Sander HorstCloud & Platform Engineer

Timeline

Roles and assignments

1. Mar 2026 – presentTogetrCloud / DevOps ConsultantIndependent assignment via BraidLogic

   Leading the modernisation of a traditional VM-based application platform into a containerised, secure and scalable Kubernetes environment on Azure. The assignment combines platform design, network and security foundations, database operations and a controlled migration path for around 170 customer environments.

   • Designing and implementing the Kubernetes platform with network isolation, GitOps-driven configuration, certificate automation and platform-wide security controls.
   • Containerising application components and preparing runtime configuration through environment variables and deployment pipelines.
   • Designing and operating highly available MariaDB clusters with the MariaDB Operator, including backup and restore, customer clones and database operations.
   • Connecting Terraform-based infrastructure automation to existing deployment orchestration and manager pipelines for provisioning, deletion, releases and customer clones.
   • Migrating customer environments with repeatable, testable automation while advising development teams on observability, alerting and modernisation constraints.

   StackKubernetes · Azure · Terraform · GitOps · Azure DevOps · MariaDB Operator · cert-manager · Managed identities · Workload federation · Grafana

2. Jul 2024 – presentBettr Health GroupCloud / DevOps ConsultantIndependent assignment via BraidLogic

   Designing, building and maintaining AWS cloud environments for multiple companies within the Bettr Group. The work ranges from greenfield Kubernetes platforms to redesigning existing environments with better separation, security, monitoring and delivery automation.

   • Built a secure AWS and Kubernetes platform for a microservices-based healthcare application, including Terraform infrastructure and Helm-based deployments.
   • Implemented a full observability stack with Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, Tempo and Alertmanager, including alert routing to Microsoft Teams.
   • Created an automated load-testing pipeline that published test results directly to stakeholders.
   • Developed a just-in-time production access flow: no direct access by default, temporary approved access that is fully audited, and automated monthly reports to the security officer.
   • Technical counterpart in the internal and external ISO 27001 and NEN 7510 audits: cloud setup, access, logging and evidence for the auditor.
   • Redesigned smaller AWS environments with jump hosts, load balancing, WAF protection, CI/CD pipelines and improved workload and database separation.

   StackAWS · EKS · Terraform · Helm · ArgoCD · Grafana stack · Power Automate · GitHub · ISO 27001 · NEN 7510

3. Aug 2023 – Mar 2026RabobankKafka Platform EngineerEmployed at Smartworkz, assigned to Rabobank

   Worked through Smartworkz in the platform team that managed and automated the Axual SaaS solution, used within Rabobank as the Kafka-as-a-service platform for application teams. The role combined day-to-day platform operations, troubleshooting, automation and making it easier for teams to manage topics and applications through code instead of manual UI steps.

   • Supported and improved the Kafka platform in daily operations: analysing issues, guiding deployments, checking access and configuration, and helping teams with topic and application questions.
   • Built Python extensions for Azure DevOps so teams could create and update Kafka topics and applications from pipeline configuration instead of the UI.
   • Built a secure token solution that let pipelines call the Axual API automatically, although the vendor setup did not support regular service accounts.
   • Wrote Python automation to find and clean up unused resources, which reduced platform cost by about 45 percent and saved roughly EUR 1 million per year.
   • Presented this cost-saving work in Rabobank’s global FinOps Challenge 2024 and finished second.

   StackAzure · AWS · Azure DevOps · Python · Kafka · Keycloak · OAuth · Terraform · Kubernetes · FinOps

4. Mar 2022 – Jul 2023SolvinityCloud EngineerEmployment

   Joined a public cloud team that was still developing its standards and operating model. Helped build the foundation for repeatable infrastructure delivery, client onboarding and centralised alerting across cloud environments.

   • Standardised infrastructure delivery with Terraform and Azure DevOps pipelines.
   • Designed Azure DevOps organisation structures, authentication models and CI/CD patterns for multiple client environments.
   • Built a central Opsgenie integration for Azure alerts, including ServiceNow incident creation and Terraform-based reuse.
   • Created an automation system that generated complete Azure DevOps projects from a single configuration file, reducing onboarding work from weeks to hours.

   StackAzure · AWS · Terraform · Azure DevOps · PowerShell · Bash · Kubernetes · Helm · Checkov · tfsec

5. Feb 2017 – Feb 2022PhilipsDevOps EngineerEmployment

   Worked on three major healthcare applications with more than 150 clients and around 500 production, test and development environments. A large part of the role focused on bringing standardisation, automation and reliability to environments that had historically been managed by hand.

   • Initiated environment and deployment automation using Azure DevOps and reusable PowerShell modules.
   • Worked with OpenShift, AWS EKS and Cloud Foundry to modernise and migrate application environments.
   • Helped design and implement monitoring and observability with Prometheus, Elastic Stack, Grafana and PagerDuty.
   • Covered the technical side of ISO 27001 and NEN 7510 audits for the healthcare environments for a period: demonstrating controls, resolving findings and documenting them.
   • Renewed the site network and hardware on Fortinet: new VLAN layout, DHCP, DNS and Active Directory, site-to-site VPN with routing to other locations and client VPN for staff.
   • Built solid experience in reliable automation, error handling, stakeholder communication and production operations.

   StackAzure DevOps · PowerShell · Octopus · Jenkins · OpenShift · EKS · Cloud Foundry · Prometheus · Elastic Stack · PagerDuty · Fortinet

6. Aug 2015 – Feb 2016Continue ITICT AdministratorInternship

   Hands-on experience in IT operations, client support and project execution across Microsoft infrastructure, networking and office environments.

   • Supported Exchange to Office 365 migrations, office network setups and daily helpdesk operations.
   • Worked with Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, hardware support and monitoring.

   StackWindows AD · DNS · DHCP · Office 365 · Exchange · Networking

7. New directionPractical AI on your own data

   Alongside platform work I am exploring how AI on a company’s own data can lighten recurring work. It is a direction I am developing: apart from my own proofs of concept, no completed client projects yet. The same platform discipline applies: data stays with its owner, the application works within existing permissions and logging, and output can be checked and refers to its source.

   • Meeting preparation with context from calendar, CRM, tickets and earlier notes
   • A knowledge assistant on your own documentation, with source references
   • An autonomous agent that walks through software repositories daily or weekly, looking for security vulnerabilities and incorrect implementations, and delivers its findings as proposals
   • Reports and summaries assembled from several systems
   • Triage and draft replies, with a colleague in the loop

Technical focus

Cloud platforms

Azure · AWS · GCP

Container and platform engineering

Kubernetes · AKS · EKS · GKE · OpenShift · Cloud Foundry · Helm · ArgoCD · GitOps · Kubernetes Operators · cert-manager

Infrastructure as Code and automation

Terraform · Ansible · Azure ARM · PowerShell · Bash · Python · REST APIs

CI/CD and delivery

Azure DevOps · GitHub · Jenkins · Octopus Deploy · Docker · YAML pipelines

Identity and security

Managed identities · Workload identity and federation · Pod identity · IAM roles · IRSA · OIDC · RBAC · Microsoft Entra ID · Secretless authentication · Least privilege

Compliance and audits

ISO 27001 · NEN 7510 · Internal and external audits · Technical evidence · Just-in-time access · Audit logging

Observability

Prometheus · Grafana · Loki · Tempo · Alertmanager · Elastic Stack · Azure Monitor · Opsgenie · PagerDuty · PRTG · Zabbix

Databases and messaging

MariaDB · MySQL · PostgreSQL · SQL Server · MongoDB · Redis · RabbitMQ · Kafka · HA database clusters

Networking

VNets and VPCs · Private endpoints · Load balancing · DNS · DHCP · TLS · Fortinet firewalls · VLANs · Site-to-site and client VPN · WAF

Software environments supported

.NET · Java · Node.js · Angular · Python