Projects & Goals

Projects

• mattwindham.dev

  SiteGitHub

  This site — a personal portfolio and blog built on AWS. Static site generated with Astro, served via CloudFront with S3 as the origin. Infrastructure managed entirely in Terraform, deployed via GitHub Actions with branch protection and environment-gated approvals.

  • Astro
  • AWS
  • Terraform
  • CloudFront
  • S3
  • Lambda
  • GitHub Actions
• On-demand EKS + ArgoCD demo

  GitHub

  A full-lifecycle GitOps pipeline: an admin-triggered EKS cluster running ArgoCD deploys a containerized copy of this site, with anonymous read-only dashboard access. No idle spend — the cluster is created and destroyed per session, with a scheduled nightly teardown as a hard cost safety net independent of manual action. Built to go deeper on the Kubernetes/GitOps side while studying for KCNA.

  • EKS
  • ArgoCD
  • Helm
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • GitHub Actions
  • Docker

Certification Path

The goal is Senior DevOps Engineer. Two gaps stand out in the Sr. JD at Ren: Kubernetes depth (cluster design, GitOps, pod security) and Azure alongside AWS. The plan attacks both — AZ-900 gets Azure fundamentals fast, then studying CKA on AKS covers Kubernetes hands-on and Azure hands-on in one track.

1. ✓
   CompTIA A+Jun 2018

   Foundation in hardware, OS, networking, and troubleshooting.

2. ✓
   AWS Certified Cloud PractitionerApr 2021

   Cloud fundamentals — core AWS services, pricing, and architecture.

3. ✓
   HashiCorp Terraform Associate (004)Mar 2026

   Infrastructure as Code — validated hands-on Terraform experience.

4. →
   Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA)Up next

   Foundational Kubernetes concepts — cloud native architecture, containers, scheduling, and observability. Currently in progress.

5. ◎
   Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)Target

   Azure cloud fundamentals — core services, pricing, and architecture. Fast ramp-up that mirrors what I already know in AWS. First step into the Azure side of Ren's multi-cloud stack.

6. ◎
   Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)Target

   Hands-on cluster administration. Plan to study using AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) — gets K8s and Azure hands-on in one track. The primary differentiator between DevOps Engineer and Senior DevOps Engineer at Ren.

7. ◎
   Microsoft Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)Target

   Azure DevOps pipelines, IaC, monitoring, and security. Most role-relevant Azure cert given Ren's use of Azure alongside AWS.

Skills I'm Building

• AzureTerraform azurerm provider, AKS, Blob Storage, Azure Functions — mirrors existing AWS work
• Container SecurityTrivy, Checkov, pod security policies
• FinOpsRightsizing, spot instances, cost visibility dashboards