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Rafael Rodrigues
Verified Expert in Engineering
Backend Cloud Developer
Curitiba - State of Paraná, Brazil
Toptal member since April 11, 2022
Bio
Rafael is an experienced DevOps engineer and cloud engineer with a strong background in the financial industry. He's passionate about using clean code and automation to improve company processes and is skilled in working under high pressure. Rafael is proficient in modern cloud technologies and continually seeks opportunities to learn and grow as an engineer. He's an asset to any team and is eager to work on challenging projects.
Portfolio
Nelnet Business Solutions - Main
Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Amazon EKS, Azure...
JLL - JLLT Corporate Strategy
Azure, Data Pipelines, CI/CD Pipelines, Kafka Streams, Terraform, Helm, DevOps...
Ambev
DevOps, Azure, Azure DevOps, Docker, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)...
Experience
- Kubernetes - 6 years
- DevOps - 6 years
- Cloud - 5 years
- Ansible - 5 years
- Azure - 4 years
- Azure DevOps - 3 years
- Python - 3 years
- Cloud Architecture - 3 years
Preferred Environment
Cloud, DevOps, Kubernetes, Terraform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Azure
The most amazing...
...thing I've developed and architected is a greenfield project, an empty canvas to implement all the DevOps best practices in the largest beverage company.
Work Experience
DevOps and Cloud Engineer II
2023 - 2025
Nelnet Business Solutions - Main
- Designed and implemented a greenfield infrastructure project using Terraform, with full automation through GitHub Actions. Integrated security scanning into the CI workflow to ensure the Infrastructure as Code was both safe and reliable.
- Led the architecture and implementation of Cloudflare across all public-facing URLs. This included onboarding a web application firewall (WAF), configuring advanced caching strategies, and enabling API Shield to enhance security and performance.
- Modernized internal operations by replacing manual server patching with AWS SSM automation. Created Lambda functions for automated Route 53 record backups and daily snapshots, improving reliability and reducing operational workload.
- Worked as a DevOps advocate and promoted automation, CI/CD, and IaC based on my experience improving cloud workflows. Helped teams deliver faster and more reliably by bridging development and operations with practical solutions that offered real value.
Technologies: Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Amazon EKS, Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), CI/CD Pipelines, Azure DevOps, Azure DevOps Services, Terraform, GitHub, Prisma, Twistlock, Datadog, AWS Lambda, Scalable Architecture, Azure Active Directory
DevOps Engineer
2022 - 2022
JLL - JLLT Corporate Strategy
- Reversed engineering complex and legacy systems to create documentation to provide training to junior engineers and suggest improvements to the architecture and process.
- Designed and implemented the log architecture for Kubernetes to be ingested into Splunk and outputting a human-readable format, keeping the minimum overhead for the application's pod and being easier for engineers to debug and spot problems.
- Deployed Flux GitOps implementation with Terraform uploading the encryption key into Azure Key Vault, creating an Azure Kubernetes Service fully automated with encrypted secrets.
- Created Terraform release pipelines into Azure DevOps to deploy new infrastructure and add user permissions.
Technologies: Azure, Data Pipelines, CI/CD Pipelines, Kafka Streams, Terraform, Helm, DevOps, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Azure Functions, Apache Kafka, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Web Security, Cloud Architecture, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Splunk, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Containers, Solution Architecture, AWS Lambda, Scalable Architecture, Azure Active Directory
DevOps Engineer Specialist and Tech Lead
2021 - 2022
Ambev
- Developed a cloud-native architecture to host all the applications aiming for cost efficiency and high scalability in multiple regions to mitigate disasters.
- Managed all the infrastructure with IaC to keep it updated and mitigate configuration drift.
- Created the base templates for all the pipelines with quality, integration, end-to-end, and security tests to deliver the best product possible.
Technologies: DevOps, Azure, Azure DevOps, Docker, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Cloud Security, Python 3, Web Security, Cloud Architecture, Shell, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Helm, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Containers, Solution Architecture, Terraform, Scalable Architecture, Azure API Management, Azure Active Directory
DevOps Engineer
2016 - 2020
Next
- Helped introduce the DevOps culture into a traditional company, showing the impact on quality and agility.
- Developed CI/CD pipelines for on-premise applications and cloud, using Ansible paired with Ansible Tower to easily manage playbooks.
- Led the DevOps front for cloud migration, mapping the requirements needed, implementing the pipelines for the cloud applications, and migrating the CI/CD platforms.
Technologies: Linux, Ansible, Ansible Tower, Docker, Kubernetes, Python, Azure, Web Security, Bamboo, Splunk, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Containers, Jenkins, Terraform
Datacenter Analyst
2015 - 2016
Bradesco
- Provided the first response for incidents and monitored critical applications in a distributed system with z/OS as mainframe, Linux, and network devices.
- Managed the DNS entries into BIG-IP and networking services.
- Wrote documentation and runbooks about solving common problems.
Technologies: Shell, Bash, Linux, Monitoring, Windows PowerShell, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Containers
Experience
End-to-end Cloudflare Implementation in a Multi-cloud Environment (Azure and AWS)
I led the end-to-end implementation of Cloudflare across all public-facing services as part of a cloud security modernization project. The goal was to centralize edge protection, improve performance, and reduce operational overhead. I architected and deployed web application firewall rules, enabled API Shield for sensitive endpoints, and configured smart caching strategies to reduce latency. This initiative significantly improved response times, reduced attack exposure, and established a secure, high-performance edge layer for the entire cloud environment.
Z-Tech Fintech
A fintech that empowers small and medium businesses to change the world through technology.
It has multiple microservices to handle each application flow and a payment gateway platform with apps for both mobile systems.
I architected and developed all the infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines from the ground up, using all the best practices to create a cost-efficient and scalable app during high loads.
It has multiple microservices to handle each application flow and a payment gateway platform with apps for both mobile systems.
I architected and developed all the infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines from the ground up, using all the best practices to create a cost-efficient and scalable app during high loads.
Next
A digital bank that was created inside one of the most traditional financial institutions.
I was part of the team that raised DevOps as a culture, improving agility and delivering better quality products to our clients. We also migrated and modernized the infrastructure, applications, and pipelines to migrate the workload to Microsoft Azure.
I was part of the team that raised DevOps as a culture, improving agility and delivering better quality products to our clients. We also migrated and modernized the infrastructure, applications, and pipelines to migrate the workload to Microsoft Azure.
Certifications
FEBRUARY 2022 - PRESENT
Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
Microsoft
JANUARY 2022 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft
MAY 2021 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
Microsoft
APRIL 2021 - PRESENT
GitLab Certified Associate
GitLab
FEBRUARY 2021 - FEBRUARY 2023
Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate
Microsoft
FEBRUARY 2021 - PRESENT
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
Microsoft
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Azure API Management
Tools
Helm, Terraform, Azure App Service, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), GitLab CI/CD, Git, Shell, Ansible, Ansible Tower, Bamboo, Splunk, Kafka Streams, Amazon EKS, Azure DevOps Services, GitHub, Prisma, Twistlock, Jenkins
Paradigms
Azure DevOps, DevOps, Role-based Access Control (RBAC)
Platforms
Azure, Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Docker, AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Azure Functions, Apache Kafka
Storage
Azure Active Directory, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Data Pipelines, Datadog
Languages
Python, Bash, Python 3
Frameworks
Windows PowerShell
Other
CI/CD Pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Cloud, Cloud Architecture, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Containers, Solution Architecture, Scalable Architecture, Web Security, Cloud Security, Monitoring
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