
Charlie Holland
Verified Expert in Engineering
Software Developer
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Toptal member since June 14, 2018
Charlie is a cloud-native architect and engineering lead with 25+ years across AWS, Azure, and GCP. He specializes in Kubernetes, MLOps, and enterprise AI platforms, helping organizations take AI from proof of concept to production. Charlie has delivered scalable IoT and ML systems, built governed MLOps capabilities, and developed GenAI and agent-based solutions that operate reliably in real-world environments.
Portfolio
Experience
- Architecture - 20 years
- Leadership - 20 years
- Mentorship - 15 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 15 years
- Azure - 13 years
- DevOps - 11 years
- Offshore Team Management - 10 years
- Kubernetes - 7 years
Preferred Environment
Azure, Bash, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Ubuntu, MacOS, Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
The most amazing...
...thing I've built is a global software-as-a-service platform that runs on top of Azure and serves many of the world's largest organizations.
Work Experience
Founder
AltairaLabs
- Founder of AltairaLabs, building an open-source engineering platform that brings Kubernetes, GitOps, testing, and observability to enterprise AI.
- Designed a declarative AI framework where prompts, workflows, tools, and evaluations are managed as code using modern DevOps practices.
- Built a cloud-native platform for deploying secure, scalable AI agents across multiple LLM providers without vendor lock-in.
- Engineered multimodal AI capabilities including text, voice, video, real-time streaming, tool calling, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
- Delivered a cloud-agnostic AI runtime with multi-cloud deployment, automated evaluations, enterprise security, observability, and Kubernetes-native scalability.
AI Architect
Lennar Homes LLC
- Designed and delivered a production multi-agent AI system on Amazon Bedrock using a Supervisor-led orchestration model, enabling dynamic routing across domain-specific agents and coherent cross-domain response synthesis.
- Implemented a continuous evaluation framework combining built-in and custom evaluators, with a strong focus on data accuracy, correctness, and faithfulness, supporting both real-time monitoring and targeted, on-demand analysis.
- Developed custom validation aligned to underlying data pipelines (e.g., dbt), identifying and mitigating issues such as incorrect metric selection, and hallucinated outputs—shifting system improvement from prompt tuning to measurable data integrity.
- Established structured telemetry and observability patterns integrated with Amazon CloudWatch, capturing routing decisions, agent interactions, and tool usage, while exposing limitations in current AI observability approaches.
- Optimized architecture for cost and scalability by introducing batch-based evaluation workflows, sampling strategies, and selective trace retention, reducing operational overhead while maintaining high-quality evaluation coverage.
Enterprise AI Platform Architect
HSBC
- Designed and delivered a secure, enterprise-scale AI/ML platform on Vertex AI within a highly regulated banking environment, enabling governed model development and deployment under strict access and compliance constraints.
- Led the migration from Kubeflow to a managed, cloud-native MLOps architecture, reducing operational overhead while improving scalability, resilience, and platform maintainability.
- Implemented a fully governed MLOps lifecycle from build to validate, promote, and deploy, aligned with audit and SOX-style controls to ensure that all AI workloads were traceable, reproducible, and production-ready.
- Established secure-by-design data and access patterns using Workload Identity, private artifact registries, and network isolation, eliminating reliance on static credentials and reducing security risk across AI workloads.
- Enabled large-scale data processing and feature engineering using ephemeral Spark workloads integrated with BigQuery, supporting high-volume, cost-efficient model training and inference pipelines.
Principal Cloud & AI Platform Engineer
Toptal
- Defined and delivered a Kubernetes-native GenAI execution platform on Google Cloud Platform, enabling AI agents to run as scalable, isolated workloads with access to real enterprise systems and tooling.
- Engineered a goal-driven agent runtime in Rust, implementing iterative execution loops (plan, act, verify) to move beyond chat-based AI into autonomous task completion.
- Integrated multi-provider LLM orchestration across OpenAI and Anthropic, enabling capability-based routing, fallback strategies, and vendor-agnostic AI workflows.
- Designed secure, containerized execution environments on Kubernetes, allowing AI agents to safely interact with codebases, Docker workloads, and external services without compromising platform integrity.
- Established production-ready patterns for enterprise GenAI adoption on cloud-native infrastructure, combining GCP services, Kubernetes, and controlled execution models to transition AI from experimentation to reliable delivery.
Platform Architect
An ML Startup in the Medical Imaging Space
- Designed and deployed a HIPAA-compliant ML pipeline for medical image analysis using AWS SageMaker and FastAPI, automating model training and inference across GPU-enabled environments.
- Implemented an end-to-end MLOps workflow—data ingestion, preprocessing, training, inference, and monitoring—integrated into CI/CD pipelines for full auditability and reproducibility.
- Collaborated with data scientists and regulatory teams to align ML lifecycle processes with FDA and HIPAA standards.
- Led the integration of ML outputs into surgical workflow tools, connecting predictive insights to clinicians through a React-based dashboard.
- Architected a cloud-native back end for medical scan management, ensuring secure upload, storage, and retrieval of large DICOM datasets with role-based access control.
Azure Cloud Architect
Flagstone
- Architected the back end for Flagstone’s new client mobile banking app — a cloud-native Azure platform integrating legacy systems, payment gateways, and open banking APIs.
- Designed a secure, event-driven architecture supporting real-time account operations, fund transfers, and compliance reporting.
- Defined the compliance and security model, covering data residency, encryption at rest/in transit, and auditability to meet FCA and PSD2 obligations.
- Guided engineering teams in adopting modern DevOps practices, improving release confidence and time-to-market for new banking features.
Cloud Native Architect
Zoetis - Tech and Digital
- Led the architecture and development of a scalable IoT platform to support connected veterinary devices, enabling real-time health monitoring and proactive care for livestock and pets.
- Implemented robust security measures, including OAuth2 and mutual TLS, to protect sensitive health data and comply with industry regulations.
- Provided mentorship to engineering teams, promoting best practices in cloud-native design, DevOps, and microservices architecture.
- Optimized cloud resource utilization, reducing operational costs while supporting the growth of the IoT device ecosystem.
Lead AWS Solutions Architect
A Global Industrial Service Company
- Led the design and implementation of a globally scalable IoT cloud platform, ensuring seamless data integration across multiple business units and hardware product lines.
- Spearheaded the adoption of Kubernetes for scalable and cost-efficient IoT workloads, promoting cloud-provider neutrality and operational consistency.
- Fostered collaboration between hardware engineering, software development, and business units, aligning platform capabilities with evolving product roadmaps.
- Played a key role in aligning architectural patterns across legacy platforms, reducing technical debt, and simplifying future integrations.
- Developed cloud-agnostic architecture patterns, enabling deployment across multiple cloud providers, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, with support for on-premises installations.
- Managed the insourcing of development from a third-party consultancy to leverage offshore and nearshore full-time employees, providing global coverage and significant cost savings.
- Integrated Salesforce CRM with internal work tracking systems to streamline customer support workflows, improving response times and customer satisfaction.
- Designed and implemented dashboards to provide real-time visibility into platform performance, customer support metrics, and issue resolution times, enhancing decision-making for the support team.
Azure Cloud Architect | AI Platform Engineer
Data Driven Partners LLC
- Scaled an agentic AI platform to enterprise throughput, processing over two million AI-driven messages per day across multiple Azure regions.
- Optimized architecture for resilience and cost efficiency, implementing event-driven autoscaling and message-queue partitioning to ensure sub-second latency under load.
- Integrated OpenAI GPT-based agents with Pipedrive CRM, automating sales workflows and customer engagement pipelines end-to-end.
Cloud Architect
Payer Sciences
- Developed and implemented DevOps processes to deliver continuous delivery of a multi-tenant application to Azure-based Kubernetes clusters.
- Implemented GitOps-based Kubernetes management across multiple clusters.
- Devised and implemented an automatic testing strategy covering: unit tests, code quality (SonarQube), E2E testing (Cypress), and Load Testing (JMeter).
Azure Technical Architect
A Global Construction Equipment Manufacturer
- Designed and implemented a data processing application using React, Java, and Azure Functions.
- Updated and evolved DevOps processes and pipelines.
- Architected feature changes across multiple development stacks and teams with C# and Java.
- Advised on the process and implementation of improvements to drive reliability and scalability.
Cloud Solutions Architect
Roche
- Re-engineered the architecture for a clinical trial platform to reduce costs and increase development cadence.
- Re-engineered Azure DevOps pipelines to simplify deployment processes and incorporate more effective testing.
- Mentored existing team members on delivering the revised architecture and developed processes.
Cloud Architect
AltaML
- Devised and implemented a cross-cloud, Kubernetes-based, standard operating platform.
- Implemented and evangelized GitOps and modern cloud-native deployment practices.
- Designed and implemented multi-site, on-premise MLOps architecture based on KubeFlow.
Technical Author
Okta
- Contributed to the technical content and identity management on .NET Core, Jenkins, containerization, and .NET Framework.
- Provided the technical content and identity management with React.
- Engineered the technical content and identity management on Azure.
SaaS Azure Architect
Lykke Business Systems
- Designed the architecture for the global deployment of a blockchain-based SaaS application.
- Deployed Kubernetes as a common platform across Azure and AWS.
- Utilized application security using Istio service mesh and Okta identity management.
Cloud Architect | DevOps
Endeavor Digital
- Designed and implemented a multi-cloud, multi-cluster Kubernetes environment for running all Endeavor Digital customer-facing applications.
- Created and implemented a global monitoring and alerting solution using Prometheus, ElasticSearch, and AWS EKS.
- Built and implemented the CI/CD processes using Azure DevOps, including container scanning, static code analysis, and automated unit and load testing.
- Engineered and implemented a scalable load testing platform based on Argo workflows, JMeter, and Selenium.
- Designed and implemented a data analysis platform leveraging Azure Databricks, SQL Data Warehouse, and Kubernetes jobs for data processing.
Azure Architect | DevOps Specialist
EY Global Innovation
- Built a data pipeline platform for machine learning.
- Designed and implemented an application platform using Kubernetes.
- Devised a CI/CD process for machine learning models and Java-based application components.
- Developed custom Kubernetes CI components using Go.
- Constructed a data processing pipeline using Apache Spark.
- Implemented automated unit testing for Java, Python, and Node.js components.
Senior Azure Architect
Fortune 100 North American Construction Equipment Manufacturer
- Advised on the implementation and architecture of a high-throughput, globally distributed, public-facing API.
- Delivered and designed a CI/CD pipeline using Azure DevOps.
- Integrated Azure KeyVault, Storage, and LogAnalytics with a Spring application.
- Created and delivered a geo-replicated database topology.
- Designed and delivered multi-region, high availability architecture.
Senior DevOps Engineer
EY Global Innovation
- Migrated the CI/CD from GitLab to Azure DevOps.
- Assembled and migrated the infrastructure from AWS to Azure.
- Managed and implemented the CI/CD pipelines into 16 Kubernetes clusters across global regions.
- Integrated the Azure KeyVault, Storage, PostgreSQL, and Azure Active Directory.
- Supported the Kubernetes components created using a range of languages, including Java, Python, Node.js, and Go.
Consultant Microsoft Stack Technical Architect
Smartlogic Semaphore
- Designed and developed a global SaaS platform.
- Integrated various components with Azure KeyVault.
- Developed the microservices architecture using Service Fabric.
- Built the automated deployment of an internal resource using PowerShell DSC and automation services.
- Scripted the entire platform for CI/CD using PowerShell and VSTS.
- Scaled the platform globally and connected the various regions through the extensive use of Azure networking.
- Designed and developed a multi-vendor security mechanism using Azure Active Directory, OAuth2, SAML, and WS-Federation.
Consultant SharePoint Product Developer
Smartlogic Semaphore
- Developed a product integration using SharePoint 2010.
- Built a product-based enterprise search on SharePoint and FAST search.
- Combined document classification with SharePoint content management.
- Integrated taxonomy management with SharePoint.
- Devised scripting APIs to allow the automation of custom SharePoint components from PowerShell.
Consultant Technical Architect
IT Alliance
- Delivered an ASP.NET project for BT.
- Built the SharePoint architecture consulting for the Bank of England and HP.
- Developed a SharePoint project management solution for NHS.
- Provided architectural guidance to junior developers.
Consultant Technical Architect
Glasow Housing Association
- Designed a choice-based letting platform based on SharePoint 2007 and BizTalk.
- Provided an innovative property letting service to 115,000 public sector housing tenants across Glasgow.
- Unified a line of business systems using BizTalk and SOA.
- Integrated with third-party suppliers using a custom-developed REST API.
- Developed a custom user experience using ASP.NET.
Technical Architect
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
- Replaced paper forms with electronic counterparts using SharePoint workflows.
- Devised secure mechanisms for information sharing with third-party organizations.
- Developed an electronic admissions system for specialist referrals.
Freelance Developer
HollandTech Limited
- Acted as a business intelligence consultant for Aggreko, the global leader in temporary power provisioning.
- Developed a RoHS and WEEE compliance platform for Sanmina SCI.
- Founded and sold an ISP business.
- Developed a performance management portal for the RBS IFS division.
- Integrated the CRM for Scottish Widows and the Bank of New York.
- Redeveloped a hydrocarbon accounting system for BP and SAIC.
Experience
Cloud Replatforming & Cost Optimization for a Global Enterprise
HIPAA-compliant ML Platform for Surgical Imaging
Global Energy Management Platform with Google Cloud AI Integration
Cross-cloud ML Platform on Kubernetes
https://altaml.com/Semaphore Cloud
https://www.smartlogic.com/productsForties Pipeline Hydrocarbon Accounting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forties_pipeline_systemEducation
Master of Science Degree in Software Engineering
Open University - Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business
University of West Scotland - Ayr, Scotland
Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
Paisley University - Paisely, Scotland
Certifications
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Microsoft
AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
Amazon Web Services
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
AWS
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
Microsoft
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
Microsoft
MCPD
Microsoft
Certified Technical Trainer CTT+
CompTia
MCSE
Microsoft
Skills
Libraries/APIs
ASPX, React, jQuery, jQuery UI, Apigee, Node.js, Azure API Management, OpenAI API, PyTorch
Tools
Amazon EKS, Visual Studio Online (VSO), xUnit.net, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), xUnit, Azure DevOps Services, Azure Key Vault, Helm, GitLab, GitHub, CircleCI, MQTT, Grafana, Elastic, GitLab CI/CD, Visual Studio, Git, RabbitMQ, AWS ELB, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), Amazon Simple Email Service (SES), Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Amazon Cognito, Apache JMeter, Jenkins, Istio, Terraform, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Logic Apps, Amazon SageMaker, Logging, BigQuery
Languages
C#.NET, C#, Snowflake, Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET), JavaScript, SQL, TypeScript, Bash, VB.NET, Python, Java, Python 3, Go, Bicep
Frameworks
.NET Core, ASP.NET Core 2, IdentityServer 4, ASP.NET MVC, Windows PowerShell, Knockout (Knockout.js), Redux, OAuth 2, React Native, ASP.NET Core, ASP.NET, Spring, .NET, Flux, TOGAF, Spark, Crossplane, LangGraph, Next.js
Paradigms
API Architecture, DevOps, Test-driven Development (TDD), REST, Scrum, Agile, Azure DevOps, XP, Serverless Architecture, HIPAA Compliance, Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Platforms
Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, Azure Service Fabric, Azure, SharePoint, Azure PaaS, AWS IoT Core, AWS ALB, Oracle, Android, iOS, Vertex AI, MacOS, Ubuntu, Azure Functions, AWS Lambda, Databricks, Kubeflow, Amazon EC2, Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Apache Kafka, Salesforce, Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Storage
Azure Blobs, Azure SQL, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), PostgreSQL, Redis, Azure Cosmos DB, Amazon Aurora, Microsoft SQL Server, Azure Queue Storage, Azure SQL Databases
Other
Power Shell Commands, Code Architecture, Web Services, OAuth, Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS), Architecture, Machine Learning Operations (MLOps), Oidc, WebSockets, Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR), Mentorship, Leadership, Offshore Team Management, FinOps, API Gateways, DocumentDB, BizTalk, OpenID Connect (OIDC), SAML-auth, Compliance, FreeRTOS, HVAC, Layer7 API Gateway, OpenAI, Gemini, Windows 10, Prometheus, Azure Service Bus, BlazeMeter, Office 365, MLflow, Machine Learning, GitOps, Business, Cloud, AWS Certified Solution Architect, Solution Architecture, APIs, Argo CD, Argo Workflows, Microsoft Azure Cloud Server, Performance Testing, Agentic AI, Anthropic, Large Language Models (LLMs), Large Language Model Operations (LLMOps), AWS ECS Fargate, FastAPI, Medical Imaging, Medical Devices, Open Banking APIs, Know Your Customer (KYC), Logging as a Service (LaaS), Back-end, Team Leadership, LangChain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Multi-agent Systems, Amazon Bedrock, AI Agents
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