About

I like deep dives. The kind of problem where the only way through is to learn the system from the inside out: Linux internals, a protocol, a building's wiring, somebody else's twelve-year-old codebase, and then come back out with something that works.

What runs through everything I’ve done

A few things, really. Automation: turning manual operations work into code that can be reviewed and tested. Integration: taking systems that were built separately and making them work as one. And the diagnostic work that runs underneath both, when the only way through a problem is to learn the system from the inside out.

I’m currently CIAO at SPL , a systems integrator in Arnhem, where I also lead the R&D team. BlaLabs is my consultancy on the side, a way to take on focused work with companies whose problems I’m well-placed to help with.

Selected experience

• SPL, CIAO (2024-present) and Lead R&D Engineer (2023-present). Built out internal tooling and new services around Ansible-driven automation, monitoring, and service development. Now also runs the R&D team.
• ARGO-ICT, Advisor (2022-present), Head of Operations (2018-2022). A managed hosting provider focused on Linux servers and open-source private cloud. Ran service delivery and infrastructure reliability; now advising on infrastructure and operational strategy.
• Exonet, Senior DevOps Engineer / SRE (2021-2024). A managed hosting provider specialising in virtual Linux servers. Built and maintained several platforms and integrations as part of the DevOps team, including the Managed App Platform, with a focus on connecting the work of other departments together.
• team.blue / Breedband, Senior R&D / DevOps Engineer (2019-2022). Monitoring and management tooling for an ISP and managed services provider.
• BIT, NOC Engineer internship (2020). Built a virtual replica of an Arista access network for automated change testing with Ansible.
• Four Digits, Python Developer internship (2016). Added REST API functionality to a Plone-based support application and worked on a new React front-end.
• Earlier: Systems Engineer roles at Breedband, Aaldering ICT, HEXODO, and Freaze Hosting (2011-2019).

Skills & tooling

A non-exhaustive list of the tools I actually use, not just ones I’ve read about.

Signature skills

Large-scale deployments, High availability, Cross-system integration

Languages

Python, Bash, PHP, Go, C

Frameworks

Django, Laravel

Automation & CI/CD

Ansible, Terraform, GitLab, GitHub Actions

Debugging & reverse engineering

GDB, objdump, strace, Ghidra, Wireshark

Linux & virtualisation

Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL family), KVM, Proxmox, VMware, Docker, Kubernetes

Networking

BGP, OSPF, IPv6, DNS (BIND, PowerDNS), Arista EOS, Juniper Junos, PacketFence

Data & monitoring

PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Redis, Ceph, Prometheus, Grafana

Cloud platforms

OpenNebula, Google Cloud, Azure

Building automation

KNX, Modbus, MQTT, Home Assistant

Community

Serving on the board of NLNOG , the Dutch Network Operators Group, a non-profit community for network engineers in the Netherlands. Helping organise knowledge-sharing and supporting the initiatives that keep the community running.

Beyond the bio

I enjoy reverse engineering and hacking on things. Pulling apart software or hardware to see how it actually works, especially when nobody’s going to hand you the docs.

Find me on LinkedIn .