Jake Daniel

About Jake Daniel

I’m a DevOps and Platform Engineering leader with 11 years of experience building and scaling highly available SaaS platforms across AWS and Azure. Currently, I lead a globally distributed organization of ~24 engineers responsible for core platform services, including Kubernetes (EKS), Kafka (MSK), and CI/CD systems (GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, Jenkins). Our team operates the company’s largest shared platform, enabling dozens of engineering teams to build, deploy, and operate reliably at scale. My experience spans both Azure (deep expertise) and AWS, with a strong focus on cloud architecture, distributed systems, and operating production workloads in complex, multi-tenant environments. I specialize in- Platform Engineering & Kubernetes (EKS)- Kafka (MSK) and distributed systems at scale - DevSecOps and secure-by-design delivery - CI/CD pipelines and GitOps-based automation - Disaster Recovery and high-availability architecture - AI-driven automation and agent-based workflows - Incident management and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) A significant part of my role involves partnering with security, compliance, and audit organizations to navigate regulatory requirements (including FedRAMP and FIPS). I’m highly experienced in translating complex systems into auditor-friendly narratives, driving remediation across distributed ownership models, and aligning engineering practices with strict governance standards—without sacrificing delivery velocity. I focus on building platforms that are both resilient and usable, balancing strong guardrails with developer productivity. This includes evolving systems toward least-privilege access models, modernizing infrastructure, and scaling automation across the organization. My leadership style is hands-off and trust-driven, with an emphasis on ownership, clarity, and long-term sustainability. I take pride in building teams that operate with a high degree of autonomy while delivering meaningful, measurable outcomes. I’m particularly interested in opportunities to lead and scale platform engineering organizations operating at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, security, and intelligent automation.

Experience

1. Manager, Devops Engineering

   NiCE

   Jul 2024 — Present · Sandy, UT, US

   Leads a globally distributed DevOps / Platform Engineering organization supporting shared Kubernetes (EKS), CI/CD, and cloud infrastructure for the broader R&D organization-Owns CI/CD as a Product, delivering reusable GitOps-based deployment workflows (GitHub Actions, ArgoCD, Jenkins) that enable dozens of engineering teams to ship reliably and consistently-Responsible for the company’s largest shared EKS platform, including cluster reliability, scalability, security posture, and cost optimization-Drives large-scale infrastructure modernization initiatives, including-Windows → Linux (AL2023) API server migration -Chef → Ansible standardization -GitOps adoption and deployment workflow consolidation-Partners closely with Architecture, InfoSec, FinOps, and R&D leadership to align platform roadmaps with business priorities, compliance requirements (FedRAMP / FIPS), and budget constraints-Balances delivery velocity with operational excellence by establishing clear ownership, risk management, and pragmatic governance around change management and production readiness-Enables teams through documentation, runbooks, and self-service tooling, reducing support load and improving developer autonomy-Coaches and mentors senior and mid-level engineers, with a strong emphasis on systems thinking, reliability engineering, and long-term platform sustainability-Acts as escalation point for complex cross-team issues impacting availability, performance, or developer productivity, ensuring rapid alignment and resolution-Regularly communicates technical tradeoffs, risks, and progress to senior leadership in clear, outcome-oriented terms.

Education

• Cardinal Stritch University

  Computer Science

  2011 — 2012

• Utah Valley University

  Information Technology

  2012 — 2013

Skills

• Strategic Planning
• Microsoft Office
• Sales
• Project Management
• Microsoft Word
• Leadership
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Management
• Customer Service