Gideon Maree
Gideon Maree
Developer

GIDEON MAREE

PLATFORM ENGINEER

 

In today’s fast-paced tech landscape, organizations constantly grapple with scaling complex infrastructure while keeping developer velocity high and operations lean. As a seasoned platform engineer specializing in GitOps and Kubernetes, I thrive on turning these intricate challenges into elegant, forward-thinking solutions.

I’m an Innovator at heart — energized by tough, ambiguous problems that demand creative, outside-the-box thinking. I love designing internal developer platforms that don’t just solve today’s pain points, but anticipate tomorrow’s needs. By combining deep technical insight with visionary thinking, I help teams move faster, reduce toil, and ship with confidence through highly automated, resilient platforms.

My journey began in software development in 2005, evolving into platform engineering and cloud infrastructure leadership by 2016. Over the years, I’ve built a track record of simplifying complex systems, slashing operational overhead, and creating scalable foundations that drive real business impact.

What truly sets me apart is my ability to sustain intense focus and creative problem-solving even under constraints. Despite being almost completely blind (with only 10% vision), I’ve mastered working efficiently with text-to-speech and magnification tools — a reality that has sharpened my ability to think abstractly, model systems mentally, and innovate without limits. As I like to say: I literally do Kubernetes and cloud with my eyes closed.

I’m at my best when given the space to explore unconventional ideas, challenge assumptions, and craft solutions that others might overlook. If you’re looking for a visionary platform engineer who combines deep expertise with genuine creativity and resilience, I’d love to connect.

Feel free to reach out or explore my work. Let’s build something exceptional together.

 
 
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SKILL
SET

 

As a Platform Engineer specialising in Internal Developer Platforms (IDPs), I focus on building modern, developer-centric platforms grounded in GitOps and self-service principles. I believe developers should be able to provision and manage their own infrastructure through simple, secure, and well-guarded APIs, which accelerates delivery while maintaining control and compliance. To achieve this, I specialise in Kubernetes, Crossplane, and Argo CD — leveraging these technologies to create scalable, automated, and self-service platforms that meet the demands of today’s fast-moving engineering organisations.

 
 

PRIMARY
MAIN SKILLS

Kubernetes,
Argo CD,
Crossplane,
AWS,
Go

 

SECONDARY
SUPLIMENTARY

Terraform,
Java,
Distributed systems

 

OTHER
FAMILIAR WITH

Google Cloud,
Databases and SQL

WORK
EXPERIENCE

 

AUG ’21 -
CURRENT

MENDIX
SENIOR PLATFORM ENGINEER

At Mendix, I design and evolve a GitOps-based internal developer platform that enables engineering teams to deploy and manage applications seamlessly in the cloud.

I took a leading role in the design and delivery of a self-service platform using ArgoCD and Crossplane. Now adopted by dozens of teams, it empowers autonomous cloud infrastructure management with strong consistency and governance.

Currently, I am building a next-generation Crossplane platform to run thousands of customer applications. This large-scale multi-tenant system manages databases and storage layers, pushing the boundaries of reliable, secure infrastructure at enterprise scale.

Kubernetes · ArgoCD · Crossplane · AWS · Go

 
 

APR ’19 -
JUL ’21

BOL.COM
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER

At bol.com, I was responsible for developing and maintaining the organization’s cloud messaging infrastructure, built on GCP Pub/Sub and Kubernetes.






Java · Kubernetes · Google Cloud Platform

 
 
 

JUN ’14 -
MAR ’19

ENTERSEKT
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

At Entersekt, I was responsible for designing and developing highly available, clustered applications in the online banking and payments space.

Docker, Java, Linux, Nginx, PKI, Kubernetes, ArgoCD

 

SEP ’12 -
MAY ’14

NETELEK
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

At Netelek, I was responsible for developing rich, responsive Java-based business applications for the utilities industry.

Java, MSSQL, Linux

 

DEC ’10 -
SEP ’12

SIXTHIRTY
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

At SixThirty, my own freelance software consultancy, I developed rich, web-based Java business applications for various clients.

Java, Java EE, SOAP, Rest, MySQL, Linux

 
 
 
 
 
 

OCT ’09 -
DEC ’10

MEMORPHIC
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

At Memorphic, I was responsible for developing rich internet applications with a Java backend.

Java, Postgresql, Linux

 

MAR ’06 -
OCT ’09

PREZENCE
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

At Prezence, I developed online marketing, customer relations, and profiling tools in the entertainment and advertising sectors.

PHP, MySQL, MSSQL, Java, Linux

 

JAN ’05 -
FEB ’06

SILICON OVERDRIVE
JR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

At Silicon Overdrive, where I started my career, I focused on software development, database design, and web application development.

PHP, MySQL, MSSQL, Linux

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