How I Climbed the Ranks from Junior Cloud Engineer to Lead

In this series, we’ll put the spotlight on Devoteam G Cloud’s experts who are always at the forefront of driving progress in the exciting and rapidly evolving Google Cloud world. In this article, we will delve into Dries’ journey, a passionate Cloud Engineer at Devoteam G Cloud, who has come a long way from being a Junior Cloud Engineer to Lead. His journey as a Cloud Engineer, his daily responsibilities, his experience with the RBFA project, and his most memorable moment are featured in this blog.

Hi, I’m Dries, and in this blog, I will take you on a journey through my daily experiences and the best thing about my job – the thrill of using such a user-friendly platform like GCP to bring complex tech solutions to life. Ready?

How it all started: getting to know Devoteam G Cloud at the VTK Job Fair

At the end of my Computer Science studies at VTK Leven, I attended the VTK Job Fair to network and learn about the various career job opportunities. This job fair proved to be a game-changer for me as I had the pleasure to meet the Devoteam G Cloud team. 

They were approachable and welcoming, making me feel at ease. The stand radiated a welcoming atmosphere that was refreshingly not too stiff or corporate. With my interest in the cloud already piqued, I knew I had to speak with them. After the fair, I reached out to the team and after some discussions, I signed my contract. I was truly happy to begin my journey as a part of their team as a Junior Cloud Engineer.

From Junior Cloud Engineer to Lead Cloud Engineer?

My journey at Devoteam G Cloud started as a Junior Cloud Engineer. Since then, I’ve focused on mastering cloud engineering, with a focus on App Modernization and Cloud Security.

In my early days at Devoteam G Cloud, I took advantage of the opportunities available to me to get certified and expand my knowledge by using & testing the Google Cloud Services. More experienced colleagues guided me as I took on various tasks and learned the ropes of cloud engineering. I quickly started to take on more responsibilities and began to architect tasks on my own. After a while, I started to take on more senior responsibilities such as translating business requirements into technical requirements. I was promoted to Senior Cloud Engineer. 

Accelerating the journey even further

In January 2023, I was promoted to Lead Cloud Engineer. The biggest difference with the Senior role is the closer connection with customers and my involvement at a higher, strategic level. I am now responsible for finding technical solutions for our customer’s requirements, breaking them up into implementable tasks, and helping our project manager divide them among myself and the team members.

The Road to Expertise: Navigating Google Cloud Certifications

I passed 4 certifications: ACE, DevOps, Security, and Cloud Architect. My goal is to add more certifications, with at least ⅘ this year.

The next ones on the agenda are Terraform Associate and Certified Kubernetes Application Developer. Ps: when you’ll be reading this blog, I probably already passed these.

?Tip of the day

To get certified, focus on both understanding the services and concepts and gaining practical experience. I’m lucky that here at Devoteam G Cloud we have access to a wide library of resources, including labs, Udemy learning tracks, and Google training sessions.

The daily responsibilities of a Cloud Engineer

1. Unleashing Creativity: Brainstorming innovative solutions to customer requests.
2. Technical Analysis: Delving deep into requests to understand the full scope of the project.
3. Architecting Excellence: Designing effective solutions using Google Cloud services and software.
4. Executing with Precision: Implementing solutions to deliver exceptional results.
5. Always on Guard: Monitoring performance to ensure quick and effective action when needed.

Deep Dive into the projects

Building a Data-Driven Future for Sports: The RBFA Project

As a Lead Cloud Engineer at Devoteam G Cloud, I have had the opportunity to work on several exciting projects, but one that stands out is the RBFA project. The goal of this project was to gather all the RBFA data into a data lake and provide a 360-degree view of its customers. We used the data to offer more insights and smart features to the RBFA and the users of the app. 

The Challenge

Our team faced a monumental task of transferring vast amounts of data from on-premise systems to Google Cloud. However, the team rose to the challenge, utilizing the immense power of Google services to fix the complex problem. By breaking down the challenge into manageable stages, the team succeeded in delivering a modern data-syncing solution. The dedication and expertise of the engineering team, coupled with the power of Google services, proved to be a winning combination.

The Technology used

The first step was to review the IT infrastructure of the RBFA and migrate their data to Google Cloud. The entire infrastructure is now managed by Infrastructure-as-code (with a.o. Terraform). All the services/data pipelines are deployed by our CI/CD solution and are fully managed, Google Cloud-native microservices. I’m a big fan of using serverless technology as it allows the team to focus more on development and functionality, speeding up deployment and minimizing time spent on setting up infrastructure. 

To make it as robust as possible, we followed good engineering practices and incorporated DevOps principles, with a focus on CI/CD pipelines. 

We implemented a lot of Google Cloud technologies, we used: Cloud Run, App Engine, GCP API Portal, Big Query, DataFlow, Cloud Tasks, Pub/Sub, and Cloud Composer.

In conclusion, the RBFA project was a challenging but rewarding experience, as we helped build a data-driven future for sports.

Going Big: Delivering a Game-Changing Mobile Feature for the World Cup

For the World Cup, we tackled a massive challenge by delivering a feature for the RBFA’s mobile app. The feature required users to scan QR codes in stadiums, ads, TV,.. to earn points for rewards.

Despite the tight deadline, our team went big and exceeded expectations by delivering the feature in time for both the Women’s World Cup and the Men’s World Cup. And it doesn’t stop there, the feature will continue to be used for future events. 

My Most Memorable moment

“Memorable moment? Wow, that’s not an easy one to pick just one. For me, it’s a culmination of my 2.5 years of experience at Devoteam G Cloud. I have 2 moments that I’m thinking about:

1. When the RBFA project was finally up and running, delivering great results and being used by many users. I was proud to see the hard work finally paying off. Seeing my football friends use the app we built cloud services for is a nice feeling.
2. Attending KubeCon in Valencia with my colleagues was also a highlight of my journey as a G Clouder. The atmosphere, venue, and sessions were all incredibly engaging and thought-provoking. The engaging atmosphere and thought-provoking sessions showcased the community’s efforts to improve the Kubernetes ecosystem.