Patrick Nelson
Senior DevOps Engineer | AI-Powered Infrastructure | Cloud-Native Systems
patnelson2022@gmail.com | GitHub | LinkedIn
Summary
Senior DevOps Engineer with a platform engineering focus, specializing in large-scale microservice architecture on Azure Cloud and AI-powered infrastructure operations. I build and maintain AKS environments orchestrated through FluxCD, develop diagnostic tooling using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and lead Copilot adoption and training. Background spans cloud-native infrastructure, firmware build systems, and hardware security — with a consistent focus on building reliable, composable systems that other engineers can build on.
Technical Skills
Cloud Platform: Azure (extensive experience across the platform)
Kubernetes & GitOps: AKS, FluxCD
Infrastructure as Code: Terraform
Compute & Storage: Azure Virtual Machines, Blob Storage
Databases: Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server
Messaging & Events: Azure Service Bus, Event Grid, SignalR, Azure Communication Services, HiveMQ MQTT
CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins
Security: Microsoft Defender, CrowdStrike, Qualys
PKI, DNS & Security: DigiCert ACME, cert-manager, external-dns, HSM (Luna / Thales)
Observability: Azure Monitor, Application Insights, ECK (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Filebeat)
Integration Testing: Playwright
AI & Developer Tooling: Model Context Protocol (MCP), GitHub Copilot, Claude Code
Languages: Go, Python, Bash, PowerShell, C/C++, Java
Firmware & Embedded: Yocto Project
Operating Systems: Linux (Debian, RHEL), Windows Server
Version Control: Git, GitHub, TFVC, SVN
Experience
Senior DevOps Engineer — Johnson Controls, Westford, MA
Aug 2024 – Present
- Architect and maintain large-scale microservice deployments on AKS, managing service reliability, deployment strategy, and GitOps-driven delivery with FluxCD.
- Design and build MCP-based diagnostic tooling that provides AI models with structured access to real-time cluster and infrastructure state for intelligent troubleshooting.
- Develop approaches to AI observability, using MCP-based architectures as a control plane for Azure cloud resources.
- Built post-deployment validation gates using Playwright and Helm test hooks, integrated with automated rollback and notification pipelines.
- Lead Copilot adoption and training across the engineering organization, including authoring ADRs, runbooks, and adoption frameworks.
- Serve as team lead, coordinating priorities and work across engineers to deliver on platform and infrastructure initiatives.
- Develop custom infrastructure tooling in Go to support monitoring, diagnostics, and operational workflows.
DevOps Engineer — Johnson Controls, Westford, MA
Oct 2021 – Aug 2024
- Managed and modernized CI/CD pipelines across GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps, creating reusable workflow patterns adopted across teams.
- Led migration of legacy source control systems to GitHub, modernizing version control and collaboration practices.
- Implemented on-premises HSM infrastructure for secure key management, significantly reducing certificate management costs.
- Developed reusable Terraform modules to enforce consistency and repeatability across cloud environments.
- Built and optimized a Yocto-based firmware build system that reduced build times by 50% and remains in production use.
- Architected cloud infrastructure to replace legacy on-premises systems, transitioning critical workloads to Azure.
High Tech Repair / Technical Support II — Zahn Dental (Henry Schein), MA
Jan 2018 – Aug 2020
- Provided advanced technical support and hands-on repair for CAD/CAM systems used in dental prosthetic fabrication, including 3D printers, CNC milling machines, and intraoral scanners.
- Diagnosed and resolved complex hardware and software issues across platforms including 3Shape, Exocad, and proprietary manufacturing systems.
- Supported precision machining and 3D printing workflows in a medical device environment, ensuring equipment uptime and fabrication accuracy.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (In Progress)
Arizona State University — Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Credits Earned: 94 | ASU GPA: 3.76
Certifications
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
- GitHub Copilot Certified (GH-300)