James Sykes
Accomplished Technical Lead with extensive expertise in DevOps, Cybersecurity, and Platform Engineering.
Introduction
Leveraging two decades of IT expertise, I have progressed from hands-on roles in large-scale datacenter environments to technical lead positions building and supporting platforms in the finance, insurance and payments sectors.
Recently, my focus has shifted towards cloud computing, with a deep specialization in Azure and GCP. I excel in utilizing advanced DevOps tools and methodologies, including Terraform, Pulumi, GitOps and Kubernetes to enhance infrastructure efficiency and foster innovation.
I have successfully guided and mentored small teams, fostering collaboration across diverse, multinational groups. Notably, I have thrived in full-time remote settings for over five years, demonstrating exceptional adaptability and communication skills. This blend of technical acumen, leadership, and remote work proficiency positions me uniquely to lead and innovate in dynamic and challenging IT environments.
Work Experience
Chime SoftwareContractISO 27001AzureCybersecurity
DevOps + Cybersecurity Consultant
PollinateContractAzurePlatforms
Senior DevOps Consultant
Generali SwitzerlandContractDevOpsGCPDeveloper Experience
DevOps Consultant
Pollinate InternationalContractDevOps
Senior DevOps Consultant
Vanquis BankContractDevOpsAzureCloud Transformation
DevOps Team Lead
Euromoney Institutional InvestorContractDevOpsCloud Transformation
DevOps Team Lead
Rank GroupWeb Operations
Senior Web Operations Engineer
ChameleonNetDatacenterHosting
Head of Hosting
Technologies
Notable Projects
Data Centre Migration
Migration of 2000+ physical servers across multiple datacentres new purpose built facility.
Soccer Aid Donation Platform
Designed and built hosting platform to support the Soccer Aid event with ITV and Unicef which raised over £3m in donations during the live TV broadcast.
Vanquis Loans Platform
Built a new platform to offer loans to existing customers. Succesfully disbursed over £50m in new loans in the first year.
Merchant Acquiring Platform
Helped built a new disruptive merchant acquiring platform from the ground up, enabling merchants to offer a range of payment options to their customers.
OpenBanking Platform
Designed and built a new platform to host OpenBanking payment services for major UK bank.
OpenBanking Platform
Designed and built a new platform to host OpenBanking payment services for major UK bank.