CV.
Staff Platform Engineer at Redcare Pharmacy. Kubestronaut.
Mainz, Germany and remotealexej@disterhoft.deGitHubLinkedIn
Experience
- 2025-05 – today
Staff Platform Engineer
Redcare Pharmacy · Remote
- 2022-07 – 2025-04
Kubernetes Platform Engineer
DHL IT Services · Darmstadt (remote)
- Led the Datalake Kubernetes team as technical lead from 2024.
- Led the Kubernetes workstream of the Data & Analytics platform's move to Google Cloud: designed, built and ran the GKE clusters and the tooling around them.
- Ran and extended the on-premises Datalake Kubernetes platform: day-2 operations, monitoring, policy enforcement and security.
- Moved manual platform changes to GitOps: GitHub Actions, Argo CD, Terraform, Ansible.
- Wrote Kubernetes controllers and CLIs in Go and Python, and GitHub Actions in TypeScript.
- Built and ran Kubernetes-hosted GitHub Actions runners for Data & Analytics.
- Helped teams adopt the platform, CI/CD and DevSecOps practices, and contributed fixes to the open-source projects we ran.
- 2021-03 – 2022-06
Cloud & Container Platform Engineer
R+V Allgemeine Versicherung · Wiesbaden (60% remote)
- Ran and improved the on-premises container cloud on Rancher and Kubernetes.
- Automated its operations with GitOps, Ansible/AWX, Jenkins, Python and Go.
- Built an MVP that totals resource usage across Kubernetes clusters, the basis for internal cost and performance accounting.
- Evaluated public cloud services, mainly Microsoft Azure.
- 2019-04 – 2021-01
IT Security Consultant
Vindler · Braunfels (remote)
- Planned, ran and reported penetration tests and application security assessments.
- Built and ran hardened infrastructure with Docker, Elasticsearch and Keycloak.
- 2015-10 – 2019-03
Research Associate
Institute of Mathematics, Johannes Gutenberg University · Mainz
- Researched numerical methods for the self-consistent field theory of polymers in the Collaborative Research Center TRR 146.
- Designed and implemented the numerical algorithms in MATLAB and Python.
- Taught tutorials and ran exercises and exams for the numerical analysis lectures.
Education
- 2013-04 – 2015-09
M.Sc. Mathematics
Johannes Gutenberg University · Mainz
- Thesis on reduced-basis methods for self-consistent field theory models.
- Numerical analysis focus, computer science minor.
- 2010-04 – 2013-03
B.Sc. Mathematics
Johannes Gutenberg University · Mainz
Certifications
Kubestronaut CKA · CKAD · CKS · KCNA · KCSA→ 2026-12
The Linux Foundation
- CNPECertified Cloud Native Platform Engineersince 2026-06→ 2028-06
- CNPACertified Cloud Native Platform Engineering Associatesince 2026-06→ 2028-06
- CGOACertified GitOps Associatesince 2025-07→ 2027-07
- KCAKyverno Certified Associatesince 2025-01→ 2027-01
- KCSAKubernetes and Cloud Native Security Associatesince 2024-04→ 2028-05
- CKADCertified Kubernetes Application Developersince 2022-11→ 2027-12
- KCNAKubernetes and Cloud Native Associatesince 2021-11→ 2026-12
- CKSCertified Kubernetes Security Specialistsince 2021-11→ 2028-05
- CKACertified Kubernetes Administratorsince 2021-07→ 2026-12
Skills
- Cloud native & DevOps
- Kubernetes · GCP · Azure · GitOps · Argo CD · Cilium · Kyverno · Velero · GPUs on Kubernetes · Trivy · Terraform · Ansible · GitHub Actions
- Observability
- Prometheus · Thanos · Grafana · Elasticsearch · Kibana · Vector · GCP Pub/Sub
- Programming
- Go · Python · TypeScript · Shell
- Security
- Penetration testing · Ethical hacking · SIEM
- Languages
- German (native) · English (fluent)
Publications
- Numerical reduction of self-consistent field models of macromolecular systems
A. Disterhoft, T. Raasch, F. Schmid. PAMM 16, 915–916 (2016).
- Algorithms for the Maximum Weight Connected k-Induced Subgraph Problem
E. Althaus, M. Blumenstock, A. Disterhoft et al.. COCOA 2014, Springer, 268–282.
Competitions
- Finalist, Audi Smart Factory Hackathon · Ingolstadt2016-10
- Participant, ACM ICPC Northwestern Europe Regional Contest · Linköping2014-11
- Participant, ACM ICPC Northwestern Europe Regional Contest · Delft2013-11