// cloud · platform · leadership

I build platforms that
teams move fast on.

20+ years designing infrastructure at scale — from private CDNs serving millions to Kubernetes platforms powering FinTech and Web3. I also coach the humans behind the systems.

Let's talk What I do
// services

How I can help

Whether you're scaling cloud infrastructure, building a platform team, or navigating the human side of engineering — I've been there.

☁

Cloud & Platform Engineering

Architecture review, multi-account AWS design, Kubernetes operations, cost optimisation, migration planning. From startup to enterprise scale.

AWSEKSTerraformHelmDocker
⚙

DevOps & DevSecOps

CI/CD platform design, release automation, security scanning integration, IaC governance, SDLC tooling strategy. Built for teams that ship fast and safe.

GitLab CIGitHub ActionsCheckovOPATrivy
🔒

Networking & Security

Network architecture, BGP, VPN, DNS, CDN, WAF/Shield, firewall integration, SIEM. Deep experience from datacenter to cloud-native.

BGPWAFShieldRoute53Elastic SIEM
🤖

AI-Augmented Engineering

Accelerate delivery with AI tooling. Custom Kiro Powers, steering files, GitLab Duo integration. I turned a months-long migration into weeks.

KiroAmazon QGitLab DuoAutomation
🎯

Technical Leadership Coaching

EMCC accredited coach. I work with tech leads, engineering managers and teams on psychological safety, ownership, feedback and sustainable performance.

EMCC1:1 CoachingTeam DynamicsLeadership
🚀

Fractional / Advisory

Part-time CTO, platform advisor, or technical due diligence for startups, scale-ups and investors. Crypto, Web3 and traditional — I speak both languages.

FinTechWeb3StartupsDue Diligence
// about

The short version

I'm Mauricio Kilikrates — a cloud and platform engineer with 20+ years of experience, an accredited coach, and someone who genuinely believes that great infrastructure is built by great teams.

I've designed private CDNs delivering streaming to millions of users, operated Kubernetes platforms for FinTech and Web3, led enterprise GitHub migrations across 80,000+ repositories, and worked at AWS helping customers worldwide with networking and security.

Along the way, I invested in understanding the human side of engineering. I hold an MSc in Leadership from UCD Smurfit, an Executive MBA, and I'm an EMCC accredited coach. I use all of it — the technical depth and the coaching skills — in everything I do.

Based in Portugal. Brazilian and Italian dual nationality (EU citizen). I work remotely with teams across Europe and beyond.

🎓

MSc Leadership Management Practice

UCD Michael Smurfit

🤝

EMCC Accredited Coach

Individual Practitioner level

🏆

Executive MBA

COPPEAD / UFRJ

🌐

Advanced Global Leadership

San José State University

🏅

Cisco Innovation Award 2010

Best Project of the Year — Datacenter

// track record

Where I've built things

From media platforms serving millions to crypto custody infrastructure — a thread of scale, reliability and security runs through it all.

2026 — present

Senior Infrastructure Engineer

Workato — Integration & Automation

Multi-account AWS, EKS, Terraform/Atlantis, SDLC, GitHub Actions, VictoriaMetrics/Quickwit/Grafana, building AI-agents and skills automation with Cursor and Claude.

2025 — 2026

Senior DevOps Engineer

Finoa — FinTech / Crypto Custody

Multi-account AWS, EKS, Terraform/Terragrunt, GitLab CI platform, Myra-to-CloudFront/Shield migration, Elastic SIEM, cost optimisation saving thousands per day, AI-assisted automation with Kiro.

2024

Senior Cloud Engineer

TripAdvisor — Travel Tech

AWS infrastructure via CDK/Terraform, EKS, reusable constructs and SDLC patterns, GitHub Actions, Prometheus/Grafana.

2022 — 2024

Principal Cloud Engineer DevOps

Fidelity Investments — Financial Services

Tech lead of platform team supporting 20,000+ developers, 80,000+ repos. GitHub Enterprise migration, serverless data pipelines, policy enforcement at enterprise scale.

2019 — 2022

Cloud Support Engineer

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Architecture guidance for customers worldwide — networking, security, containers. Internal serverless tool development. The place where I learned how AWS really works under the hood.

2006 — 2019

IT Manager / Coordinator / Engineer

Globo — Brazil's largest media group

Built one of Brazil's largest private CDNs (+2 Tbps, BGP, international IXs). Created InfoSec team. Led multi-cloud initiative. Network-API orchestrating physical and virtual infrastructure. Led company merger integration.

1990 — 2006

Network Admin / Business Owner / Consultant

UOL, InfoHelp, Various

Where it all started — datacenter operations, network engineering, building a business from scratch. The foundation for everything that came after.

// writing

Deep Dives

Where I share what I learn — from deep technical dives into Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure to experiments combining AI with coaching and human development.

🗃

OpenTofu State Management: From Drift to Migration

article

A hands-on lab covering OpenTofu state management — detecting drift, moving resources, importing existing infrastructure, and migrating state backends.

OpenTofuIaCStateMigration
Read on LinkedIn
🧠

When Nerd Meets Coach

article

How I combined AI tooling with coaching techniques to help people rediscover their own value — bridging technology and human development.

AICoachingLeadershipCareer
Read on LinkedIn
🛡

Kubernetes Security: From Network to Workload

4-part series

mTLS with service mesh, policy-as-code with Kyverno, supply chain security, and runtime detection with Tetragon — a full security posture for K8s.

mTLSKyvernoCosignTetragon
Part 1: mTLS & Workload Identity Part 2: Policy-as-Code with Kyverno Part 3: Supply Chain Security Part 4: Runtime Detection with Tetragon
📈

Kubernetes Observability with Grafana Stack

4-part series

Full observability stack from scratch — Prometheus for metrics, Loki for logs, Tempo for traces, all tied together with Grafana dashboards.

PrometheusGrafanaLokiTempo
Part 1: Setting Up the Stack Part 2: Metrics with Prometheus Part 3: Logs with Loki Part 4: Traces with Tempo
🔌

Kubernetes Networking Demystified

3-part series

From lab setup to network policies to what happens under the hood — CNI, iptables, kube-proxy and how packets actually flow in a cluster.

CNINetwork Policieskube-proxyiptables
Part 1: Setting Up the Lab Part 2: Network Policies in Practice Part 3: Under the Hood
// coaching

The human side of engineering

Great platforms are built by teams that feel safe to experiment, own their work, and give honest feedback. I help make that happen.

For Tech Leaders

1:1 coaching for engineering managers, tech leads and CTOs navigating the transition from individual contributor to leader. We work on communication, delegation, feedback, and finding your leadership style — without losing your technical edge.

For Teams

Team coaching focused on psychological safety, ownership, on-call culture, and sustainable performance. I've led teams through company mergers, platform migrations and cultural shifts. I know what healthy engineering teams look like — and how to get there.

My Approach

I'm an EMCC accredited coach with an MSc in Leadership (including a diploma in Executive Coaching). My coaching is grounded in behavioural science, but I keep it practical. I've been in the trenches — I understand the pressures, the on-call fatigue, the politics. That context matters.

Who I Work With

Engineers becoming leaders. Leaders becoming better. Teams in traditional enterprise, startups, FinTech, crypto and Web3. If you're building something and want to build it well — both the technology and the culture — let's talk.

// let's connect

Start a conversation

Whether you need a cloud architecture review, a DevOps strategy, someone to coach your engineering leaders, or just want to exchange ideas — I'd love to hear from you.

I'm available for consulting engagements, coaching contracts, advisory roles and fractional work. Based in Portugal, working remotely across Europe and beyond.

👥 LinkedIn 💻 GitHub