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
Cloud Platforms
GCP, AWS, CloudFlare, OpenStack, VMWare
Infrastructure as Code
Pulumi, Ansible, Terraform, vRO
Container Technologies
Docker, LXC, Orchestration, Networking
Python Development
Flask, Django, Automation Scripts, APIs
Linux Administration
System administration, networking, containers
Virtualization
VMware vRealize, Hypervisors, Virtual Networks
CI/CD & DevOps
Jenkins, Configuration Management, Gitlab CI
Identity Management
SAML, OAuth, Cybersecurity
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
Comprehensive telemetry infrastructure with OpenTelemetry instrumentation, cost-effective Kubernetes cluster, and critical monitoring capabilities
OpenTelemetry, Kubernetes, Grafana, Loki, Mimir, Tempo, OTLP/HTTP
Internal Developer Platform (IDP)
Comprehensive developer experience platform with ephemeral review environments, automated deployments, and monitoring capabilities
GraphQL, TypeScript, Pothos, Prisma, CloudRun, Yoga, Vue
VM Provisioning Engine
Enterprise-scale Python-based virtual machine provisioning system for seamless developer experience
Python, vRealize, VMware, REST APIs, Docker
Identity Management Automation
Cybersecurity-focused identity management platform with automated user provisioning and SAML/OAuth integration
Microsoft Graph API, SAML, OAuth, Python, REST APIs
OpenStack Cloud Platform
Large-scale deployment and automation tooling for Rackspace Private Cloud infrastructure
Python, OpenStack, Ansible, Jenkins, Linux, Docker
Portfolio Website
A modern portfolio website built with Fresh 2.0 and Tailwind CSS
Deno, Fresh, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Preact
Linear CLI Tool
Command-line interface for managing Linear issues with TypeScript SDK integration
TypeScript, Node.js, Yarn, Linear API