I'm a bridge builder, connecting development teams with operational excellence. As a Software Engineer and DevOps specialist, I inherently drive architectural exploration, refining approaches to guide organizations in digital transformation. I actively guide peers through mentorship, cross-team collaboration, and knowledge sharing, fostering a culture of ownership and technical excellence. My passion lies in creating cohesive systems and enabling teams to deliver with confidence.

Skills

Cloud & IaC & O11y

  • AWS
  • Kubernetes (EKS, Helm, Kustomize)
  • Terraform
  • Containerization (Docker, Podman)
  • SRE (Prometheus, Grafana, SLOs, OTel)

CI/CD & Automation

  • Argo (CD, Events, Workflows)
  • GitHub Actions
  • Jenkins
  • Ansible

Programming Languages

  • Python
  • Golang
  • TypeScript
  • Java

Databases

  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • Flyway
  • Liquibase

Development & Collaboration Tools

  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Atlassian
  • OpsLevel

Operating Systems

  • Linux(Alma, CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu)

Work Experience (5)

Sep 2024 - Current
Senior Developer, DevOps
Hootsuite
 Hasselt, BE https://www.hootsuite.com/
DevOps/Architecture
  • Refined internal processes to improve continuous delivery and developer experience.
  • Provided architectural insights across backend, operations, CI/CD, and AWS infrastructure, offering fresh perspectives that shaped design discussions and platform decisions.
  • Became a trusted point of contact for observability topics, guiding multiple teams in adopting OpenTelemetry and aligning them with platform standards.
  • Supported the CI/CD team with lessons learned from prior experience, helping them improve workflows, validate decisions, and navigate trade-offs.
  • Actively participated in architecture knowledge-sharing sessions, contributing insights and fostering alignment between Platform, SRE, and product engineering teams.
  • Introduced and helped develop tools to improve setup, clarity, documentation quality, and shared understanding; inspired others to adopt similar practices.
  • Helped resolve tensions with acquired teams by clarifying technical benefits, validating their concerns, and guiding them toward a smooth migration onto the main cloud stack.
  • Leveraged modern developer tools to create clear diagrams, platform insights, and decision support, improving team understanding and motivating stronger documentation practices across the org.
Jun 2020 - Aug 2024
Senior Developer
TrendMiner
 Hasselt, BE https://www.trendminer.com/
Backend/DevOps/Architecture
  • Led the adoption of GitOps for a modern CI/CD setup
  • Improved internal processes: release management, third-party licensing, escrow kit, and software delivery building blocks
  • Advocated for API-first development, GitOps, and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)
  • Helped evolve the platform towards a cloud-native architecture
  • Onboarded and mentored 3 DevOps team members, guiding them through CI/CD practices, operational processes, and DevOps culture
  • Facilitated cross-team technical discussions, architectural reviews, and knowledge-sharing sessions
  • Coached peers on infrastructure best practices and CI/CD improvements, enabling smoother deployments and developer productivity
Aug 2019 - Jun 2020
Senior Developer
Hippovibe
 Tielt-Winge, BE https://hippovibe.com/
Backend/DevOps/Architecture
  • Migrated to multi-tenant system
Oct 2016 - Aug 2019
Solution Engineer
ACA IT-Solutions
 Hasselt, BE
Backend/Frontend/DevOps
Jan 2015 - Oct 2016
Developer
Tradelec International NV
 Genk, BE https://www.intouch.be/
Backend/Frontend
  • Enhance the Intouch product with an integrator backend where modules per integration could be easily maintained.

Projects (8)

Spearhead OpenTelemetry Tailsampling setup
Aug 2025 - Current
 https://hootsuite.com/
  • Kubernetes
  • GitOps
Architect a setup wherein all teams can easily onboard and use OpenTelemetry Tailsampling along with a long term process plan.
Hootsuite's Cluster Provisioning and Autoscaling
Jan 2025 - Current
 https://hootsuite.com/
  • AWS
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • CNCF
  • ArgoCD
  • GitOps
  • Karpenter
  • Golang
Innovate the cluster bootstrapping, the cutover process, and autoscaling. Co-design both Day-Zero, Day-One and Day-Two Operations
Next increments for Hootsuite's Observability Stack
Sep 2024 - Current
 https://hootsuite.com/
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana
  • SLOs
  • Automation
  • Golang
Proactive review Production Operations and Delivery's platform Service Level Objectives. Extend on capabilities via testing and generation tooling for the GitOps driven Observability space
TrendMiner Platform
Jun 2020 - Aug 2024
 https://www.trendminer.com/
  • Java
  • Spring Framework
  • Python
  • Golang
  • Shell Scripting
  • CI/CD
  • GitOps
  • ArgoCD
  • Docker
  • Ansible
  • Kubernetes
  • Helm
Enhancing the application landscape in growing towards a more cloud native way. Implementing true CI/CD flows to allow for a developer friendly experience guarding critical aspects.
  • Certified Kubernetes Application Developer
  • CI/CD modernization, reducing deployment times by 40%
  • GitOps enrolment
  • Led initiatives around Golang proficiency within the team
  • Leading developer experience improvements
  • Platform Architectural Improvements
  • Release Management
Hippovibe Platform
Aug 2019 - Jun 2020
 https://hippovibe.com/
  • Java
  • Spring Framework
  • Shell Scripting
  • AWS
  • FireBase
  • Docker
  • Migrations
Providing a more resilient scalable platform. Making use of cloud platforms to ensure a stable user experience.
  • Modernization Database approach
IDEWE Platform
Oct 2016 - Aug 2019
 https://www.idewe.be/
  • Java
  • Spring Framework
  • Docker
  • Angular
Implementating a variety of features across the IDEWE platforms. Platforms that aid the professionals at IDEWE with their daily tasks planning workplace injury prevention classes, doctor's visits etc. Calculating risks and managing them to provide general safety on the work premises, ensuring that their customers are compliant with the law.
  • Migrated backend services from DropWizard to Spring Boot, improving performance and maintainability, and migrated frontend from AngularJS to Angular, enhancing user experience
Intouch-Backoffice, Intouch-Integrator and Intouch-Permits
Jun 2015 - Oct 2016
 https://www.intouch.be/en/
  • Java
  • Spring Framework
  • Apache Camel
  • MySQL
  • Docker
Third-party integrations for the Intouch product and associated feature developent
  • Integrated with: https://www.geosparc.com/en/about-geosparc
  • Integrated with: https://www.skidata.com/en-us/
  • Integrated with: https://overheid.vlaanderen.be/informatie-vlaanderen/producten-diensten/gegevensdelingsplatform-magda
Volume Printing Gateway Service
Jan 2015 - Jun 2015
 https://bpostgroup.com/who-we-are/our-entities/speos
  • Java
  • Spring Framework
  • Apache Camel
  • Docker
  • Linux
  • SFTP
Developed a printing service integration with Speos (BPost) to enable automated, high-volume printing of physical documents, streamlining document delivery for Intouch platform users.
  • Enhanced the Intouch platform to enable geographically optimized printing, reducing document delivery times.

Education (2)

2012 - 2014
Transitionprogram
 Computer Science
KU Leuven
2009 - 2012
Professional Bachelor
 Applied Informatics
XIOS Hogeschool Limburg (now PXL)

Certificates

2024-03-16
Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) ID: LF-rskg4xkkou
Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)

Languages

Dutch

Native Speaker

English

Fluent

French

Intermediate

German

Intermediate

Interests

Open Source

Development Experience

System Design

Software Architecture

Cloud Native Computing Foundation

References

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Michiel at Hootsuite. As colleagues on the DevOps team, we tackled complex projects, including defining our platform SLOs and optimizing our Kubernetes clusters cutover process. Michiel is an exceptionally strong engineer. He is proactive, dives deep into technical challenges, and consistently brings innovative ideas for new tools to the table. He was a key driver in improving our platform's reliability and efficiency. He's a strong contributor and a great team player. I highly recommend him.
Luca Poddigue, Senior Software Engineer DevOps - Hootsuite
Working with Michiel was a blast, he is really skilled and go far beyond the ask by creating blog posts, documentation and trying to push things for change. I learned a ton working besides Michiel and hope to have another opportunity to work together. Wish you well and good luck on your new adventure!
Jef Rubert, Senior Developer Devops II - Hootsuite
I was Michiel's direct manager during his time at Hootsuite and was constantly impressed by his abilities and insights. In the year that we worked together, he was able to not only onboard onto our tech stack and start meaningfully contributing far ahead of my expectations, but he spearheaded our rollout of OTel for distributed tracing despite being brand-new to most of the related tooling. To me this demonstrates his ability to learn and work with new tools & technologies, which I believe is an essential skill for anyone in the space. In my opinion, Michiel would be an excellent addition to any DevOps/SRE/Platform Engineering team
Jay Mikhail, Manager DevOps - Hootsuite
I worked with Michiel during his time at Hootsuite and was consistently impressed by his technical depth and fresh thinking. He brought great ideas to the domains I was working on and has a real knack for writing clear, thoughtful proposals which move things forward. Michiel is self-driven and brings the kind of energy and expertise that genuinely makes teams better.
Jordan Beja, Staff Developer DevOps - Hootsuite
Working with Michiel has shown me how skilled he is at tackling complex technical topics and explaining them in a way that’s easy for everyone to grasp. He’s a natural communicator, and his presentations are always engaging, insightful, and impressive.
Gilles Leenders, DevOps Engineer - Hootsuite
Michiel is one of those engineers who brings both strong technical skills and genuine enthusiasm to every project. He is highly motivated, proactive, and always full of creative ideas to improve team efficiency and product quality. Working with him was inspiring, and I can confidently say any company would benefit greatly from having Michiel on board.
Elia Bracci, Senior Developer DevOps - Hootsuite
I have worked with Michiel for the last year, and over that time I was always impressed by how willing he was to delve into the details of complex problems. Michiel always offered new perspectives and possible solutions to active challenges while searching out the best practice approach. Michiel is a great resource to bounce ideas off of, and to investigate new opportunities that help you keep up to date and informed of the direction in industry. Definitely a huge asset to any team.
Eliot Aharon, Staff Developer DevOps - Hootsuite
I worked with Michiel at TrendMiner for a brief period. He joined the operations team to gain more experience in managing cloud resources, Kubernetes and on-premise infrastructure. Having a strong background in software architecture and development made him an essential person in technical discussions. He's a real team player and will always go the extra mile if you need him.
Jeffrey Vandenborne, SRE and Operations Engineer - TrendMiner
I worked in the same team for half a year and in closely related teams for another year with Michiel. Always curious and enthusiastic about new technologies he's someone who you can rely on when you need someone to drive innovation. When you have questions he's there to help you out, explaining thing with just the right level of complexity. I honestly love to work with colleagues like Michiel, who give you motivation to improve yourself. Because there is a difference between doing a job and doing a job right.
Melvin Hulsmans, Self Employed Software Engineer - TrendMiner
I worked with Michiel for his last year at the Trendminer. I appreciate his reaction speed, strong chain thinking and always is a good mood person. It was a pleasure to solve issues together with him.
Pavel Pliachystsik, Software Engineer - TrendMiner