Kristian is available for hire
Hire KristianKristian Whittick
Verified Expert in Engineering
Solution Architect and Developer
Location
Charlton Adam, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
August 4, 2020
Kristian is a solution architect who excels at building elegant, pragmatic solutions for business challenges—whether it be technical, operational, or within a team. With 30 years of IT experience, Kristian's amassed a wealth of expertise and skills, including leading and mentoring architecture/dev teams and technically leading projects (1 to 4 years in length). He's skilled in major patterns, platforms, languages (Java, C++, JS), libraries (TIBCO, Node.js), and paradigms (SOA, microservices).
Portfolio
Varda - Main
Architecture, Python, JavaScript, SQL, Node.js, ETL, NoSQL, Kubernetes...
Sophos
AWS Systems Manager, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS CloudFormation...
**BCG - Client Services
Architecture, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Software Architecture, Docker, Python...
Experience
Availability
Part-time
Preferred Environment
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Java, Agile, C, Microservices, APIs, Cloud Architecture, Integration
The most amazing...
...project was rearchitecting JustEat from a single server, multi-layered, microservices, and database to a serverless/scalable entity which saved costs/ops time.
Work Experience
Lead Architect
2021 - 2022
Varda - Main
- Helped from the initial proof-of-concept to trigger the creation of the startup company and then build the teams and headcount to 50+ people.
- Implemented IAM for the entire company with centralized control of all SSO, OIDC, SAML, and SCIM access from Azure AD.
- Initial research and adoption of the Uber H3 hexagonal grid system to map the geospatial data.
- Helped mold the products to allow the company to expose the maps-based user interface and APIs to the internet.
- Handled many roles within the company, including lead architect, scrum master, product owner, and many others, adapting to any role per company need.
- Architected, designed, and managed the building of the cloud solution for the data platform in AWS.
- Architected and managed the building of the end-to-end CI/CD pipeline to deploy on AWS/EKS.
- Built the data pipeline for standardized data platform ingestion from various data sources.
Technologies: Architecture, Python, JavaScript, SQL, Node.js, ETL, NoSQL, Kubernetes, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apache Kafka, Identity & Access Management (IAM), Azure Active Directory B2C (ADB2C), Infrastructure as Code (IaC), High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, VPN, DevOps, Cloud Architecture, Solution Architecture, Microservices, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Technical Leadership, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Team Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Back-end, Web Architecture, SaaS, JavaScript 6, MySQL, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), Python 3, MongoDB, RESTful Development, RESTful Services, Docker, Messaging, Cloud Services, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, RESTful Microservices, Serverless Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Governance, IT Governance, Lambda Functions, REST, B2B, B2C, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Mentorship & Coaching, Cloud, Streaming Data, Containers, NGINX, Azure, AWS Certified Solution Architect, AWS Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Computing Services, Continuous Development (CD)
AWS Cloud Architect
2021 - 2021
Sophos
- Built the patching platform using AWS technologies and best practices.
- Set up an approach to roll out AWS Config and AWS SSM to legacy and new AWS accounts.
- Involved in hands-on development of CloudFormation templates for infrastructure as code.
- Defined stakeholder engagement for the adoption of AWS.
Technologies: AWS Systems Manager, Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS CloudFormation, Cloud Architecture, Solution Architecture, Architecture, Software Development, Cloud Services, Coding, Stakeholder Engagement, Cloud, AWS Certified Solution Architect
Software Engineer | Architect
2020 - 2021
**BCG - Client Services
- Involved in the hands-on deployment of a new product to a leading European Telecoms company in just eight weeks.
- Architected the deployment pattern for the end client.
- Participated in stakeholder engagement with the end client to gather deployment specifics.
- Adapted the product for OpenShift, Kubernetes, Docker, React, Nginx, Redis, Python, Django, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Teradata, AWS, EKS, ECR, RDS, AWS Gateway, and CloudFront.
- Adapted Docker images to run on with tighter security of OpenShift.
- Continued part-time support of deployment changes once live.
Technologies: Architecture, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Software Architecture, Docker, Python, DevOps, Azure, Kubernetes, Red Hat OpenShift, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, Continuous Development (CD), Solution Architecture, Microservices, API Architecture, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Back-end, Web Architecture, JavaScript 6, MySQL, Python 3, RESTful Development, Messaging, Cloud Services, Coding, Code Architecture, OpenShift, System Architecture, RESTful Microservices, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, B2C, Unix Shell Scripting, Containers, ETL, Identity & Access Management (IAM)
Interim Lead Enterprise Architect | Solution Architect
2019 - 2019
C&J Clarks International
- Designed a globally scalable AWS pattern for the digital transformation program and eCommerce platform in 12+ countries.
- Led the architecture team and promoted the architecture by creating a guild and chairing meetings.
- Defined the multi-cloud strategy and integration strategy.
- Chose and established the stack for the cloud data-lake technologies and data feeds.
- Reestablished governance for application catalogs and integration catalogs.
- Owned the entire IT estate discovery and created essential diagrams and assessments.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, VPN, Continuous Development (CD), Cloud Architecture, Solution Architecture, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Team Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Back-end, Web Architecture, SaaS, JavaScript 6, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), RESTful Development, RESTful Services, Messaging, Cloud Services, Coding, Code Architecture, RESTful Microservices, Serverless Architecture, System Architecture Design, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, B2C, eCommerce, Cloud, AWS Certified Solution Architect, AWS Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Computing Services
Enterprise Architect | AWS Cloud Architect
2018 - 2018
JustEat (via Beyond Consultancy)
- Introduced and promoted architecture at JustEat by creating a guild and chairing architecture meetings. JustEat is an eCommerce platform for 14+ countries for takeaway meal sales and delivery.
- Decoupled and scaled components by using AWS serverless technologies.
- Adopted microservices and event-driven architecture.
- Reviewed the entire AWS billing, analyzed the usage, and then implemented a cost savings program, resulting in a $1 million saving for AWS hosting.
- Created the architecture VMOST strategy for the architecture and aligned it with the 3-year business goals.
- Oversaw the entire IT estate discovery by creating essential diagrams and assessments.
- Reorganized and owned the discovery and team's components.
- Introduced Kong as the API gateway, including reusable patterns and best practices.
- Defined the strategy for Android devices in restaurants.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Enterprise Architecture, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, Continuous Development (CD), Cloud Architecture, Microservices, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Serverless, API Development, Team Leadership, Leadership, Back-end, Web Architecture, SaaS, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), .NET, RESTful Services, Messaging, Cloud Services, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, RESTful Microservices, Serverless Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, REST, B2C, eCommerce, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Mentorship & Coaching, Cloud, Streaming Data, Containers, Kong, AWS Certified Solution Architect, AWS Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Computing Services
Architect | Solution, AWS, and SOA
2015 - 2018
Hitachi Capital (UK)
- Introduced and promoted AWS Cloud to Hitachi by creating best practices, obtaining consensus on new service processes, and promoting cloud benefits to initially reluctant teams.
- Implemented serverless architecture for big data analytics to solve business requirements for vehicle telematics.
- Generated and implemented the solution architecture for a stack replacement program for the Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions's leasing system and website.
- Built a B2C eCommerce platform.
- Promoted and coached the IT architecture team and enterprise architecture at the group level for Hitachi Capital UK PLC.
- Introduced collaboration tools that improved cross-team interactions and productivity.
Technologies: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft SQL Server, Angular, Spring Boot, Java, Windows, Linux, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, VPN, DevOps, Cloud Architecture, Solution Architecture, Microservices, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Serverless, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Team Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Back-end, Web Architecture, SaaS, JavaScript 6, MySQL, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MongoDB, JMS, RESTful Development, RESTful Services, Docker, Messaging, Cloud Services, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, RESTful Microservices, Serverless Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, Lambda Functions, REST, B2C, eCommerce, Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Mentorship & Coaching, Cloud, Streaming Data, Containers, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Kong, NGINX, ETL, Identity & Access Management (IAM), AWS Certified Solution Architect, AWS Cloud Architecture, AWS Cloud Computing Services
Systems Architect
2012 - 2015
HP Enterprise Services
- Served as the chief technologist for Vodafone Integration Domain and led the architect and design team of one of the biggest telco companies in Europe and the biggest TIBCO implementation in Europe.
- Led the architecture, design governance, SOA governance, customer relations, process authority, technical authority, Agile methodology, coding standards, development practices, and release management improvements.
- Led and mentored a team of architects and designers across two continents to continue delivering SOA to Vodafone.
- Led the HP team of 180 people, consisting of 6% UK-based and 94% Indi- based for a project.
- Worked within an environment where Vodafone has 600+ SOA services live in production and achieved a 52% re-usage of services.
- Contributed to a transformation project for file transfers by architecting and designing a full mission-critical managed file transfer solution with geo-resilience with Ireland and Germany. It was B2B.
Technologies: Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Linux, TIBCO, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, VPN, DevOps, Continuous Development (CD), Solution Architecture, Microservices, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Team Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Back-end, SaaS, JavaScript 6, MySQL, JMS, RESTful Services, Messaging, Coding, Code Architecture, OpenShift, System Architecture, RESTful Microservices, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, REST, B2B, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Mentorship & Coaching, Lean, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), Object-oriented Design (OOD)
Solution and Integration Architect | TIBCO Specialist
2008 - 2012
Virgin Media
- Served as a solution designer for the micro-SIM project across seven teams and led the middleware team in the design and development—which allowed Virgin to sell and provision micro SIMs, expanding the potential customer base to iPhone/iPad users.
- Designed solutions for the MINT project, which allowed Virgin to benefit from the T-Mobile and Orange merger, improving network coverage.
- Acted as a solution designer for the Blackberry project, which automatically provisioned/de-provisioned Blackberry services when a customer purchased or ended a Blackberry mobile contract.
- Completed a data center move, where all key systems were migrated from an outsourced data center to an in-house data center. Automated the installations for the latest TIBCO software and configuration via BMC BladeLogic.
- Created, as the integration architect lead, integration solution designs, high-level design, and low-level design documentation.
- Worked on multiple business projects in parallel and ensured compatibility and timely delivery.
- Worked within a 3-month release delivery cycle, overlapping three releases.
Technologies: Java, Linux, TIBCO, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, VPN, DevOps, Solution Architecture, Microservices, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Team Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Back-end, Web Architecture, SaaS, JavaScript 6, MySQL, JMS, Spring Boot, Microsoft SQL Server, RESTful Development, RESTful Services, Messaging, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, REST, B2C, eCommerce, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Mentorship & Coaching, Streaming Data, Lean, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), NGINX, Object-oriented Design (OOD), ETL, Identity & Access Management (IAM), Infrastructure as Code (IaC), BladeLogic
TIBCO Specialist
2007 - 2008
GFI Group (Global Brokerage)
- Architected, designed, and built trading feeds for back-end financial systems, including confirmations, finance, and MIS.
- Architected, designed, developed, deployed, and supported a global SOA platform for a broker-trading system.
- Designed, developed, and reviewed "low latency" TIBCO BusinessWorks™ processes.
- Mentored and developed build-and-deployment scripts and automation tools and implemented process enrichment, quality control, and version control.
- Developed TIBCO BusinessEvents rules and integrated them with TIBCO BusinessWorks processes.
Technologies: Linux, Java, TIBCO, Scalability, DevOps, Solution Architecture, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Back-end, MySQL, Messaging, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
TIBCO Technical Lead
2007 - 2007
Carphone Warehouse
- Served as the technical lead of the CRIM (configuration release integration management) team.
- Standardized and streamlined deployments by enforcing version control on the previously haphazard deployment configuration.
- Performed environment deployment regression testing and oversaw the detailed environment integration testing design.
- Managed nine environments and delivered five full releases a week from two separate TIBCO development streams.
Technologies: Linux, Java, TIBCO, DevOps, Integration, Architecture, Software Development, Back-end, Messaging, Coding, API Integration, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
Senior Consultant
2006 - 2007
EDS
- Led, as the technical integration architect, in the design and development of an SOA framework for integration for the Ministry of Defence. The reusable framework integrated cross-department systems while complying with high-security requirements.
- Engaged with multiple teams across multiple projects to deliver separate-but-uniform TIBCO integration solutions.
- Gathered requirements for architecture documentation, designed solutions, and took a leading and active role in development.
Technologies: Java, Windows, Linux, TIBCO, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, DevOps, Solution Architecture, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Software Development, API Development, Team Leadership, Leadership, Back-end, JavaScript 6, MySQL, Messaging, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Governance, IT Governance, B2B, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
Lead EAI Technical Architect
2000 - 2005
Infogain (UK)
- Met the technology needs of a wide variety of business contracts through this co-owned company.
- Cultivated a professional working relationship with Virgin Mobile over more than four years.
- Responsible for winning the initial consulting work (Virgin Mobile) and continued to drive strategic projects, including five major projects spanning six months or more and many small projects of one to two months in duration.
- Worked as a technical architect and troubleshooter on the associated Mediabase for The Mail, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, and Evening Standard.
- Served as a technical architect and senior analyst programmer for a project for ASDA Home Shopping.
- Contributed my skill as a senior analyst programmer and database administrator for Lloyds TSB "Success for Business."
- Served as a project manager and senior analyst programmer for a project involved in the arenas and fairgrounds.
- Multiple B2B and B2C projects where many integrations were designed, developed, and supported.
Technologies: Java, Windows, Linux, TIBCO, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, VPN, DevOps, Solution Architecture, Integration, Event-driven Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Team Leadership, Leadership, Enterprise Architecture, Back-end, Web Architecture, JavaScript 6, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, RESTful Development, Messaging, Coding, Code Architecture, System Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, REST, B2B, B2C, eCommerce, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Mentorship & Coaching, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), Object-oriented Design (OOD), ETL, Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Technical Architect | Development Manager | Software Engineer
1992 - 2000
Honeywood Software Solutions
- Developed 3D CAD software for conservatories, including design, plotting, rendering, and cutting lists.
- Built websites for customers, including infrastructure set up and support.
- Constructed software for manufacturing companies. Including order management, costing lists, and CAD/presentation software.
Technologies: Linux, Windows, C++, C, Pascal, BASIC, Solution Architecture, API Architecture, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Software Development, API Development, REST APIs, Team Leadership, Leadership, Back-end, Web Architecture, JavaScript 6, MySQL, RESTful Development, Messaging, Coding, Code Architecture, API Integration, Stakeholder Engagement, REST, B2C, eCommerce, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Unix Shell Scripting, Mentorship & Coaching, Object-oriented Design (OOD)
Experience
Serverless Telematics on AWS
It has been my privilege to work on the project for Hitachi Capital UK PLC, which uses the AWS Cloud as a platform. During the project, I introduced AWS best practices, implemented security, evolved the company cloud policies, improved the team culture, and implemented a serverless architecture.
Serverless architecture is one where the components chosen are offered as a service. This means that the service provider takes care of the underlying infrastructure, and the consumer is responsible for how the component is used. It allows a consumer to focus on business functionality without regard for the commodity compute resources that support the component.
See the link for the full article.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/adoption-aws-serverless-architecture-kristian-whittick/
Serverless architecture is one where the components chosen are offered as a service. This means that the service provider takes care of the underlying infrastructure, and the consumer is responsible for how the component is used. It allows a consumer to focus on business functionality without regard for the commodity compute resources that support the component.
See the link for the full article.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/adoption-aws-serverless-architecture-kristian-whittick/
Skills
Languages
Java, C++, JavaScript, JavaScript 6, C, Pascal, BASIC, Python 3, SQL, Python
Libraries/APIs
REST APIs, API Development, Node.js, JMS
Tools
Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), Kong, NGINX, VPN, Terraform, Azure Active Directory B2C (ADB2C), AWS Systems Manager, AWS CloudFormation
Paradigms
Service-oriented Architecture (SOA), Microservices, REST, Event-driven Architecture, Web Architecture, API Architecture, Microservices Architecture, DevOps, Object-oriented Design (OOD), Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), B2B, B2C, Serverless Architecture, RESTful Development, Agile, Continuous Development (CD), ETL
Platforms
Amazon Web Services (AWS), AWS Lambda, Linux, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows, Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift, Apache Kafka, Azure, Red Hat OpenShift, AWS Cloud Computing Services
Storage
Amazon DynamoDB, NoSQL, MySQL, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MongoDB, Microsoft SQL Server
Other
TIBCO, Team Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, Stakeholder Management, Governance, IT Governance, RESTful Services, RESTful Microservices, APIs, Software Architecture, Solution Architecture, Integration, Messaging, Lambda Functions, Leadership, Technical Leadership, Cloud Services, Coding, Back-end, Code Architecture, Architecture, Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), eCommerce, Serverless, System Architecture, System Architecture Design, API Integration, Message Queues, Cloud Architecture, Software Development, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR), Scalability, Mentorship & Coaching, Cloud, SaaS, Amazon Kinesis, Streaming Data, Unix Shell Scripting, Containers, Enterprise Architecture, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Lean, Identity & Access Management (IAM), AWS Certified Solution Architect, AWS Cloud Architecture, BladeLogic
Frameworks
.NET, Spring Boot, Angular
Certifications
AUGUST 2023 - AUGUST 2026
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (003)
HashiCorp
MARCH 2020 - MARCH 2023
AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate
AWS
NOVEMBER 2000 - PRESENT
Java
Sun Microsystems
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