The background, experience, and philosophy behind Burrell Technology Services.
I'm an infrastructure and DevOps specialist focused on Kubernetes and GitOps with Argo CD. I founded Burrell Technology Services to offer engineering teams the kind of deep, hands-on expertise that typically only comes from inside a well-staffed platform engineering org, without the cost or overhead of a full-time hire.
My experience includes time as a Senior Technical Support Engineer at Akuity, the company behind the leading enterprise Argo CD platform, founded by Argo CD's original creators. Working directly with engineering teams across the industry to diagnose complex Argo CD and GitOps problems in production gave me broad visibility into real-world GitOps architectures at scale: the patterns that hold up and the ones that don't. That informs everything I bring to consulting engagements.
I've also spent several years working across insurance, telecom, and research environments, building and operating Kubernetes clusters, implementing GitOps workflows, designing network infrastructure, and automating the operational work that keeps platforms running reliably.
Outside of client work, I run my entire homelab on Kubernetes. It's a constant testbed for new tools and patterns, and a reminder that I practice what I preach.
I'm based in Panama City, Panama and work exclusively with clients remotely. I'm a native English speaker and can collaborate through whatever tools your team already uses: Slack, Jira, GitHub, GitLab, or otherwise.
My goal with every engagement is to leave your team better off than I found it, whether that means resolving a specific problem, building something new, or transferring enough knowledge that you don't need me to come back for the same issue twice.
My work centers on Kubernetes operations and GitOps delivery, with deep expertise in Argo CD and the broader cloud-native ecosystem. I help teams deploy reliably, troubleshoot complex platform failures, and build sustainable operational practices, whether they are getting started with Kubernetes or running it at enterprise scale.
On the infrastructure side, I bring hands-on experience with bare-metal cluster provisioning, networking, storage, secrets management, and the full range of tooling that keeps a platform running in production.
Core Tools
May 2023 – Present
Remote
Akuity
Frontline enterprise support for Akuity's managed Argo CD and Kargo platform, diagnosing and resolving complex GitOps, Kubernetes, and networking issues across large-scale production environments. Beyond firefighting, I work directly with engineering teams across the industry to help them understand the platform deeply and adopt GitOps practices that hold up at scale.
Aug 2021 – May 2023
Remote
The Empire Life Insurance Company
Spearheaded a new GitOps and DevOps initiative from the ground up, introducing Argo CD and Kubernetes to automate and streamline software delivery across on-premise, Azure, and GKE. Managed the full lifecycle of RHEL and other Linux servers, grew the Kubernetes footprint, and partnered with development teams on deployments to Kubernetes, JBoss, and WebSphere, all within strict change-management and audit requirements.
May 2019 – Jul 2021
Kingston, Canada
Telecom Metric Inc.
Architected, built, and maintained the Linux infrastructure behind a core VoIP platform, and cut maintenance time significantly by automating key processes with Terraform and Ansible. Consulted directly with clients to design and implement custom VoIP solutions, provided Tier 2 support, and mentored junior team members while establishing documentation standards and procedures.
Oct 2017 – Jan 2019
Ottawa, Canada
Algonquin College
Explored methods to secure smart-home ecosystems at the home-router level for a major Canadian telecom, developing proof-of-concept strategies to mitigate common IoT security risks. Contributed to the final report and presentation of findings, building hands-on experience in cybersecurity research, network protocol analysis, and academic-industry collaboration.
2015 – 2019
Ottawa, Canada
Carleton University
Focused on network technology, automation, and security, with hands-on work in network protocols, switching and routing, and industry-standard Cisco and Nokia equipment.
2023
Akuity
Certification covering GitOps principles and continuous delivery with Argo CD.