Cloud platform delivery
At TrueFullstaq, I worked on Azure environments managed with Terraform, including private networking, managed identities, monitoring and troubleshooting.
Read moreCloud Native Engineer · Twello, Netherlands
I build reliable platforms, automate infrastructure and make cloud environments easier to operate.
I’m Niek Vlam, a Cloud Native and DevOps engineer with a backend-development foundation. I work with Kubernetes, Azure, Terraform, GitOps, Go, Docker and CI/CD to turn repetitive infrastructure work into dependable platforms.
Primary technologies
Featured public project
Talos Kubernetes Homelab
A four-node Raspberry Pi 5 Kubernetes platform running Talos Linux and managed declaratively through ArgoCD.
The lab is a production-inspired environment for validating GitOps workflows, platform services and operational decisions on real hardware.
Selected engineering work
Platforms, operations and delivery
Work across Azure infrastructure, Kubernetes operations and application delivery.
Kubernetes and operational troubleshooting
I investigate production incidents and resource bottlenecks by working from monitoring data, network behaviour and the constraints of the underlying platform.
Read moreApplication delivery automation
At Suite Seven, I built and maintained GitLab CI/CD workflows and worked with the Linux hosting behind Magento and Shopware applications.
Read moreEngineering principles
How I approach technical decisions
Practical principles for building systems that remain understandable after the initial implementation.
Automate repeatable work
Manual steps that recur should become dependable workflows wherever the automation is easier to maintain than the process it replaces.
Prefer declarative systems
Infrastructure and platform configuration should be reviewable, reproducible and version controlled.
Design for operability
Monitoring, troubleshooting and maintenance should be considered while a system is designed, not added only after it fails.
Choose the simplest appropriate solution
Use advanced technology when it solves a real problem, not merely because it is available.
Experience
Professional experience
Selected experience that supports my current focus on cloud-native platforms, automation and operability.
Cloud Engineer
TrueFullstaq
Worked on Azure environments, Infrastructure as Code, monitoring, troubleshooting and customer-facing cloud engineering.
DevOps & Platform Engineer
Tedas
Worked on platform engineering and automation supporting application delivery.
Backend & DevOps Engineer
Suite Seven
Developed Magento and Shopware platforms and built the CI/CD and hosting workflows used to test and deploy them.
Education
Education
Windesheim
Bachelor HBO-ICT — Infrastructure Design & Security
Grafisch Lyceum Utrecht
MBO 4 — Web Developer / Media Developer
About
From backend development to cloud-native platforms
My background in backend and e-commerce development taught me how applications are built. Cloud and platform engineering became the natural next step: improving how those applications are deployed, operated and maintained.
Today, I focus on Kubernetes, infrastructure automation and dependable cloud platforms, while retaining the application-level perspective from my development background.
Read more about meContact
Get in touch
For questions about my work, homelab or cloud-native engineering, you can reach me by email or through LinkedIn.