Alexander is available for hire
Hire AlexanderAlexander Efimov
Verified Expert in Engineering
DevOps Engineer and Software Developer
Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia
Toptal member since October 3, 2022
Bio
Alexander is a DevOps engineer with ten years of experience who started helping developers as a sysadmin before the term DevOps was widely known. He likes to learn, utilize gained knowledge, and have a code for his infrastructure to recreate it from scratch by running a couple of scripts. Alexander is passionate about automation and integration.
Portfolio
Quantori
Kubernetes, Python, Bash, Terraform, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines...
Pleeco
Ansible, Java, Kubernetes, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Amazon Web Services (AWS)...
DecisionMapper
Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Helm, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines...
Experience
- Bash - 12 years
- Linux - 12 years
- DevOps - 9 years
- AWS DevOps - 9 years
- Docker - 6 years
- Kubernetes - 5 years
- Prometheus - 4 years
- Terraform - 4 years
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Terraform, GitLab, Python, Bash
The most amazing...
...thing I've made is a fully automated self-healing Kubernetes-based infrastructure that worked for years without interventions.
Work Experience
Lead DevOps Engineer
2020 - PRESENT
Quantori
- Contributed to multiple projects for different clients. Most of them are AWS-based.
- Participated in the training for junior engineers as a mentor.
- Developed infrastructure automation solutions and CI/CD solutions for clients.
Technologies: Kubernetes, Python, Bash, Terraform, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Ansible, Helm, Jenkins, Docker, Bitbucket, Amazon EKS, AWS CloudFormation, Jenkins Pipeline, Grafana, Prometheus, GitLab, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Bash Script, Scripting, Amazon EC2, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), AWS Cloud Architecture, Amazon CloudFront CDN, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Datadog, Relational Database Services (RDS), Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, Git, AWS IAM, AWS Lambda, AWS Elastic File System, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Amazon RDS, GitHub, Cloud Architecture, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), GitOps, AWS DevOps, Networking, VPN, Containerization
Lead DevOps Engineer
2019 - 2020
Pleeco
- Refactored the deployment process for faster and more stable work.
- Created an out-of-the-box deployment solution for isolated enterprise environments.
- Migrated some parts of the projects to Kubernetes to improve manageability and scalability.
Technologies: Ansible, Java, Kubernetes, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Helm, Jenkins, Docker, Amazon EKS, AWS CloudFormation, Jenkins Pipeline, Grafana, Prometheus, Terraform, PostgreSQL, Bash Script, Scripting, Amazon EC2, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), AWS Cloud Architecture, Amazon CloudFront CDN, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Relational Database Services (RDS), Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, Git, AWS IAM, AWS Lambda, AWS Elastic File System, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Amazon RDS, GitHub, Cloud Architecture, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), GitOps, AWS DevOps, Networking, VPN, Containerization
Senior DevOps Engineer
2018 - 2019
DecisionMapper
- Worked on an enterprise Azure-based infrastructure solution for applications.
- Developed a toolset for applications and infrastructure configuration management in the cloud.
- Supported developers within the new projects as a consultant.
Technologies: Kubernetes, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Helm, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Linux, Ansible, Docker, Grafana, Prometheus, GitLab, Terraform, Bash Script, Scripting, Azure, Azure DevOps Services, Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, Git, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), GitHub, Cloud Architecture, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), GitOps, AWS DevOps, Networking, VPN, Containerization
Senior DevOps Engineer
2016 - 2018
Grid Dynamics
- Served as a DevOps engineer on big data (data warehouse) projects.
- Worked onsite in the client's team as one of the lead DevOps engineers.
- Developed pipeline libraries for an enterprise-grade one-click Jenkins CI/CD solution.
Technologies: Jenkins, Jenkins Pipeline, Ansible, Bash, Hadoop, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Helm, Docker, Bitbucket, AWS CloudFormation, Grafana, Prometheus, GitLab, DSC, Windows Server, Bash Script, Scripting, Amazon EC2, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), AWS Cloud Architecture, Amazon CloudFront CDN, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Azure DevOps Services, Relational Database Services (RDS), Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, Git, AWS IAM, AWS Lambda, AWS Elastic File System, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Amazon RDS, GitHub, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), AWS DevOps, Clustering, Networking, VPN, Containerization
Senior DevOps Engineer
2014 - 2016
DataArt
- Acted as a DevOps engineer on several projects. Grew from mid-level to senior DevOps.
- Created a full DevOps lifecycle solution for a complex .NET application on Windows.
- Managed a team of three people and mentored one junior engineer.
Technologies: .NET, Windows PowerShell, Octopus Deploy, TeamCity, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Bitbucket, AWS CloudFormation, GitLab, Windows Server, MSBuild, DSC, PostgreSQL, Bash Script, Scripting, Amazon EC2, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Relational Database Services (RDS), Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Deployment, Git, AWS IAM, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Amazon RDS, GitHub, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), AWS DevOps, Clustering, Networking, VPN, Containerization
DevOps Engineer
2013 - 2014
IRCOS
- Developed a self-healing system for hosting Java and PostgreSQL applications in a virtual environment.
- Participated in the onsite deployment of the system from hardware to software.
- Communicated with developers on infrastructure topics.
Technologies: TeamCity, Proxmox, Java, GlusterFS, DevOps, CI/CD Pipelines, Linux, Ansible, PostgreSQL, KVM, Bash Script, Scripting, Continuous Integration (CI), Git, AWS IAM, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Clustering, Networking, VPN
Lead of IT Infrastructure
2012 - 2014
Zapad Banka
- Automated branch office systems' bootstrapping. Initially, the configuration took around 2-3 days, but I reduced the process to four hours, including physical hardware installation.
- Created and managed an IT infrastructure team. Implemented ITIL processes for infrastructure operations and support. Reduced time-to-resolution by around 80% for most support tickets, i.e., from 3-4 hours to 0.5-2 hours.
- Created a specialized Ubuntu distribution for thin clients with extended functionalities such as remote share mounts, file management, and specialized hardware forwarding.
Technologies: Ansible, Bash, Bash Script, Proxmox, Windows, Windows Server, Network Engineering, Clustering, Networking, VPN
Experience
Blockchain Project Architecture in Cloud
Created architecture for a blockchain and NFT trading project in AWS. The client requested to create an extensible development infrastructure that must support dynamic development environments and production infrastructure for the application in a separate security contour.
This resulted in a fully automated GitOps-like solution for infrastructure management and CI/CD for the applications, including automated production deployment. The solution included several challenging parts, such as a custom clustered storage platform.
This resulted in a fully automated GitOps-like solution for infrastructure management and CI/CD for the applications, including automated production deployment. The solution included several challenging parts, such as a custom clustered storage platform.
Automated Installer for Microservice-based Application
We had a microservice-based application for complex data analysis that needed to be deployed to the client's closed security contour. I created a fully automated solution based on Ansible and Docker to install and upgrade the system with almost no user intervention. The client's IT then used it to deploy the system for several clients, and we supported it.
IoT Management System for Hotels
An application for managing smart home IoT solutions for hotels. I was a lead DevOps engineer leading a team of up to three members and overseeing CI/CD processes and client deployments. I also made a fully automated solution for all CI/CD processes.
Isolated Virtual Hosting for Java Application
I created a fully automated self-healing virtualization platform and database hosting for an industrial application that ran in highly-secured isolated environments. As a result, the application—hosted on 3-6 hardware servers with Proxmox and KVM virtualization platform—could self-heal and restore the database from scratch in a fully automated manner.
Education
2003 - 2008
Master's Degree in Information Technology
Voronezh State Technical University - Voronezh, Russia
Skills
Libraries/APIs
Jenkins Pipeline
Tools
Helm, Amazon EKS, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), AWS IAM, Git, VPN, Terraform, GitLab, Jenkins, Grafana, Ansible, AWS CloudFormation, GitHub, Amazon CloudFront CDN, TeamCity, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Bitbucket, MSBuild, Azure DevOps Services
Languages
Bash, Python, Java, Bash Script
Paradigms
DevOps, Continuous Deployment, Continuous Integration (CI)
Platforms
Kubernetes, Docker, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linux, Amazon EC2, Windows Server, AWS Lambda, Proxmox, Blockchain, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), KVM, Windows, Azure
Storage
Amazon S3 (AWS S3), AWS Elastic File System, GlusterFS, PostgreSQL, Datadog
Frameworks
Windows PowerShell, .NET, Hadoop
Other
CI/CD Pipelines, Scripting, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Amazon RDS, Relational Database Services (RDS), Infrastructure as Code (IaC), AWS DevOps, Containerization, Prometheus, AWS Cloud Architecture, Cloud Architecture, GitOps, Networking, Proxies, Software Development, Octopus Deploy, DSC, Network Engineering, Clustering
Collaboration That Works
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
1
Share your needs
Discuss your requirements and refine your scope in a call with a Toptal domain expert.
2
Choose your talent
Get a short list of expertly matched talent within 24 hours to review, interview, and choose from.
3
Start your risk-free talent trial
Work with your chosen talent on a trial basis for up to two weeks. Pay only if you decide to hire them.
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring