RAJASEKHAR GUNDALA

Professional Summary

IT Systems Specialist with 18+ years of experience with diverse skill set. Specialised in designing, implementing, and managing enterprise IT infrastructure (on-prem & cloud). OTel instrumentation specialist, Proven leadership in DevOps with security, automated CI/CD pipelines, System Administration, Virtualization (VMware), Observability Platform, Cloud Native Monitoring and SharePoint. Skilled at driving performance, uptime, and scalability while aligning technology initiatives with business goals. Well versed at enabling secure, scalable, and efficient systems using Azure, Kubernetes, Terraform, and advanced DevSecOps practices.

Core Competencies

DevSecOps Architecture – End-to-end design and execution of secure DevOps pipelines
CI/CD Pipeline Design – GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, AKS, ARM, Jenkins
Infrastructure as Code – Terraform, Helm, ARM templates, Bicep
Containerization – Docker, Kubernetes (AKS), Helm charts
Scripting & Automation – PowerShell, Bash, Python
Build Tools – Maven, Gradle
Security & Networking – Cloudflare, Microsoft Entra ID, OAUTH, Authelia
Quality & Vulnerability Tools – Checkov, SonarQube, Snyk, Aqua Security
SAST, SCA, DAST Integration – SonarQube, Snyk
Container Security – AKS, Trivy, ACR Tasks
Monitoring & Observability – OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Jaeger, ELK, ClickHouse, Zabbix
Agile Collaboration – Strong communication and cross-functional leadership

Professional Experience

IT Systems Specialist - DevOps

Foundever | Hyderabad (WFH) | Jul 2021 – Present

Implemented centralized logging and observability stack using OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Prometheus, and ELK, improving incident resolution by 45%.
Integrated ClickHouse and Greptime DB for scalable time-series data storage, optimizing metrics ingestion and retention.
Introduced Jaeger tracing for microservices to resolve performance bottlenecks and trace distributed transactions.
Implemented Zabbix monitoring infrastructure on docker environment and monitored the servers.
Architected and implemented DevSecOps workflows integrating SAST, SCA, and DAST tools, SonarQube, Trivy, and ZAP into Github Actions and Azure DevOps.
Introduced automated compliance and security checks into the CI/CD process, resulting in a 60% reduction in vulnerabilities.
Integrated Key Vault and secrets scanning tools across all CI/CD workflows to prevent credential leaks.
Managed containerized applications with AKS, implementing role-based access control (RBAC) and network policies for enhanced security.
Conducted security audits and vulnerability assessments, reducing potential threats by 30%.
Handled VMware infrastructure upgrades, lifecycle management (vSphere 7.x), and cross vCenter migrations.
Developed reusable Terraform modules for secure infrastructure provisioning and Azure Policy enforcement.
Migrated legacy VMs to containers with secure image pipelines and ACR scanning integrations.

Key Achievements:

Implemented unified observability environment using OTel Collector, Grafana, Jaeger, ClickHouse, ELK, improving incident resolution and cost reduction.
Handled cloud migration of 50+ apps with embedded DevSecOps and zero post-migration CVEs.
Implemented security gates in CI/CD, preventing >90% of critical vulnerabilities from reaching production.

Senior Infrastructure Engineer

Sitel India | Hyderabad (WFH) | Jun 2018 – Jul 2021

Managed Windows Server infrastructure (AD, DNS, GPO’s, Network Load balance) across multiple data centers.
Designed and executed backup and disaster recovery plans ensuring 99.99% data availability.
Trained and mentored junior admins in SharePoint troubleshooting, PowerShell scripting, and monitoring tools.
Administered VMware clusters and optimized resource utilization using vMotion, DRS.
Implemented internal search application using ELK Stack.
Maintained SharePoint farm operations and user access control.
Led a 24x7 support team handling server uptime and patch management (Bigfix).
Automated infrastructure deployments using PowerShell and Ansible.
Deployed centralized monitoring using Nagios, later transitioned to Prometheus + Grafana.
Led initiative to onboard DevOps tools (Github Actions, Drone CI, Jenkins) and defined configuration standards for repeatable deployments.

SharePoint Administrator & Systems Engineer

Sykes Enterprises India Pvt. Ltd | Bangalore & Hyderabad (WFH) | Jul 2013 – Jun 2018

Supported early SharePoint deployment and integration with AD.
Initiated infrastructure documentation and SharePoint-based IT knowledge base.
Performed installation, configuration, and maintenance of Windows servers.
Handled backup strategies, disaster recovery plans, and user support for enterprise applications.
Managed VMware ESXi environments and maintained daily operations and patching.
Supported end-users and handled critical on-call escalations.

Senior Engineer

Novozymes South Asia Pvt. Ltd | Bangalore | Sep 2010 – Jun 2013

Led SharePoint administration and internal portal development.
Managed virtualized SharePoint infrastructure and team coordination.
Migrated environments from SharePoint 2010 to 2013.

IT Engineer

CMC Limited | Hyderabad | Sep 2006 – Aug 2010

Delivered document management solutions and dashboards for Xerox Corporation.
Developed workflows, intranet portals, and configured enterprise search.
Conducted manual and system testing for Pharmacy Management System.

Education

Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering
Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur

Master of Technology in Electrical Engineering (Control & Instrumentation)
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), Allahabad

Projects & Highlights

Unified Observability Platform: Led a multi-cloud monitoring platform using OpenTelemetry, Grafana, Loki, Jaeger, Prometheus, and ClickHouse with 99.99% uptime.
OpenTelemetry Integration: Integrated OTEL collectors into .NET and Java apps for distributed tracing in hybrid cloud.
Incident Management Automation: Integrated alerts with PagerDuty and Slack, reducing response times by 30%.
Security Automation: Developed a fully automated secure deployment pipeline reducing deployment time by 40% and integrated tools like Trivy and Aqua into CI/CD pipelines for container image scanning.
TLS Infrastructure: Developed a fully automated TLS environment using Caddy Server.

Professional Strengths

Strong blend of legacy and cloud-native architecture experience
Proven track record in automation, security integration, and observability
Excellent cross-functional collaboration with developers, security, and ops teams
Fast learner and hands-on leader with a security-first mindset