Platform Engineer / Azure Cloud Architect

VARO Energy - Baar, CH

Nov 2020 — Jan 2026

ConsultingRemote

• Designed, built, and ran enterprise-scale Azure landing zones using Terraform and Terragrunt, aligned with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework and Well-Architected principles.

• Hands-on delivery of hub-and-spoke and hybrid network architectures using Azure Virtual WAN, ExpressRoute, VPN, Azure Firewall, NSGs, and UDRs.

• Built and managed Azure identity and access solutions with Azure AD, RBAC, PIM, Conditional Access, and Zero Trust security models.

• Created reusable Infrastructure as Code modules and GitHub Actions pipelines to ensure consistent, repeatable deployments across dev, staging, and production.

• Implemented and operated CI/CD pipelines for both platform and application infrastructure, reducing deployment times and minimizing configuration drift.

• Led on-premises to Azure migrations, covering network connectivity, identity federation, workload re-hosting, and re-platforming.

• Designed and operated highly available Azure application platforms using App Services, AKS, Azure SQL, Storage Accounts, and supporting PaaS services.

• Designed and implemented Azure Virtual Desktop environments, including host pools, scaling plans, FSLogix profiles, and secure identity integration.

• Delivered Azure Dev Box environments to provide secure, standardized, self-service developer workstations integrated with Azure networking and identity.

• Implemented centralized monitoring, logging, and alerting with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Application Insights to support proactive operations and incident response.

• Enforced security and governance using Azure Policy, Defender for Cloud, RBAC, and least-privilege access across subscriptions and workloads.

• Actively managed and optimized Azure costs through tagging standards, right-sizing, budget alerts, and ongoing cost analysis.

• Integrated Azure Arc to centrally manage and govern hybrid servers.

• Designed, deployed, and supported a highly available VMware Horizon VDI platform serving 1,500+ users across multiple locations.

• Acted as a hands-on platform subject-matter expert, supporting DevOps and application teams with troubleshooting, automation improvements, and ongoing platform enhancements.

Infrastructure Architect / Senior Infrastructure Engineer

VARO Energy - Rotterdam, NL

Jan 2019 — Oct 2020

FreelanceHybrid

• Designed, built, and operated enterprise on-premises infrastructure platforms with a focus on availability, security, and scalability.

• Architected, implemented, and maintained Active Directory environments, including multi-domain forests, trusts, Group Policy, DNS, PKI, and identity lifecycle management.

• Designed, deployed, and operated highly available virtualization platforms using VMware vSphere, including clustering, HA, and disaster recovery configurations.

• Worked closely with network and security teams to implemented resilient network architectures, including VLANs, routing, firewall rules, load balancing, and network segmentation.

• Built, tested, and maintained backup and disaster recovery solutions using Veeam.

• Implemented Windows Server security hardening, patch management, baseline configurations, and auditing aligned with enterprise and compliance requirements.

• Deployed, operated, and optimized Microsoft server workloads including Windows Server, SQL Server, IIS, and Remote Desktop Services.

• Implemented and operated hybrid integration with Azure, including Azure AD Connect, hybrid identity models, Azure Arc onboarding, and management integration.

• Acted as hands-on technical authority, troubleshooting complex infrastructure issues and guiding operational teams on best practices and platform improvements.

• Worked closely with operations, security, and application teams to ensure infrastructure platforms were stable, secure, and operationally supportable.

Senior System Engineer

Rotterdam World Gateway - Rotterdam, NL

Jan 2017 — Jan 2019

FreelanceHybrid

• Provided third-line support and managed VMware, Microsoft, and backup environments.

• Automated upgrades and maintenance tasks with PowerShell and XL Release, cutting manual effort by around 40%.

• Migrated Dell EMC VNX storage to Pure Storage FlashArray in a dual data center setup.

• Upgraded VMware vCenter and vSphere for improved reliability and performance.

• Integrated on-prem AD with Azure AD and helped roll out Microsoft Teams after migrating from Skype for Business.

• Set up a redundant ADFS environment in Azure with load balancing for high availability.

System Engineer

UNO - Rijswijk, NL

Jan 2009 — Jan 2017

Full-timeOn-site

• Delivered infrastructure projects for over 100 business clients across different sectors.

• Managed migrations to Exchange, Office 365, and Azure with minimal downtime.

• Implemented vSphere and Hyper-V clusters with HA and DRS configurations.

• Built and managed remote desktop environments using Microsoft RDS, Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop, and VMware Horizon.

• Automated server and application deployments using PowerShell and App-V.

• Designed and implemented backup solutions using Veeam, Azure Backup, and Symantec Backup Exec.

Intern (IT Support)

Uniware - Vlaardingen, NL

Jan 2008 — Jan 2009

InternshipOn-site

Provided support for Windows and Linux systems used by clients in the flower and plant sector.