Matthew Headlee DevOps Administrator
Salt Lake City, UT DevOps Consultant
DevOps Instructor
linkedin.com/in/matthewheadlee 0x65D58A55

Projects

Introduction

I'm a passionate Senior DevOps Engineering Leader with over a decade of experience architecting and managing enterprise-scale systems that power mission-critical applications. My journey in technology began back in the late nineties when I first discovered Linux, and that early fascination evolved into a career dedicated to building resilient, scalable infrastructure solutions. Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with some of the world's most respected organizations, deploying and maintaining global server fleets while consistently delivering projects that exceed performance expectations and drive meaningful business impact.

I'm energized by the opportunity to share knowledge and mentor others in this ever-evolving field. As a certified instructor, I've enjoyed training thousands of IT professionals across government, enterprise, and educational sectors, helping them master everything from Linux fundamentals to cutting-edge technologies like Kubernetes and cloud-native architectures. Whether I'm leading a DevOps team, architecting multi-cloud solutions, or teaching the next generation of engineers, I bring the same commitment to excellence and genuine enthusiasm for technology that has driven my career from the very beginning.

Core Competencies

  • Cloud Architecture & DevOps: Multi-cloud orchestration (AWS, Azure, GCP) with Kubernetes at scale, CI/CD pipeline automation, Infrastructure-as-Code mastery
  • Enterprise Infrastructure: Global server fleet management, high-availability clustering, disaster recovery architecture, network security implementation
  • Performance Engineering: 99.99% uptime achievement, automated monitoring/alerting systems, capacity planning and optimization
  • Team Leadership: Cross-functional team management, technical mentorship, process improvement initiatives

Quantified Impact

  • Architected multi-region Kubernetes infrastructure serving 10M+ daily active users with 99.99% uptime
  • Reduced deployment time from 4 hours to 12 minutes through automated CI/CD pipelines
  • Delivered $2.8M annual cost savings via cloud optimization and container orchestration strategies
  • Decreased incident response time by 73% through intelligent monitoring and automated failover systems
  • Managed global infrastructure spanning 800+ servers across 15+ countries with <2% failure rate
  • Led security hardening initiatives resulting in zero production breaches over 3+ years

Technical Education & Thought Leadership

Certified instructor and industry educator who has empowered 5000+ IT professionals worldwide through comprehensive training programs:

  • Enterprise Linux Systems Administration & Security
  • Cloud-Native Architecture (Docker, OpenShift, Kubernetes)
  • Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Ansible, Chef, Puppet)
  • DevOps Best Practices & Automation Strategies
  • High Availability & Disaster Recovery Planning
  • Container Security & Compliance

Technical Expertise

Comprehensive technical leadership across modern infrastructure technologies with deep expertise in enterprise-scale implementations

Cloud & Container Orchestration

  • Kubernetes: Production cluster management, service mesh implementation, operators, CRDs, multi-cluster federation
  • Container Technologies: Docker, Podman, Buildah, Skopeo, cri-o, Harbor registry, vulnerability scanning
  • Cloud Platforms: AWS (EKS, EC2, RDS, S3), Azure (AKS, VMs), GCP (GKE, Compute Engine)
  • Service Mesh: Istio, Linkerd, Consul Connect for microservices communication

Infrastructure-as-Code & Automation

  • Infrastructure-as-Code: Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation, ARM templates
  • Configuration Management: Ansible, Puppet, Chef, SaltStack for large-scale deployments
  • CI/CD Pipelines: GitLab CI, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, Tekton
  • Monitoring & Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack, Jaeger, DataDog

Enterprise Linux & Systems

  • Linux Distributions: Red Hat Enterprise, SUSE Linux Enterprise, Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian
  • Enterprise Management: Red Hat Satellite, Foreman+Katello, Red Hat IdM, FreeIPA
  • High Availability: Pacemaker, Corosync, clustering solutions, load balancing (HAProxy, F5)
  • Storage Systems: LVM, GlusterFS, Ceph, NFS, SAN/NAS, backup solutions

Security & Compliance

  • Security Tools: Vault, LDAP/AD integration, certificate management, security scanning
  • Network Security: Firewall management, VPN configuration, zero-trust architecture
  • Compliance: SOC 2, PCI DSS, GDPR compliance implementations

Programming & Development

  • Systems Programming: Python, Go, Bash, C/C++, Perl for automation and tooling
  • Web Technologies: REST APIs, JSON, XML, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript
  • Database Systems: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, database optimization
  • Version Control: Git, GitLab, GitHub, branching strategies, code review processes

Experience

DevOps Engineering Manager

salesrabbit 2023 — present

  • Lead high-performing team of 8 DevOps engineers supporting 50+ microservices across multi-cloud infrastructure serving 2M+ users
  • Architect and manage production Kubernetes clusters processing 100K+ daily transactions with 99.98% uptime SLA
  • Spearhead infrastructure automation initiatives using Helm, Terraform, and GitLab CI, reducing deployment errors by 90%
  • Implement comprehensive monitoring and alerting systems resulting in 65% reduction in MTTR for production incidents
  • Drive cloud cost optimization strategies achieving 40% reduction in monthly AWS/Azure spend ($180K annual savings)
  • Establish security-first culture implementing zero-trust architecture and achieving SOC 2 Type II compliance
  • Champion DevOps best practices across 12 development teams, accelerating feature delivery by 45%
  • Mentor junior engineers through structured career development programs, with a high team retention rate

Senior DevOps Engineer

salesrabbit 2021 — present

  • Designed and deployed enterprise-grade Kubernetes infrastructure supporting 30+ applications with 99.9% availability
  • Migrated legacy monolithic applications to containerized microservices, improving system resilience and scalability
  • Built comprehensive CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI, Helm, and Terraform, reducing deployment time by 80%
  • Implemented Infrastructure-as-Code practices across all environments, achieving 100% configuration consistency
  • Collaborated with development teams to establish container best practices, reducing security vulnerabilities by 75%
  • Automated backup and disaster recovery processes, ensuring RPO of 4 hours and RTO of 30 minutes

Linux Systems Consultant

headwaters group 2018 — 2021

red hat consulting services 2014 — 2021

  • Delivered enterprise consulting services to 25+ Fortune 500 clients across financial services, healthcare, and retail sectors
  • Led complex Red Hat infrastructure implementations including Satellite 6, OpenShift, and High Availability clusters
  • Designed and implemented automated deployment solutions reducing provisioning time from weeks to hours
  • Architected disaster recovery solutions for mission-critical systems with 99.99% uptime requirements
  • Mentored client teams on Red Hat best practices, resulting in 60% reduction in post-deployment issues
  • Achieved 98% client satisfaction rating through expert technical guidance and knowledge transfer

Linux Systems Instructor

guru labs 2010 — 2021

  • Delivered specialized training programs for high-profile clients including US Military, FBI, NSA, and Fortune 500 companies
  • Trained 5000+ IT professionals across government, enterprise, and educational sectors with 97% course completion rate
  • Developed comprehensive curriculum covering Linux fundamentals through advanced topics including Kubernetes, Docker, and Security
  • Created 150+ hands-on labs and practical exercises, increasing student engagement and knowledge retention by 85%
  • Maintained expert-level knowledge across rapidly evolving technologies, updating curriculum quarterly
  • Achieved 4.9/5 average instructor rating through engaging delivery and real-world practical applications
  • Mentored junior instructors and contributed to course development standards adopted company-wide

Senior Systems Administrator & Support Team Manager

listmarketer 2007 — 2010

  • Managed global infrastructure of 800+ servers across 15 countries processing 50M+ email transactions daily
  • Implemented automated deployment pipeline using Anaconda and Kickstart, reducing server provisioning time by 90%
  • Led team of 6 support engineers providing 24/7 operations support with 99.5% uptime achievement
  • Developed comprehensive monitoring and alerting systems resulting in 60% reduction in unplanned downtime
  • Collaborated with development teams to optimize application performance, improving response times by 40%
  • Established vendor relationships with multiple ISPs ensuring redundant connectivity and cost optimization
  • Created automation scripts and tools reducing manual administrative tasks by 70%

Professional Certifications

Industry-recognized certifications validating expertise in enterprise Linux systems and infrastructure management