Kevin Markwardt

About Kevin Markwardt

Currently I am seeking a Senior Level DevOps Engineer, MySQL or Postgres Database administrator position, or a Golang Software Engineering role. At Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, my focus has been on reengineering our database infrastructure, encompassing over 400 instances to enhance documentation and support. Key projects have included managing Kubernetes clusters and deploying New Relic dashboards for robust monitoring, reflecting my commitment to optimizing systems for peak performance.My tenure at VMware, developing a Kubernetes MySQL operator and automating deployment with Concourse CI, underpins my expertise in cloud-native technologies. With a mission to drive operational excellence and scalability, I leverage my certifications in AWS and Kubernetes to deliver resilient solutions that power enterprise growth.

Experience

1. Staff Engineer for Databases

   Flex

   Mar 2025 — Present · Buffalo, NY, US

   Scope- Solely provide database engineering leadership for 100+ Java engineers across 20+ code repositories.Strategic Ownership- Define and maintain the company-wide database roadmap- Guide infrastructure architecture decisions and long-term design direction- Evaluate current database systems and deliver actionable improvement recommendationsPerformance Engineering- Analyze query patterns and review Java application code to identify inefficiencies (N+1 queries, missing indexes, suboptimal joins)- Develop query rewrites and indexing strategies to improve throughput and reduce latency- Planned and implemented ProxySQL for MySQL traffic management, read/write splitting, and connection poolingAI Integration- Lead adoption of AI-assisted development tooling, including Claude Code and Gemini- Drive integration strategies to improve engineering productivity and code qualityEnablement & Training- Deliver group workshops and 1:1 coaching on database best practices, query optimization, and AI tooling- Build internal knowledge base and standards documentation

Education

• Rochester Institute of Technology

  IT

  1996 — 2000

Skills

• Vmware Esx
• Vmware
• Servers
• Windows Server
• Vsphere
• Virtualization
• Linux
• Data Center
• Disaster Recovery
• Netapp
• Dhcp
• Cisco Technologies
• Microsoft Sql Server
• Cloud Computing
• Hp
• Iis
• Sql
• Dns
• Red Hat Linux
• Technical Support
• Security
• IT Operations
• Solaris
• Active Directory
• Citrix
• Itil
• Cluster
• System Administration
• San
• Rhel
• Citrix Metaframe
• Emc Storage
• Operating Systems
• Vmware Infrastructure
• High Availability
• Vmware Server
• Unix
• Storage
• Software Installation
• Storage Area Networks