CV / Resume – Build and DevOps Engineer

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Please note:
I am ONLY interested in Contract roles in or near Edinburgh, Scotland.

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Contact Details

Name: Donald Simpson
Nationality: Scottish
Website: www.donaldsimpson.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldsimpson
Location: Scotland, UK

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Summary

Senior DevOps Engineer from a development background with 15+ years experience in designing, implementing and automating end-to-end Continuous Build, Integration, Delivery, Release and Deployment processes and pipelines.

Extensive experience with containerization and related technologies like Docker, Kuberentes and OpenShift, from creating initial Development Pipelines through to Production.

Key Skills and experience

Languages:
Java, Shell scripting, Ant, Maven, JSP, some Perl, Ruby and Python
Version Control:
GitLab/GitHub, Subversion, Rational Team Concert, Perforce, ClearCase, CA Harvest
Automation/Build:
Jenkins, JNLP Slave Nodes, Docker, Chef, Ansible, Gradle, Puppet, Nexus, Ivy, Artifactory, TeamCity,
Testing tools:
JMeter, Sonar, FitNesse, Selenium, EMMA, Cucumber, Thucydides, WebDriver, Junit, DBUnit etc
App/Web Servers:
WebLogic, WebSphere, Tomcat, JBoss, Apache, Atlassian JIRA & Bamboo, IBM IHS, IIS
Databases:
Oracle, MySQL, Mongo, Postgres and automation with Liquibase and Flyway
Virtualization:
VM Ware ESX, Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Vagrant
Platforms:
Linux and UNIX, iOS, Android, Solaris, Windows

• Designing and implementing Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery and Continuous Deployment pipelines for a range of projects and environments including Middleware, Database, Front End, iOS and Android
• Automating environment build and provisioning using virtualization, containerization and orchestration tools with Docker, VM Ware, AWS, Vagrant, Kubernetes and OpenShift
• Introducing and implementing DevOps solutions for a range of Agile projects, creating automated build, deployment, monitoring, testing and reporting pipelines and solutions

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Career Profile

 

People’s Postcode Lottery
April 2019 to date
Role: DevOps Engineer
Environment:     AWS stack, Docker, Jenkins, VMWare, CI/CD

• Migrating on-prem VMWare ESX hosts and applications to AWS
• Setting up Jenkins and Docker based builds in AWS
• Automating dynamic provisioning of AWS resources using Spot Fleet, ECS/EC2 and Fargate
• Developing CI/CD pipelines for build, test and deployment

Tesco Bank
November 2018 to April 2019
Role: DevOps/Engineering Lead
Environment: AWS stack with automated provisioning using Cloudformation, Troposphere, Lambda, Ansible and Jenkins

• Working with Development and Test teams to create fully automated CI/CD Pipelines using AWS and Jenkins
• Automating and integrating test tools – JMeter, Accessibility and Security Testing tools, Selenium, Cucumber
• Introducing pipeline and automation best practices, putting together an introduction to Docker and Kubernetes on AWS

Registers of Scotland
August 2016 to November 2018
Role: DevOps Engineer
Environment: Docker, Jenkins, VMWare, RHEL, Satellite, OpenShift, Artifactory, Ansible & GitLab

• Creating fully automated CI build and deployment infrastructure and processes for multiple projects
• Using Docker, Jenkins, VMWare, RHEL, Satellite, OpenShift, Kubernetes, Artifactory, Ansible & GitLab
• Developing Docker images to support Development and Testing Teams and their pipelines; distributed Jenkins, Selenium and JMeter images, and ElasticSearch, Kibana and Logstash (ELK & EFK) etc
• Working closely with Architecture, Development, Test, Security and IT Services teams
• Developing scripts for build, deployment, maintenance and related tasks using Jenkins, Docker, Maven, Python and Bash
• Installing, configuring and maintaining Continuous Integration, Automation and Configuration Management tools

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Royal Bank of Scotland
November 2015 to August 2016
Role: DevOps Engineer
Environment: Jenkins, Atlassian Stash, Docker, Vagrant, Red Hat Satellite, Java, JSON, API, AWS and Azur

• Implementing and developing solutions enabling Development and Operations teams to build, deploy, monitor and test applications and environments
• Implementing monitoring and reporting solutions across a range of environments and platforms
• Evaluating and advising on virtualization and containerization solutions
• Environment provisioning solutions using Docker, Vagrant, Red Hat Satellite
• Setting up and introducing Continuous Deployment processes and advising on best practice

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Packt Publishing

November 2015 to Jan 2016 (part time projects)

• •  Find out how to interact with Jenkins from within Eclipse, NetBeans, and IntelliJ IDEA

• •  Develop custom solutions that act upon Jenkins information in real time

•  A step-by-step, practical guide to help you learn about extension points in existing plugins and how to build your own plugin

Here is the course overview video:

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HSBC
June 2014 to November 2015
Role: Build Manager and Automation Consultant

Environment: Ant, Maven, Nexus, SonarQube, VM Ware, IBM Rational Team Concert, Oracle, Jenkins, WebSphere

• Designing, implementing and supporting fully automated Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery processes
• Working with and supporting multiple World-wide development teams delivering a wide range of software applications
• Automating the build, deployment and testing of Front End, Middleware and Database components
• Developing custom reporting tools, setting up automated health monitoring and alerting for builds and environments
• Supporting and managing IBM Rational tools – Jazz, RTC, Build Forge

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Packt Publishing (part time) September 2014 to Feb 2015

Technical Reviewer: Build your own PaaS with Docker

https://www.packtpub.com/virtualization-and-cloud/build-your-own-paas-docker

ISBN 139781784393946

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Technical Reviewer: Jenkins Continuous Integration Cookbook
https://www.packtpub.com/application-development/jenkins-continuous-integration-cookbook-second-edition

ISBN 139781784390082

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British Sky Broadcasting – BSkyB
April 2011 to June 2014
Role: Build Automation and Configuration Manager

Environment: Jenkins, Subversion, Continuous Integration, Agile, Maven, Nexus, Ant, Java, Solaris, RHEL Linux, VM Ware

• Introducing and implementing Continuous Integration principles and practises for the Billing Development Team using Jenkins & JNLP Nodes, Subversion, VMWare, ClearQuest, JUnit, DBFit, FitNesse, Atlassian JIRA
• Developing automated process for builds and deployments; Jenkins, Ant, Maven, Sonatype Nexus, Shell Script, Perl, Java
• Set up and maintained fully automated Build and Test processes for Apple iOS and Android devices
• Creating and managing Development and Continuous Integration Environments using VMWare ESX, automated through Jenkins using PXE boot, Perl and the VM Ware CLI, also involved in several projects setting up builds using Katello, Foreman, Puppet and Chef
• System and User Administration – responsible for the maintenance of DHCP, DNS, LDAP, AD and NFS services on Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux in Development environments
• Automating the installation, deployment and maintenance of Middleware Application Servers to RHEL Development and Test Environments on VMWare ESX
• Creating bespoke tools to support and enable Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment and system monitoring/reporting; using JSP and Shell Scripts with a MySQL database, harvesting data from various sources and API’s (Spark, Remedy, ClearQuest etc) to provide consolidated and automated live reports
• Developed systems to enable baselining and tracking of different types of Reference Data; automated the creation and labelling and adding to version control, then set up push-button deployments from Subversion to Oracle Databases via Jenkins and JNLP Nodes, with full auditing and user authentication and authorisation provided by the corporate Active Directory

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Tesco Bank
Jan 2010 to April 2011
Role & Project: Software Configuration Manager and Build Automation Consultant

Environment: Windows and Linux VM’s on Xen, iSeries and OpenVMS, Hudson, Subversion, Arcot, Tibco, WebSphere, WebLogic, JBoss and Tomcat

• Working with Enterprise Architects, Project Managers, Vendors, Developers and Deployment Managers to define and implement a Software Configuration Management solution for a new Bank
• Leading a small team of Deployment and Build Engineers
• Automating the deployment and build of Application Servers across multiple environments, technologies and platforms
• Installation of Tomcat, WebSphere & WebLogic environments, MDM Server, InfoSphere IHS, and Arcot WebFort and RiskFort
• Designing and creating a resilient SCM Infrastructure from scratch – Subversion and Hudson integrated with Active Directory/LDAP, and orchestrating SCCM and Satellite deployments and host builds to serve every part of the Bank
  

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British Sky Broadcasting – BSkyB
March 2009 – Jan 2010
Role & Project: Integration Build Manager
Designing, creating and managing Continuous Integration Environments

Environment: Linux, Solaris, Hudson, Subversion, WebSphere Portal and Process Server, SOA, Agile

• Creating a fully Automated Build and Deployment Platform and coordinating code builds, promotions and orchestrated deployments using Hudson and Subversion
• Automating the management and creation of Application Servers, resources and database deployments
• Developing Ant, Maven and Shell scripts to automatically compile, package, deploy and test J2EE applications to a variety of WebSphere platforms – BPM, MQ, ESB, Portal etc
• Writing Ant, Shell, JACL and Jython scripts to automatically configure integration and test environments, including deploying WAR and EAR files, stopping and starting Application Servers and processes and dynamically creating server profiles/instances and defining resources (MQ connections etc) as and when required
• Administration and creation of Hudson jobs, including automatic generation, reporting and alerting of test and code metrics (JUnit, PMD, FitNesse, Emma etc), build failures and build status indicators, and information radiators
• Working closely with offshore colleagues and providing support and advice on best practices for SCM and build automation
  

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Cognizant Technology Solutions
October 2008 – March 2009
Role & Project: Build and Automation Engineer
Implementing Continuous Integration Platforms for Agile teams/projects

Environment: Linux, ESX, VM Ware, Hudson, Subversion, WebSphere Portal Server, Process Server and MQ

• automating code builds, server deployments and fully automated testing for WebSphere Portal and Process Server Teams
• automating the deployment of MQ Queue Managers, MQ Infrastructure and ESB code
• providing automatic alerting and reporting on code quality and code coverage (EMMA, JUnit, WebDriver, FitNesse etc) using Hudson
  

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  Intelligent Finance
  Role & Project: Middleware Specialist
   Midrange Platform Migration
  August 2007 – July 2008 (1 year)

   

  Solaris and HP-UX, WebLogic Application Server, Veritas, Clustering and Shell Scripting

  • Automating the creation of WebLogic Application servers instances, providing processes to automate configuration/restoration and backups
  • Automating compilation, testing and archiving of builds and code changes
  • Using Korn shell, Perl and CVS (Harvest) Version Control to automate deployment of J2EE applications to Mid Tier platforms
  • Porting build processes, build platforms and servers from Solaris over to HP-UX, updating and enhancing existing build and deployment scripts to increase automation and efficiency and reduce errors
  • Migration of the entire Intelligent Finance code base and Mid Tier Platform from Solaris to HP-UX, and Java 1.3 to Java 5
  • Working with Senior Service and Business managers, and colleagues based throughout HBOS/UK and offshore
  • Designing and implementing new features such as Application Server clustering, Apache load-balancing and O/S level performance monitoring, tuning and reporting
  • Automating Performance monitoring and alerting, and tuning the J2EE Mid Tier code base and platform using HP’s JMeter
  • Developing and coordinating modifications to the Bank’s internal and external interfaces, including Connect:Direct, NFS shares, SAMBA mounts and transport protocols

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  Halifax/Bank of Scotland
  

  September 2000 – August 2007 (7 years)

  Senior Developer
  WebLogic Application Server Platform Upgrade, Solaris 9, J2EE, WebLogic Server 6.1 and 9.2

  • Upgrading the Banks WebLogic Server platform and Domains from version 6 to version 9 on Windows and Solaris platforms
  • JVM Performance tuning and monitoring on UNIX and Windows; performing load, duration, and stress tests while gathering performance statistics for various memory configurations and garbage collection strategies and advising on appropriate configurations for differently sized UNIX and Windows hosts – completed BEA’s Advanced Administration course
  • Porting Korn Shell Scripts and creating new Ant scripts used for server administration and application builds and deployments
  • Large scale re-factoring of Mid Tier Java code base for the move from JDK 1.3 to Java 5
  • Perl and MS/DOS scripting to create new J2EE desktop deployment functionality enabling desktop builds for developers, allowing rapid feedback on changes and introducing basic Build Automation and Continuous Integration processes

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  Previous projects with Intelligent Finance as a Senior Analyst/Developer include:

  • Development of Web Services and Web Service Clients using combinations of Apache Axis, Java and C#
  • Acting as a mentor to new contractors and developers. Some project management and Technical/Team Leading experience
  • Senior Developer for a Documentation Project which involved using a combination of XSLT, Java and C to produce and render PostScript files from XML data.
  • Design, Development and Unit Testing of Mid Tier Java solutions
  o Numerous projects combining Java, SOAP, JSP, ASP, WebLogic, XML/XSLT and Oracle
  o Developing and designing new applications with involvement in all stages of the development life cycle
  • Development and design of new Contact Centre applications, using Java and XML/XSLT talking to an Oracle database through JDBC and to an ASP Front Tier via SOAP

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   3Dms Ltd

  Senior Analyst/Developer
  February 1999 – September 2000 (1 year 8 months)
  3Dms specialise in Dynamic Document Design and Managed Services
  Responsibilities and Achievements:

  Research, Design and Development of a new Enterprise e-mail scanning and filtering application utilizing the Microsoft Mail API (MAPI), Collaborative Data Objects (CDO and CDONTS) and Visual BASIC running on Microsoft Exchange Server
  Responsible for the development and maintenance of corporate and customers web sites using a variety of web technologies including ASP, JSP, HTML and JavaScript with an SQL backend and IIS and Tomcat Front Tiers servers
  Providing maintenance, support, disaster recovery and security for the company network, data and (NT) Servers
  Mentoring and leading a team of Developers

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  Hobbies and Interests

  A keen woodworker and woodturner:
  https://www.donaldsimpson.co.uk/category/wood/

  I run and write material for a popular Edinburgh Tech Meetup:
  https://www.meetup.com/Automated-IT-Solutions/

  I also play guitar and enjoy driving and maintaining cars and motorbikes

  Any remaining time is usually spent experimenting on my home Lab, where I mostly focus on Kubernetes and related technologies – currently adding Machine Learning with facial recognition to my home CCTV network, and dabbling in Blockchain development on k8s with a Ruby & Sinatra front end

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  Please note: I am ONLY interested in Contract roles in or near Edinburgh, Scotland.

  If you would like to get in touch about relevant opportunities please use LinkedIn or the email address mentioned in the Word version of my CV at the top of this page.

Please note: I am ONLY interested in Contract roles in or near Edinburgh, Scotland.