Senior Infrastructure Specialist

Patrick Paul

Linux · Automation · Edge & IoT · Data Platforms

Open to selected roles and focused mandates

Practical infrastructure for connected operations.

I help small and mid-sized organizations solve focused technology challenges: stabilizing Linux platforms, automating operations, connecting equipment and data, and moving prototypes toward reliable operation.

What I bring

Senior judgment, hands-on delivery, and systems that remain understandable.

years of applied technical experience

For more than 20 years, I have supported research, data, and operational environments where reliability and adaptability matter. I work comfortably from infrastructure to integration, and from an initial technical assessment to documented implementation and operational handoff.

  • Linux and containers
  • Automation and CI/CD
  • Monitoring and data
  • Industrial IoT and edge
  • Research computing

Sectors and operating environments

Transferable skills, grounded in concrete needs.

I can apply the same infrastructure, data, automation, and prototyping skills across several sectors. Smart agriculture is a current focus, with practical opportunities from field instrumentation to computer-vision data preparation.

  • Industrial operations
  • Research and laboratories
  • Smart buildings
  • Data-intensive SMEs
See sectors and project examples

Selected work

Public, verifiable work connecting edge systems, data, and AI.

Collaborative R&D project

NRC-GAMMA

Core team member and co-author

NRC-GAMMA is a public benchmark dataset for automated gas-meter reading using computer vision. The project combined Raspberry Pi image capture, edge processing, dataset preparation, Amazon Mechanical Turk annotation, and systematic quality assurance.

Although developed for energy monitoring, the same field-capture, edge-processing, data-pipeline, and classifier-preparation pattern transfers directly to vision-assisted agriculture and industrial monitoring.
  • 28,883source images
  • 57,766cropped dial images
  • CC BY 4.0open dataset

Ways I can help

Focused technical work with a useful outcome.

I favour open standards, maintainable designs, and right-sized solutions. For a well-bounded problem, I can take ownership from assessment through implementation, documentation, and handoff.

Assess feasibility and reduce risk

Clarify the use case, evaluate integration paths, test critical assumptions, and produce an evidence-based implementation recommendation.

Automate and standardize

Replace repeat manual work with Ansible, scripts, CI/CD workflows, containers, and documented operating patterns.

Connect and process at the edge

Bridge equipment, sensors, applications, and data flows with Linux edge systems, MQTT, EdgeX Foundry, and open interfaces.

Observe and troubleshoot

Build useful visibility with Zabbix, Grafana, Prometheus, InfluxDB, Telegraf, logs, and fit-for-purpose dashboards.

Deliver a focused mandate

Own a clearly defined technical outcome, communicate progress directly, and leave behind maintainable systems and documentation.

Produce specialized 3D-printed parts

Move from a practical need to a printable design, prototype, specialized part, or small production run while considering materials, fit, and manufacturability.

Data sovereignty by design

Keep control without closing the door to cloud services.

Not every workload belongs in the cloud, and not every workload should stay isolated on-site. I help shape local, edge, hybrid, or cloud-connected architectures around the organization’s operational needs, risk tolerance, connectivity, and intellectual property.

The objective is choice: retain control of critical infrastructure and data while using cloud ingestion or managed services where they create real value.

Technical depth

Built across infrastructure, operations, and applied innovation.

Platforms

  • Ubuntu Linux
  • VMware
  • AWS & Azure
  • Research computing
  • Storage & backup

Delivery

  • Ansible
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Bash & Python
  • Docker · Podman · Apptainer
  • Git

Connected systems

  • EdgeX Foundry & MQTT
  • Edge processing
  • Raspberry Pi & microcontrollers
  • Home automation
  • Evaluated: Node-RED · Losant · Apache NiFi

Visibility & data

  • Zabbix
  • Grafana
  • Prometheus
  • InfluxDB & Telegraf
  • Power BI

Applied exploration

Curiosity that stays close to real systems.

My personal technical work includes industrial IoT patterns, home automation, microcontrollers, edge processing, 3D printing, and digital fabrication. I have also evaluated Node-RED, Losant, and Apache NiFi through prototype and exploratory work. These projects keep design, prototyping, troubleshooting, and physical constraints connected to day-to-day engineering practice.

Ways to work together

A senior technical contributor for the role or the problem.

About and contact

Bring me the technical challenge.

Learn more about how I work, what I am looking for, and how to reach me for a technical role or a focused mandate.