Kyle Kotowick, Ph.D.
Verified Expert in Engineering
Solution Architect and Back-end Developer
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Toptal member since January 10, 2019
Dr. Kotowick is a leader in solution architecture, having completed his Ph.D. in MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and having served as a consultant for global firms, startups, and universities. He specializes in working with enterprise clients to define requirements and explore possible solutions, as well as in leading the development of project architecture, cloud services, and back-end software.
Portfolio
Experience
- Internet of Things (IoT) - 7 years
- CTO - 7 years
- AWS Certified Solution Architect - 6 years
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) - 6 years
- REST APIs - 5 years
- Serverless Architecture - 2 years
- Terraform - 2 years
- Go - 1 year
Availability
Preferred Environment
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Serverless Architecture, Containers, ESP32
The most amazing...
...project I've led was a multidisciplinary R&D program on navigation systems for military infantry in partnership with the US Department of Defense.
Work Experience
Principal DevSecOps Engineer
Global Affairs Canada (Government of Canada)
- Migrated legacy workloads from government systems to Azure, complying with Government of Canada security and high availability standards.
- Provided internal consulting services for multiple development and data science teams, driving the adoption of industry-standard security and development practices.
- Investigated cyberattacks, performed threat analyses, and conducted root cause analyses.
- Utilized Terraform and other IaC tools to design and implement cloud infrastructure.
- Managed vendor relationships and negotiations to ensure the value and reliability of contracted products and services.
Lead Infrastructure and Software Architect
Clip Money
- Planned the design and deployment of a fintech application for use throughout Canada.
- Developed Go libraries for interfacing with automated transaction systems at national banks.
- Automated a full Kubernetes deployment of 14+ microservices.
- Designed and implemented the entire AWS architecture, including Cognito, RDS, Lambda, an API gateway, Amazon CloudFront, DynamoDB, and many other services.
- Guided the tech strategy and long-term product design.
- Supervised software development interns and evaluated team members' performance.
- Designed and implemented an AWS IoT-based system for digital signage devices, including automated provisioning, registration, and secure tunneling capability.
Lead DevOps Engineer
Silver Eagle Systems LLC
- Implemented a microservices-based containerization and networking model using Docker and Docker Compose.
- Implemented CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions to build, test, and package releases using a trunk-based Git model and Git tags for release versions.
- Designed a system for bundling single-file deployments for installation on air-gapped machines without internet access.
- Configured NGINX to serve multiple sources of static content (Angular) with a dynamic API from a single host.
Infrastructure and Security Consultant
Stealth Healthcare SaaS Startup
- Provided consulting services for application and infrastructure security.
- Provided guidance on AWS infrastructure design for single-tenant and multitenant configurations.
- Consulted on HIPAA compliance and other privacy considerations.
DevOps and Infrastructure Engineer
Kalepa
- Designed and implemented an enterprise-grade AWS multi-region infrastructure in a multi-account AWS organization architecture.
- Created a modular microservices framework in Terraform for managing ECS, ECR, Amazon S3, Lambda, API Gateway, Amazon RDS, Amazon ElastiCache, AWS IAM, batch job, and AWS Step Functions resources using a minimum-permissions model.
- Developed GitHub Actions CI/CD workflows and reusable actions for Docker builds, deploying AWS resources in a trunk-based development model.
- Designed and implemented a multi-region private network including Transit Gateway, RAM for shared subnets, multi-NAT egress with automatic failure detection and failover, private VPC endpoints for AWS services, and ingress and egress access control.
- Maintained SOC 2 compliance and monitoring for all AWS services.
- Integrated Datadog with AWS resources for log monitoring and alerting.
- Consulted on application design patterns for security, rapid development, and high availability.
Cloud Implementation Lead
Government of Canada - Innovation, Science and Economic Development
- Led the AWS-based cloud implementation for a nationwide radio spectrum monitoring system.
- Integrated with external partners for data ingestion and analytics.
- Migrated enterprise multi-terabyte Oracle databases to AWS RDS using AWS Database Migration Service.
Director of Information Technology
MIT
- Architected the entire IT infrastructure, including a complex website, AWS hosting, stationary and in-vehicle IoT devices, and public safety radio.
- Developed, deployed, and managed a complex website in PHP with user credentials and qualifications enforcement, shift scheduling, automated email list membership, an interactive file library, and an ICS-integrated calendar system.
- Designed and implemented a system to securely transfer and store protected healthcare records utilizing AES symmetric encryption.
- Developed a system for capturing and logging all public safety radio traffic using C++ and SDR.
- Published an iOS app for in-ambulance use for dispatching and navigation.
- Built electronics prototypes for radio, siren, and emergency lights control.
Team Leader
proSapient
- Led a team of developers in a Python project for global deployment.
- Worked with the client's largest customers for customized development and deployment.
- Reviewed software architecture and infrastructure to ensure robust and reliable design.
- Managed integrations with AWS services, including S3 and Lambda.
Lead Infrastructure Engineer and Solution Architect
QuayChain
- Designed, deployed, and managed all cloud infrastructure (AWS).
- Established and enforced security policies and protocols.
- Designed an AWS IoT infrastructure with automated provisioning and fleet management.
- Designed and developed a GraphQL API with multiple data sources.
Robotics Consultant
Bear Creek Technologies
- Reviewed conceptual designs for an autonomous robotic system to validate the design and provide feedback.
- Developed cloud infrastructure for remote monitoring and manual control of multiple geographically diverse robotic systems.
- Worked with the robot manufacturer to ensure compatibility and required functionality of onboard control hardware and software.
System Design Consultant
Millicom (Tigo)
- Reviewed a system architecture proposal to determine feasibility of a major system redesign focused on a microservices architecture.
- Provided guidance on system architecture processes, requirements, and strategies.
- Developed a requirements document for revisions to the system architecture.
Chief Technology Officer
Agribusiness Risk Underwriters
- Assumed a technology leadership role, analyzing corporate and client needs to make decisions on technology stacks, prioritization, and design choices.
- Managed a team of developers, including project managers, web developers, mobile developers, and graphics designers.
- Worked directly with the CEO to define technology policy.
- Supervised the transition from paper-based insurance policy management to a fully-digitized process.
- Designed and implemented all cloud infrastructure to support multiple platforms, primarily in serverless architecture, with a focus on security.
Prototype Engineer and Project Manager
King Tester Corporation
- Managed a team of four engineers, including UI, hardware, and industrial specialists.
- Developed a proprietary computer vision system using OpenCV and Python.
- Integrated software with embedded system hardware, including multiple types of single-board computers.
- Developed software tools for controlling embedded hardware devices.
- Worked with the client to identify new product features for improving user satisfaction.
Technical Consultant
Mosaic
- Identified and repaired a faulty data source.
- Worked with external agencies to find a reliable long-term solution.
- Recovered corrupt and missing data and rebuilt the datastore.
DevOps Consultant
Cole eVentures, LLC
- Worked with the client to determine the optimal relational database configuration on AWS.
- Configured and managed an AWS RDS Aurora cluster with replication.
- Assisted in converting an existing application to be compatible with a new RDS cluster.
- Configured an AWS Cloud9 instance for direct interactions with an RDS cluster.
Solution Architect
Global Mining Corporation
- Served as a solution architect for one of the world's largest mining corporations with extensive operations in central Asia.
- Evaluated technical requirements of a distributed sensor system for large mines.
- Determined the optimal architecture for gathering, processing, archiving, and visualizing terabytes per day of sensor data.
- Compared costs/benefits of various potential software components, including Elastic Stack, Splunk, Greylog, Docker, and Kubernetes.
- Generated a deployment proposal for the identified architecture, including initial cost analysis.
Prototype Engineer
Okta
- Implemented a demonstration prototype of the WebAuthn protocol with support for FIDO2 USB, NFC, and Apple TouchID.
- Built a fully responsive, modern login interface with a real-time network traffic display.
- Deployed the prototype using Flask and provided updates as necessary.
Lead Cryptography Engineer
Taraxa
- Implemented a secure channel injection protocol for SMTP connections.
- Utilized multi-party computation for cooperative multi-party TLS record creation through frameworks including FRESCO and emp-tool.
- Worked with zero-knowledge proofs for SHA-256 hash and X.509 certificate validation.
- Developed a threaded networking framework for a blind certificate authority protocol.
- Implemented new academic cryptographic research for production-scale deployment.
Lead Engineer
Global Top-tier Strategy Consulting Firm
- Developed a RESTful API using the Serverless Framework, Python, and AWS Aurora.
- Designed and implemented the back-end cloud (AWS) architecture for global deployment.
- Configured and maintained an Elasticsearch cluster, integrated with RESTful API via AWS Lambda and API Gateway.
- Planned and implemented all security considerations, including AWS Virtual Private Cloud, virtual private network, and VPS endpoints.
- Implemented a CI/CD pipeline, including GitLab, AWS CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy, all integrated with Slack for automatic build and deployment notifications to the development team.
- Developed scripts for automated input data processing, cleaning, and importing into a structured relational database.
- Worked with a team of developers, including front-end and graphic design specialists.
- Architected a global deployment strategy with multi-region failure redundancy and latency-based routing.
Integration Consultant
INTSITE, Ltd.
- Designed and prototyped a distributed IoT sensor network using IMUs, GPS, and remote cameras.
- Developed a redundant wireless communications system for the sensor network, utilizing ZigBee/XBee radio and MIMO point-to-point WiFi.
- Developed Python libraries for redundant and encrypted command/information transmission over the distributed network.
- Integrated LTE cellular communications software and hardware with outdoor system deployments.
- Developed Python libraries for image processing and file conversion.
- Created MySQL database structure for distributed sensor datasets.
- Provided guidance on optimal network configuration, including software and hardware.
Research Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate
MIT Interactive Robotics Group
- Developed and tested novel C++ and Python control algorithms for multi-rotor UAV flights using a robot operating system (ROS).
- Constructed a custom tactile feedback device and developed the necessary C++ control software.
- Created virtual reality environments for user studies, including scripting in multiple proprietary languages.
- Managed all of the Git services for the research group.
- Collaborated with the US Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on a military research project for multi-modal feedback.
Research Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate
MIT Human Systems Laboratory
- Developed C++ and MATLAB algorithms for processing electrocardiogram (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) data for astronauts and other users in microgravity.
- Supported development of MATLAB software for solar flux predictions on orbital bodies.
- Produced CAD models of environmental control and life support systems for spacecraft.
- Engineered emergency shelters for astronauts on the lunar surface.
Research Assistant
UBC Robotics and Control Laboratory
- Designed and implemented a novel ultrasound imaging algorithm in C++.
- Wrote acoustic data processing algorithms in C++ and MATLAB.
- Developed image processing algorithms using MATLAB and OpenCV.
- Created statistical analysis scripts for large acoustic and image datasets.
Experience
Blind Certificate Authority
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1e33/da9ebe8e4b443d33f99c5415dfda8034e873.pdfWebAuthn Demonstration Prototype
Internal Resources Search System
EMS IT Architecture
Distributed Sensor Network
Ambulance Dispatch iOS App
Education
Ph.D. in Human Systems Integration
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA, USA
Master's Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of British Columbia - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science (Honors)
University of British Columbia - Kelowna, BC, Canada
Certifications
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Amazon Web Services
E-950: All-Hazards Incident Commander
Federal Emergency Management Agency
G775: Emergency Operations Center Management
Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency
E-958: All-Hazards Operations Section Chief
Federal Emergency Management Agency
ICS-400: Advanced Incident Command System
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Amateur Radio - General Class Operator
Federal Communications Commision
Emergency Medical Technician
National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
Skills
Libraries/APIs
REST APIs, OpenID, jQuery, Dropbox API, Google Drive API, AWS Amplify, OpenCV, Node.js, GitHub API
Tools
Ansible, Amazon Cognito, AWS AppSync, AWS CloudFormation, MATLAB, Git, GitHub, Terraform, Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Amazon CloudWatch, VPN, AWS ELB, HashiCorp, AWS Fargate, Amazon Simple Email Service (SES), Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS), Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS), MQTT, Apache, Digi XBee, MATLAB Statistics & Machine Learning Toolbox, MATLAB Parallel Computing Toolbox, PhpBB, Microsoft Visual Studio, Docker Compose, OpenVPN, Elastic, Jira, Confluence, Postfix, Redux Thunk, SOLIDWORKS, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, NGINX, Amazon EKS, Wireshark
Languages
Bash, XML, PHP, Python, SQL, Go, SAML, DYNAMO, GraphQL, Python 3, JavaScript, HTML, C++, C#, Java, C, TypeScript, Embedded C, Embedded C++, CSS, R, Swift
Frameworks
Angular, JSON Web Tokens (JWT), Serverless Framework, AWS HA, OAuth 2, Django REST Framework, Windows PowerShell, Flask, Django, Redux, Selenium, Bootstrap
Paradigms
Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), REST, Agile, RESTful Development, Human-computer Interaction (HCI), Human-centered Design (HCD), Back-end Architecture, DevOps, Serverless Architecture, DevSecOps, DDoS, Microservices, ETL, Radio Frequency (RF) Protocol
Platforms
Ubuntu, Amazon EC2, Linux, AWS Lambda, AWS IoT, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Windows, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Docker, AWS NLB, AWS ALB, Cloud Gateway, Windows Server, Dropbox, WordPress, Kubernetes, Azure, Blockchain, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), OpenShift, Red Hat OpenShift
Storage
JSON, Amazon Aurora, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon S3 (AWS S3), MySQL, Azure Active Directory, Elasticsearch, Redshift, NoSQL, On-premise, Amazon Simple Workflow Service (SWF), MongoDB
Industry Expertise
Cybersecurity, Project Management
Other
Amazon Cognito User Pools, Architecture, Linux Administration, Linux Server Administration, Webhooks, Fintech, Networking, GPS, Embedded Systems, API Integration, Consulting, IT Consulting, Solution Architecture, System Integration, Technical Design, Data Modeling, Algorithms, IoT Security, Cloud Architecture, Relational Database Design, CI/CD Pipelines, AWS Cloud Architecture, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Encryption, Amazon API Gateway, Google Drive, Internet of Things (IoT), Healthcare IT, Emergency & Urgent Care, Back-end, Cloud, CTO, Networks, Remote Work, Military, Integration, Engineering, Software Engineering, Hardware Development, Command-line Interface (CLI), Research, Computer Science, Back-end Development, APIs, AWS DevOps, Serverless, Full-stack, Leadership, Security, Technical Leadership, Team Leadership, Amazon RDS, Infrastructure, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Infrastructure, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), AWS Secrets Manager, SecOps, System Administration, FinOps, CORS, Single Sign-on (SSO), OAuth, AWS Certified Solution Architect, Cloud Security, Containerization, Web Application Firewall (WAF), TCP/IP, SSL, Back-office System Development, Email Delivery, Email Systems, Monitoring, Lambda Functions, Near-field Communication (NFC), POS, IT Security, IoT Protocols, WebSockets, API Gateways, IP Networks, Containers, Software Architecture, Robotics, Robot Operating System (ROS), Bluetooth, IT Project Management, X.509 Certificates, Offline Data Synchronization, Asynchronous Data Streams, Synchronization, HTTP, HTTPS, IIS, Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR), Team Management, DMARC, Virtual Reality (VR), WordPress Plugins, Distributed Systems, Radio, Remote Desktop, Software as a Service (SaaS), WebAuth, Cloudflare, Data Engineering, Load Balancers, Embedded Software, Firmware, SIM Cards, Windows System Administration, ESP32, Linux Active Directory (AD), SaaS, Wireless, Safety, Virtual Machines, PID Controllers, WiFi, Transport Layer Security (TLS), Secure Multi-party Computation, Zero-knowledge Proofs, Computer Vision, Cloud9, Data Recovery, Localization, Mapping, Data Warehouse Design, Mobile Data, Nomad, Computer Engineering, FPGA, Web Security, Authentication, Amazon Route 53, Data Analytics, Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), IT Support, Performance, High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR)
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
Share your needs
Choose your talent
Start your risk-free talent trial
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring