SEAN BABER / THE PROFESSIONAL VERSION Sean Baber. PLATFORM ENGINEER / HARDWARE · INFRASTRUCTURE · SOFTWARE I work from the hardware up: servers, storage, networking, operating systems, cloud platforms, and the software running on top. I build the platform, write application and automation code, and put a repeatable delivery path behind it. Terraform, OpenTofu, Terragrunt, Kubernetes, and CI/CD are part of that work, alongside hands-on hardware and systems operations. My own lab puts those layers together through self-hosted GitLab, ZFS-backed services, observability, game development, and device integrations. I like being able to trace a problem through the whole system, fix it where it belongs, and automate what comes next. CLOUD & PLATFORM GCP · GKE Terraform · OpenTofu Terragrunt · Kubernetes Helm · Docker DELIVERY & SYSTEMS GoCD · Octopus Deploy Jenkins · GitHub Actions OCI artifacts · release-please Packer · Ansible Linux · Windows SIGNALS & SECURITY Grafana · Prometheus OpenTelemetry · Loki Tempo · Mimir Vault · OpenBao · TLS TEST & RELEASE Playwright · Browser automation JFrog Artifactory · OCI Azure Windows signing release-please · itch.io BUILDING TOOLS Bash · Python · Node.js PowerShell · Windows/IIS REST APIs · PostgreSQL DNS automation MQTT · OCPP SELF-HOSTED PLATFORM GitLab CE · Proxmox VE TrueNAS · ZFS · Nextcloud Docker Compose · Portainer Caddy · Cloudflare Tunnel LAB & INTEGRATIONS Raspberry Pi · Pi-hole Tailscale · iDRAC Ollama · llama.cpp Home Assistant · Wyoming ESP32 · PlatformIO AMATEUR RADIO Amateur Extra · W5QJM Homebuilt radios & antennas Worldwide contacts, barefoot MUSIC / ECHYØN Music production · Ableton Akai MPC One · Roland synths Guitar · handpans · wind instruments FIND MY WORK github.com/CavemanMakeDo | seanbaber.com | My games on itch.io | Echyøn on Spotify ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE / SELECTED WORK Hardware to software. Build it. Run it. Automate it. Cloud infrastructure & platform foundations TERRAFORM / OPENTOFU TERRAGRUNT GCP / GKE • Built and maintained Terraform/OpenTofu modules and Terragrunt environment blueprints for cloud networking, Kubernetes clusters, and shared platform services. • Composed environment configuration and Helm-based service deployments with explicit boundaries between shared infrastructure and workload-specific settings. • Built inventory and workload-discovery utilities to make cloud and Kubernetes resources easier to inspect. Application delivery & release automation GITHUB ACTIONS HELM / OCI GOCD OCTOPUS DEPLOY JENKINS • Built and documented container delivery workflows connecting semantic releases, image builds, artifact publication, and independently versioned Helm charts. • Work across GoCD, Octopus Deploy, Jenkins, and GitHub Actions for build and deployment automation, including containerized applications and Linux/Windows operational workflows. • Developed Packer image blueprints and provisioning automation for shared base images and role-specific Linux and Windows builds. Browser verification & release confidence PLAYWRIGHT BROWSER AUTOMATION RESPONSIVE QA • Use Playwright browser automation to exercise navigation, forms, access boundaries, and interactive application behavior. • Verify layouts at desktop, tablet, and mobile widths, including overflow checks and screenshots for visual review. • Check deployed public routes, HTTPS sign-in behavior, keyboard controls, and browser errors alongside application-level tests. Windows, packaging & cross-platform operations POWERSHELL / IIS JFROG ARTIFACTORY PACKER / ANSIBLE • Work with Windows/IIS and PowerShell operational tooling alongside Linux, Bash, Python, and Ansible automation. • Connect versioned application artifacts and Helm OCI packaging with artifact-registry workflows and environment-specific deployment configuration. • Maintain repeatable machine-build and provisioning patterns, keeping application delivery and machine configuration explicit. Secrets, security & operational change VAULT / OPENBAO TLS LINUX / ANSIBLE • Built secrets and transit-encrypted data migration tooling with dry-run support, existing authentication methods, PostgreSQL workflows, and visible job progress. • Created TLS audit tooling and declarative remediation artifacts that account for Kubernetes ownership of cloud load balancers. • Developed fleet assessment, patch orchestration, verification scripts, and operational runbooks with controlled disruption and explicit follow-up steps. Observability & infrastructure interfaces GRAFANA / LGTM OPENTELEMETRY PYTHON / APIs • Worked on metrics, logs, traces, and deployment configuration across Grafana, Prometheus, Loki, Tempo, Mimir, and OpenTelemetry. • Built DNS management APIs and operational utilities to turn repeatable cloud tasks into explicit, inspectable workflows. • Connected dashboards, service inventories, and supporting documentation so systems are easier to understand and investigate. INDEPENDENT ENGINEERING / HOMELAB & SELF-HOSTING My lab. My problems. My fixes. I run the services, deal with the failures, and write down what it took to get them working. The lab is where I try things properly: source control, storage, observability, automation, and the occasional piece of hardware that has opinions. Self-hosted GitLab & developer tooling GITLAB CE DOCKER COMPOSE ZFS • Operate my own GitLab CE instance for personal repositories, infrastructure code, and development projects. • Deployed GitLab as a TrueNAS-managed Compose application with separate ZFS-backed configuration, application data, and log storage. • Worked through reverse-proxy and Puma port collisions, startup behavior, memory pressure, and container resource sizing rather than treating every failed request as the same problem. • Documented version-aware upgrades, readiness checks, background migration checks, and the distinction between repository/database backups and configuration/secrets backups. Virtualization, containers & workload migrations PROXMOX VE TRUENAS LINUX DOCKER • Built and operated a mixed homelab using Proxmox virtual machines and Linux containers alongside TrueNAS-hosted applications. • Migrated selected workloads between hosts and deployment models, separating application state from replaceable runtime containers. • Worked through storage mounts, service port conflicts, startup dependencies, and the differences between host health and application readiness. • Consolidated services onto the storage host where it made sense, retained source workloads during migration, and documented recovery and repurposing options. Storage, application state & recovery TRUENAS ZFS PERSISTENT STORAGE • Manage ZFS-backed storage and application datasets, with separate locations for service configuration, persistent data, and logs. • Worked through dataset layout, permissions, ACL behavior, and storage mappings during application moves and host consolidation. • Created recovery notes, configuration exports, and migration records so the way back does not depend on remembering a late-night terminal session. • Built consistent SQLite backup and integrity-verification workflows for the web platform. Treat storage redundancy, a backup file, and a verified restore as separate things. Homelab observability & service health GRAFANA PROMETHEUS UPTIME KUMA NODE EXPORTER • Built a coordinated service directory, availability view, and Grafana dashboards from a curated inventory of self-hosted services. • Connected Prometheus, host metrics, authenticated service-monitoring metrics, and a read-only MQTT collector. • Built views for CPU, memory, ZFS cache, physical network interfaces, storage activity, response times, and service history. • Accounted for planned server sleep, maintenance windows, stale readings, and missing samples. A sleeping host is not magically available, and an HTTP response is not proof that every application feature works. Always-on infrastructure & remote management RASPBERRY PI PI-HOLE TAILSCALE iDRAC • Deployed Pi-hole and Tailscale on Raspberry Pi systems so lightweight network services and remote management do not depend on keeping the larger servers awake. • Configured persistent container state, explicit service bindings, and rotating logs; investigated address-binding failures when moving configuration between hosts. • Built and tested SSH-key-based iDRAC status and power-on workflows, with a secondary status-checked startup path. • Rebuilt a Pi after storage corruption and documented the recovery steps. Treat installed schedules and observed scheduled execution as different evidence. Self-hosted web platform & community publishing CADDY DJANGO CLOUDFLARE TUNNEL CI/CD • Built a modular web host with separate portfolio and community applications behind a shared Caddy reverse proxy. • Created a local deployment workflow with immutable source releases, versioned container images, pre-deployment checks, health verification, and independent application updates. • Added application rollback, consistent database backups, and off-host backup integrity checks. • Built a community publishing application with public news and pages, labeled sponsor placements, administrator-created resident accounts, and server-enforced private content access. • Implemented authentication checks covering private and draft content, inactive accounts, CSRF, escaped content, and repeated failed logins; published the portfolio through Cloudflare Tunnel. Local AI & voice integration OLLAMA LLAMA.CPP HOME ASSISTANT WYOMING • Built local model and browser-chat deployments, keeping separate hosts’ conversation state and runtime configuration independent. • Integrated Home Assistant command handling with local language-model responses, speech recognition, speech synthesis, and fallback paths. • Worked on routing between device-control requests and informational responses, with explicit resource limits for smaller systems. • Preserved application data during changes and retired experiments when the hardware had a better job to do. These projects include previous deployments, not a claim that every experiment is still running. Energy telemetry & solar-aware charging MQTT OCPP NODE.JS PROMETHEUS • Built a local controller connecting inverter telemetry to an EV charger through MQTT and OCPP. • Implemented charging policy based on solar availability and household demand, with persistent session tracking and dashboard views. • Wrote tests around invalid readings, policy boundaries, command failures, and recovery after lost telemetry or restarts. • Built a separate read-only energy collector and Grafana views for power, battery state, connection status, and sample age. Missing measurements stay missing instead of being replaced with reassuring zeros. Self-hosted collaboration & service operations NEXTCLOUD PORTAINER SSH LINUX • Operate self-hosted collaboration and file services alongside source control, dashboards, and developer tools. • Use container administration, service inventories, SSH access, and written operating notes to manage changes across different hosts. • Keep persistent application state separate from container lifecycle changes, and distinguish a service being listed as running from its actual application behavior. Independent games & automated publishing GODOT / GDSCRIPT GITHUB ACTIONS AZURE SIGNING • Develop game projects through CacoPhonic Game Studios, including Caps Lock, Regrove, Arcanomaly, and EchoBound. • Automate game build and publishing workflows with GitHub Actions, release-please versioning, separate playtest/release tracks, and butler uploads to itch.io. • Integrate Azure Windows code signing into the release path. Keep platform exports, signing, and published artifacts distinct. CacoPhonic Game Studios on itch.io ↗ Embedded projects & practical hardware work ESP32 PLATFORMIO API INTEGRATION • Adapted an ESP32 weather-display project for my own needs, working with a Heltec board, weather API integration, and a PlatformIO sketch. • Experimented with Wi-Fi antenna improvements and the hardware side of making a small connected device useful. • Use the lab to connect software behavior to physical constraints: power, storage, network reachability, device startup, and recovery. Amateur radio & RF projects Amateur Extra · W5QJM RADIO CONSTRUCTION ANTENNA BUILDING RF • Hold an Amateur Extra amateur radio license, callsign W5QJM. • Build my own radios and antennas, extending hands-on hardware work into radio-frequency systems. • Have made amateur radio contacts around the world running barefoot, without an external amplifier. Music production & instruments Echyøn · Music producer ABLETON AKAI MPC ONE HARDWARE SYNTHS • Produce music as Echyøn, available on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms. • Use Ableton as my DAW alongside an Akai MPC One and a collection of Roland synthesizers. • Play acoustic and electric guitar, own two handpans and didgeridoos, and have recently started exploring drone flutes. Listen to Echyøn on Spotify ↗ How I work Understand the system before changing it. Put the fix where the resource is actually owned. Test the behavior, keep a way back, and write down what future me will need. Good platform work makes the next change easier to reason about. A skills-based résumé focused on engineering work. Employer names, internal systems, and private deployment details are omitted.