHP)
  
  Developing web components for the University of Graz web stack
- **Technical Assistant — Psychology Department at University of Graz** (Mar 2019 - Jul 2022)
  On-site
  ▪ IT systems administration
  ▪ Infrastructure management via SaltStack and Ansible
  ▪ Psychology Institute web presence administration
  ▪ Building and operating a human-robot interaction research lab
  ▪ Robot development (Python)
  ▪ Software development (Python, .NET/C#)
  ▪ Installing and operating an on-premises Kubernetes cluster
- **Interpreter at Styrian Regional Police Directorate** (Jan 2018 - Dec 2020)
  On-site
  ▪ Interpreter for police witness interviews and suspect interrogations
  ▪ Telephone surveillance support for the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
- **Freelance Fullstack Engineer at Competence.rocks** (Dec 2013 - Dec 2020)
  ▪ Hardware and software project delivery (GPS tracking, CRM development)
  ▪ General IT support
  ▪ High-availability systems (DB clustering and replication)
  ▪ Web development
- **Full Stack Engineer at AEH Automatisierung** (Jan 2012 - Dec 2013)
  On-site
  ▪ Frontend development (mobile web)
  ▪ Backend development (Python, Node.js, Perl)
  ▪ Linux server and services deployment
  ▪ Hardware and software contract delivery
- **Lead Android Applications Developer at House of Technology** (Jan 2009 - Dec 2011)
  On-site
  ▪ Developing a location-based marketing application (Java — Android)
  ▪ Onboarding and mentoring interns
- **Technical IT Support at Inode GmbH/UPC Austria GmbH** (Aug 2006 - Dec 2008)
  On-site
  ▪ First-line support (telephone and email)
  ▪ Developing an internal router configuration simulator for training and support

## Skills

### Technical
- Apache Kafka
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
- Containerization
- Continuous Integration und Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
- CouchDB
- DevOps
- Docker
- GitHub
- Gitlab
- Go
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- HTML5
- Infrastructure as code (IaC)
- Java
- JavaScript
- Kubernetes
- Linux
- Microsoft Azure
- MongoDB
- Node.js
- PHP
- PostgreSQL
- Python
- Python (Programmiersprache)
- Scala
- Shell-Scripting
- Software Development
- Terraform
### Business
- IT Consulting
- Product Development
- Product Management
- Produktentwicklung
### Interpersonal
- Deutsch
### Other
- Analytisches Problemlösen
- Android
- ArgoCD
- Authentifizierung
- Azure AD
- Budgetmanagement
- Computer-Hardware
- Confluent
- CVAT
- Datacenter
- Electronics
- Englisch
- Entwicklung von Schulungen
- GitOps
- Grafana
- Green Software
- HashiCorp
- Hohe Verfügbarkeit
- IT Operations
- IT-Betrieb
- IT-Infrastruktur
- IT-Projektmanagement
- IT-Strategie
- Kerberos
- Kommunikation
- Linux-Server
- Management des technischen Personals
- Observability
- Pearl
- Presales
- Problemlösung
- Prometheus
- Prometheus.io
- Rumänisch
- SaltStack
- Scripting
- Strimzi
- Team-Building
- Teamführung
- Teammanagement
- Transformation
- Unternehmensstrategie
- Vault
- Verhandlungsführung
- VMware
- Webentwicklung
- Webservices
- Wissensmanagement
- Zuverlässigkeit

## Credentials

- HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (004) — HashiCorp (Aug 2026 - Aug 2028) https://www.credly.com/badges/265f2668-0c3b-448d-b0d4-072e31766d97
- Confluent Apache Kafka Fundamentals Accreditation — Confluent (Dec 2025) https://certificates.confluent.io/008a8f0d-48bc-482a-b983-9f6f26a91e37
- Confluent Partner Data Streaming Platform Accreditation — Confluent (Nov 2025) https://certificates.confluent.io/26ccb6a5-4498-4714-87e6-78a4c7d30ba6
- Confluent Fundamentals Accreditation — Confluent (Jan 2025) https://certificates.confluent.io/bf952b74-e57f-433e-b9a5-54e1de6fccd8

## Education

- **HTL BULME Graz** — Electronics / Computer Engineering with a specialisation in Networking

## Involvement

### Volunteering
- Cloud Native Austria (Oct 2025 - Present)
  Board Member
- Cloud Native Days Austria (Oct 2025 - Present)
  Organiser

## Languages

- German (native)
- Romanian (native)
- English (full professional)

## Links

- Website: https://dvps.at
- GitHub: https://github.com/devopsguy
- Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/devopsguy
- GitLab: https://gitlab.com/thedevopsguy