Viktor Godard

Site Reliability Engineer, Computer Software

Hello, I'm Viktor Godard. I specialize in enhancing the reliability, availability, and observability of software systems at scale.

Viktor Godard's Bio:

Viktor Godard, a Site Reliability Engineer, focuses on maximizing large systems stability, availability, and reliability. He demonstrates proficiency in Linux and AWS, utilizing observability platforms like DataDog and Elastic Stack to implement proactive monitoring and performance optimization. Viktor streamlines infrastructure management and deployment through automation, employing tools such as Ansible, Puppet, Terraform, and GitLab pipelines to reduce manual intervention and enforce compliance. He is a strong advocate for Agile methodologies, ensuring iterative improvements and seamless integration with business goals. Viktor's comprehensive technical skills and dedication to innovation contribute significantly to achieving operational excellence.

Viktor Godard's Experience:

  • Site Reliability Engineer at USAA

    October 2019 - Present | Phoenix AZ

  • Advanced Services Linux Engineer at OneNeck.com (a TDS.com company)

    November 2016 - November 2018 | Madison WI

    Collaborated with multiple customers on application updates and migrations. Systems were highly available and critical to customer success. In conjunction with the Security team, created hardening scripts for Linux Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, AIX, Solaris and HP-UX. Worked with the DevOps and Linux/Unix Support teams to create automated installs for monitoring, backup, and patching software reducing the time for Linux server onboarding and management. Met weekly with the Linux/Unix team to review that the onboarding and decommissioning of application and database servers aligned with the needs of the customers. Worked closely with Project Managers and Service Delivery Managers to implement customized Infrastructure solutions on time and within budget. Documented processes and integrated automation in accordance to ITIL applications and procedures. Used Cherwell, Nagios, Git, Bash, Netbackup, mediaWiki.

  • DevOps Engineer at Lands’ End, Inc.

    July 2014 - October 2016 | Dodgeville WI

    Implemented and administered Ansible Tower. Migrated configuration management of Lands’ End website infrastructure from Puppet to Ansible. Created Ansible Playbooks for configuration of Tomcat, Apache, Java, Solr, and landsend.com applications. Implemented and administered PagerDuty. Worked with on-call teams to integrate their monitoring applications with PagerDuty and to improve their incident resolution time. Worked with Developers to deploy their code to staging and production on biweekly sprints, participated in standups and sprint planning following Agile and Kanban methodologies. Used Splunk, Dynatrace, Nagios, Opswise, Git, Stash, Bamboo, Jira, Confluence, HipChat.

  • DevOps Engineer at StudyBlue

    January 2013 - June 2014 | San Francisco, CA

    Migrated configuration management from Chef to Ansible to streamline deployments and for better integration with Amazon Cloud Formation and Auto Scaling. Created PCI compliant and EC2 optimized Linux CentOS 6.4 base AMI (Amazon Master Image). Created Ansible Playbooks for configuration of ElasticSearch, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Tomcat, LogStash, Kibana, Apache, and Java. Administered and used Git, Bamboo, Jira, Confluence, HipChat, StackDriver, PagerDuty, PassPack, Google productivity tools for Startups (eMail, Calendar, Hangouts, Documents, Sites, User Groups). Test drove new technologies for development viability and reported findings to QA and Development teams. New technologies tested: Ubuntu for Mobile, Firefox OS, Oculus Rift, and Google Glass.

  • Systems Engineer at Affine Systems Inc.

    May 2012 - December 2012 | San Francisco, CA

    Analyzed and documented Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure and created architecture diagrams. Created PCI compliant Linux Ubuntu 12.04 AMI. Recommended best strategy to reduce cost by using Reserved and Spot EC2 instances. Selected and implemented Chef as the main configuration management application for EC2 instances. Standardized and streamlined Nagios and Centreon monitoring alerts.

  • Sr Linux Engineer at Safeway Inc.

    November 2005 - May 2012 | Walnut Creek, CA

    Designed and implemented Linux Red Hat High Availability Cluster now running at 1800 Safeway stores in US and Canada. Implemented virtualization and storage replication. Integrated Safeway and vendor applications in Linux - Apache - PostgreSQL - PHP (LAPP) KVM virtual servers. Scripted Cluster provisioning and activation using DHCP/PXE, Linux repository, kickstart, bash, and expect. Scripted solution for Cluster updates, monitoring and management. Scripted and integrated PCI compliant Security hardening for cluster nodes and virtual servers. Documented HA Cluster architecture, design, implementation, support, and road map. Created documentation cross referencing Linux Red Hat, Linux SuSE, AIX, and Solaris systems administration procedures and PCI compliance configuration.

  • Sr Systems Engineer at rs-unix

    September 2004 - November 2005 | San Francisco, CA

    Designed and implemented Linux SuSE backend servers installed at all Safeway retail stores. Migrated Safeway and vendor applications from SCO Unix and Windows to Linux stack.

Viktor Godard's Education:

  • CETI University, GDL MX

    Concentration: Electronics Engineering & Computer Science

  • CETPAC Polytechnic, GDL MX

    Concentration: Software Development & Systems Engineering

Viktor Godard's Interests & Activities:

Viktor Godard is a tech enthusiast who's really excited about how new technologies are changing things. He's particularly interested in Machine Learning, AI, and LLMs - he thinks they're going to shake up a lot of industries. He's also curious about Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) and how they could change how we interact with machines, and he keeps an eye on RISC-V architecture and its potential for future computers. He's a big fan of space exploration and follows what NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX are doing. Plus, he's fascinated by Quantum Computing and its potential to impact lots of different fields. Viktor's always eager to learn and explore new ideas, which makes him a valuable person to have around in the fast-moving world of tech.