Hi, I'm Alex 👋

About Me

Hello! I'm Miguel Alejandro Cantu, though most people know me as Alex. I'm a DevOps and Platform Engineer with over 10 years of experience in cloud automation, virtualization, and enterprise systems.

I graduated Magna Cum Laude from UT San Antonio with a Computer Science degree and hold multiple technical certifications including RHCE and CCNA. Currently, I work at ArborXR building event-driven continous integration frameworks and platforms using Infrastructure-as-Code to streamline observability, deployments, and development workflows.

My experience spans from deploying private clouds at Rackspace to developing virtual machine solutions at JPMorgan Chase. I'm passionate about solving complex technical challenges through automation, container technologies, and cloud platforms. When I'm not engineering solutions, I'm a devoted Christian and husband who enjoys learning, building projects, and exploring nature.

Skills

✓

Kubernetes

Istio, Cert-Manager, Ingress Controllers, Operators

Proficiency10/11
✓

Cloud Platforms

GCP, AWS, CloudFlare, OpenStack, VMWare

Proficiency11/11
✓

Infrastructure as Code

Pulumi, Ansible, Terraform, vRO

Proficiency9/11
✓

Container Technologies

Docker, LXC, Orchestration, Networking

Proficiency10/11
✓

Python Development

Flask, Django, Automation Scripts, APIs

Proficiency7/11
✓

Linux Administration

System administration, networking, containers

Proficiency10/11
✓

Virtualization

VMware vRealize, Hypervisors, Virtual Networks

Proficiency9/11
✓

CI/CD & DevOps

Jenkins, Configuration Management, Gitlab CI

Proficiency11/11
✓

Identity Management

SAML, OAuth, Cybersecurity

Proficiency7/11

Proficiency Scale:

Score represents years of experience with technology ÷ total years of experience (11 years). Also check out my toolbox!

Experience

  • 2023 - Present

    DevOps/Platform Developer

    ArborXR • Built git-ops continous integration and an internal developer application • Implemented observability platforms and their infrastructure using OpenTelemetry • Secured applications and infrastructure using Hasicorp Vault and other security tools • Provide support and maintenance to critical infrastructure such as databases, messaging queues, caches, and storage platforms

  • 2021 - 2023

    DevOps/Infrastructure Engineer

    JPMorgan Chase • Built event-driven automation frameworks using vRealize and Function-as-a-Service technologies • Developed Python-based VM provisioning engine for seamless technologist experience • Worked with VMWare technologies, container technologies, and virtualization • Maintained Agile software development methodology across enterprise systems

  • 2019 - 2021

    Software Engineer

    Sysco Food Distribution • Focused on automation of Identity Management with emphasis in Cybersecurity • Worked with Identity Management Platforms and APIs for user provisioning and reporting • Developed custom scripts utilizing Microsoft Graph API for large data querying • Implemented authentication protocols including SAML and OAuth for secure applications

  • 2016 - 2017

    Software Developer II

    Rackspace • Developed Python-based deployment software for popular open-sourced cloud platform • Focused on development, continuous integration, scripting, and cloud technologies • Gained extensive knowledge of Linux containers, virtual network components, and cloud paradigms • Worked with configuration management tools, continuous integration tools (Jenkins), and Linux technologies

  • 2013 - 2016

    DevOps Engineer

    Rackspace • Deployed, managed, and configured Rackspace Private Cloud Software • Worked with Linux containers, databases, hypervisors, and Linux networking • Deployed, tested, and managed cloud component services • Earned multiple technical certifications including RHCE, CCNA, and Certified OpenStack Administrator

Education

  • 2009 - 2013

    Bachelor's in Computer Science

    University of Texas at San Antonio • Magna Cum Laude • President's List • Dean's List • Member of The National Society of Leadership and Success • Member of National Society of Collegiate Scholars

  • 2012 - 2013

    Undergraduate Computer Science Researcher

    University of Texas at San Antonio • Conducted research study on virtual reality games for rehabilitation • Focused on individuals with mobility impairments using VR for rehabilitation exercises • Worked with Microsoft Kinect SDK, Unity, VRPN, and UIVA technologies • Exposed to various virtual reality technologies throughout the study

    Projects

    OpenTelemetry Observability Platform

    ArborXR

    Comprehensive telemetry infrastructure with OpenTelemetry instrumentation, cost-effective Kubernetes cluster, and critical monitoring capabilities

    OpenTelemetry, Kubernetes, Grafana, Loki, Mimir, Tempo, OTLP/HTTP

    Click for details

    Internal Developer Platform (IDP)

    ArborXR

    Comprehensive developer experience platform with ephemeral review environments, automated deployments, and monitoring capabilities

    GraphQL, TypeScript, Pothos, Prisma, CloudRun, Yoga, Vue

    Click for details

    VM Provisioning Engine

    JPMorgan Chase

    Enterprise-scale Python-based virtual machine provisioning system for seamless developer experience

    Python, vRealize, VMware, REST APIs, Docker

    Click for details

    Identity Management Automation

    Sysco Food Distribution

    Cybersecurity-focused identity management platform with automated user provisioning and SAML/OAuth integration

    Microsoft Graph API, SAML, OAuth, Python, REST APIs

    Click for details

    OpenStack Cloud Platform

    Rackspace

    Large-scale deployment and automation tooling for Rackspace Private Cloud infrastructure

    Python, OpenStack, Ansible, Jenkins, Linux, Docker

    Click for details

    Portfolio Website

    Open SourceGitHub

    A modern portfolio website built with Fresh 2.0 and Tailwind CSS

    Deno, Fresh, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Preact

    Click to view on GitHub

    Linear CLI Tool

    Open SourceGitHub

    Command-line interface for managing Linear issues with TypeScript SDK integration

    TypeScript, Node.js, Yarn, Linear API

    Click to view on GitHub

    Contact

    Want to get in touch? Find me on these platforms: