Petr Michalec (epcim)#

Sr Mgr, Software Development Engineering (SDC) · Site Reliability Engineering / Infrastructure Operations (SRE) at F5 Prague, Czech Republic · GitHub · Twitter

Seasoned leader with extensive experience architecting and operating global cloud-native SaaS platforms and distributed infrastructures. Expert skills and experience on enterprise environments across many domains: SRE, Platform Security, DevSecOps, and ML/AI. Proven track record directing complex system deployments across multi-cloud (AWS, GCP, AKS), physical POPs, and bare-metal networks. Highly adept at designing secure, scalable software development life cycles (SDLC) and currently focused on pioneering robust internal AI infrastructures and continuous delivery systems for microservice-heavy architectures.

Since 2012 I pivoted early private cloud infrastructures for leading global vendors (DHL, AT&T, Audi). Later Jio/Reliance, SAP, SoftBank, Verizon. In 2024/25 I was key contributor and lead on F5 FedRAMP Distributed Cloud.

Proven track record leading SRE and platform engineering teams with deep, hands-on technical expertise. Dedicated to fostering a strong engineering culture focused on automation, shift-left security, and scalable systems. Adept at bridging the gap between high-level business strategy and technical implementation.

Experienced in orchestrating large-scale bare-metal and cloud infrastructures (+1,000 nodes), with a history of dramatically compressing deployment cycles (from months to single weeks). Skilled at navigating strict security compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, PCI-DSS) and leading cross-functional, multi-regional engineering teams to deliver robust platforms at scale.

Mentor, Open-source contributor.

🛠️ Key Domain Skills#

Instead of detailing granular tools, these are the global tech areas and domains I cover:

• Complex Infrastructures: Designing and running bare-metal PoPs, hybrid-cloud networking, physical POP deployments, and storage backends.
• Cloud & Kubernetes Platforms: Multi-cloud designs across AWS, GCP, AKS, OpenStack, and Kubernetes.
• Continuous Delivery: Comprehensive CI/CD platforms designed for shift-left security, speed, and massive scale.
• AI workloads & MLOps: Operating AI/ML pipelines and platforms for micro-service heavy topologies.
• SaaS Platform & Security: Specialized in IAM, platform hardening, FedRAMP, and PCI-DSS compliance audits.
• Management & Leadership: Strong experience leading multi-disciplinary, cross-regional teams, mentoring, and delivering to complex SDLC requirements.

💼 Career History#

• F5 / F5 Czech Republic s.r.o (Security & Distributed Cloud - SDC)
  Sr Mgr, Software Development Engineering — Security & Distributed Cloud (SDC), Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Infrastructure Operations
  2025 - Present

  • Directing and coordinating global SRE teams across US, EMEA, and APAC regions.
  • Leading SRE initiatives for F5 FedRAMP Distributed Cloud authorization (2024/2025).
  • Driving high-velocity infrastructure automation, declarative configuration, and shift-left security.

• F5 (Site Reliability Engineering - SRE)
  2023 - 2025

  • Sr. SRE - Development and operations of XC Distributed cloud infrastructure (20+ POPs + AWS, GCP, Azure infrastructure)
  • Sr. SRE - Leading private XC deployments, Production operations, Implementation of internal services. Security audit.

• Volterra Inc. (Acquired by F5) · Infrastructure Architect / Team Lead · 2018 - 2023
  Designed and operated globally distributed edge/cloud platforms (bare-metal at POPs, all cloud platforms, IAM).

• Mirantis · Cloud Architect / Services Team Lead · 2016 - 2018
  Delivered OpenStack & Kubernetes private clouds for major telecom and automotive enterprises.

• tcp cloud (Acquired by Mirantis) · Infrastructure Architect · 2016

• IBM Czech Republic · Infrastructure Architect / IT Specialist · 2004 - 2016
  Consulted on enterprise integration, virtualization, and private cloud implementations.

• Contactel s.r.o · SysOps · 2003

• Český Telecom a.s. · SysOps · 2000 - 2003

📖 Publications & Talks#

• IBM RedBook: Implementation Services for Private Clouds: Implementation Guide for Practitioners and Architects (ITSO, 2013 | ISBN: 0738438359)
• Prague Kubernetes Conference — Designing AKS scale clusters.
• Docker Meetup Swarm Talk — High-performance Swarm architecture.
• DevOps Kung-Fu — Shifting-left in configuration management.

🚀 Interests & Passions#

A look into my technical playgrounds, from mechanical tinkering to system configurations:

• 🕹️ FPV — Occasional RC/QUAD pilot, building custom quadcopters — we live in goggles.
• 🔌 Electronics & Homelabs — Custom hardware integration, microcontrollers (ESP32), smart home automation. When there is time to play.
• ⚙️ Configuration Management — Orchestrating systems using declarative configuration files and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) — my true nature.

💻 Open Source Repositories (My Own)#

Note: These projects are public, but many more closed-source projects exist ;P

• 🗡️ git-cross — A high-productivity "git knife" utility. Custom Git workflows designed to simplify multi-repository coordination and automate standard commit patterns.
• 📊 any-chart & fake-chart — Flexible and universal Helm charts for Kubernetes deployments. Deploy virtually any application topology without rewriting custom boilerplate templates.
• 📦 dotfiles — Chezmoi deployment of critical system .config files. A structured, modular layout to manage and deploy my cross-platform terminal configurations. (Upcoming public release)
• 🐳 docker-stacks & synology-containers — Ready-to-run container deployments designed for Synology NAS. Pre-configured, robust Docker compose stacks built to run self-hosted utilities. (Currently private)

🔧 Core Tools & Ecosystems I Support & like.#

These are key third-party platforms and tools I actively run, champion, and use to manage complex platforms:

• ⛵ Kluctl — Declarative Kubernetes Deployments. A highly advanced, multi-target deployment engine bridging raw manifests and Helm.
• 🦅 NetBird — Zero-Trust Peer-to-Peer Mesh Networks. Secure WireGuard® peer-to-peer overlay mesh tunnels.
• 🔑 gopass — The Standard Team Password Manager. CLI-based secret manager designed for DevOps environments.
• 🌐 git-workspace — Multi-Repo Sync & Workspace Orchestrator. Command-line utility to synchronize multiple Git repositories.
• 🔐 AGE — Simple, Secure File Encryption. Lightweight, secure, and modern encryption alternative to legacy GPG.
• 🏠 Chezmoi — Cross-Platform Dotfiles Manager. Git-backed dotfiles manager for cross-platform workstations.
• 🏃 Justfile (Just) — Modern High-Speed Command Runner. A clean, productive task executor replacing complex Makefiles.
• 🌌 AstroNvim & Neovim — Extensible Terminal-Based IDE. Aesthetic, highly pre-configured IDE layer for Neovim.