James Wynn
Welcome!
I’m a technical leader and engineer with over two decades of experience building high-performance, distributed systems on Kubernetes and cloud environments. I excel in fast-paced environments where I can apply my skills in systems architecture, modern DevOps practices, and team leadership.
I’ve managed cross-functional, full-stack DevOps teams and implemented modern engineering practices like GitOps, OpenTelemetry, and modular build systems to increase developer efficiency. I’ve also led cloud migrations (both to and from), built internal tooling for deployment and report pipelines, and decommissioned large-scale legacy systems after successful client migrations.
Outside of work, I maintain a personal GitOps-powered Kubernetes cluster spanning multiple physical servers, and contribute to various FOSS projects focusing on networking, privacy, and cloud-native tools. I’m the kind of engineer who reads RFCs for fun and spins up clustered services on bare metal because it helps me better understand the systems I work with. I thrive on complex technical challenges, troubleshooting intricate issues, and learning how new technologies can improve systems and processes.
Skills & Expertise
- Java
- Python
- JavaScript
- Go
- Rust
- C/C++
- C#/.NET
- OpenAPI
- OAuth2 / OIDC
- Azure
- AWS
- Docker
- Podman
- Kubernetes
- k3s
- k3d
- PostgreSQL
- MariaDB
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle
- Redis
- CI/CD
- GitOps (FluxCD)
- GitHub Actions
- Azure DevOps
- Spring/Spring Boot
- Gradle
- Custom Gradle Plugins
- Maven
- OpenTelementry
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- Tempo
- Loki
- Splunk
Projects
Portfolio reconciliation system for Ghostfolio. Supports pulling portfolios from SimpleFIN, and real estate data from Rapid API.
A FluxCD GitOps powered Kubernetes cluster. It spans 5 machines and hosts over 90 services powering my home network.
Notable Features:
- FluxCD GitOps - Automates deployment reconciliation
- External Secrets - Stores most sensitive information securely outside the repo
- SOPS - Stores remaining sensitive information within the repo
- Kured - Automated kubernetes upgrades
- Prometheus/Grafana Stack - Monitoring and alerting
- Cloudflare Tunnels - Obfuscation of home IP
Notable Deployments
- Authentik - SSO Platform
- CloudNativePG - PostgreSQL cluster management operator
- Dragonfly - Redis cluster management operator
- Forgejo - Locally hosted GitHub alternative
- GoToSocial - ActivityPub social network
- NextCloud - Locally hosted Cloud providing personal storage, document collaboration, shared calendars, messaging
- Home-Assistant - Cloud-free home automation platform
- Anubis - Anti-bot defense
Repo: https://forge.wynning.tech/james/home-ops/public
A Kubernetes External-DNS provider for AdGuard Home. It watches for services and ingresses and if it finds a matching annotation it creates appropriate DNS rewrite rules in AdGuard Home.
This was initially created for my home cluster which relied on AdGuard Home at the time. I have since migrated to another DNS solution, though not because of any deficiencies with this project.
Repo: https://github.com/jameswynn/external-dns-adguard
A simple cross-platform C++ library for monitoring changes in the filesystem. Useful for detecting new files being dropped, or changes to existing files.
Repo: https://github.com/jameswynn/simplefilewatcher
A 3D space shooter leveraging my Spark Game Engine.
Repo: https://forge.wynning.tech/james/junksterwing
A 3D game engine built atop FOSS technologies. It provides 3D graphics, sound, physics, scripting, hot-reloading of resources, and fast deserialization.
This was mostly a learning tool for exploring various facets of game engine design and largely informed many of my professional decisions at the time. Junkster Wing was the only game created on this engine.
Repo: https://forge.wynning.tech/james/junksterwing