Hello, I'm William Valdez
Platform Engineer | AI Systems & SaaS Founder | Site Reliability Engineering
I build and ship production systems. I founded CoGen, LLC where I lead development of DLX7 ShieldNet — an autonomous web integrity platform — and Terraform Academy, an IaC and cloud certification platform serving 10,000+ engineers. I also design and operate enterprise cloud infrastructure across AWS, Azure, and hybrid environments.
module "platform" {
source = "./modules/core"
version = "1.5.0"
# Multi-cloud infrastructure
providers = {
aws = "5.0"
azure = "3.0"
gcp = "5.0"
}
# Enterprise features
observability = true
zero_trust = true
dr_automation = true
security_hub = true
compliance = ["SOC2", "HIPAA"]
}Technical Skills
These are the tools and technologies I use daily to build and maintain reliable infrastructure. I enjoy working across the full stack, from cloud platforms to application code.
Cloud and Platform Engineering
- AWS (EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, RDS, S3, CloudFormation)
- Azure (AZ-104) with Entra ID, VMs, AKS
- GCP with Compute, GKE, Cloud Functions
- Terraform for Infrastructure as Code
- Multi-Cloud Architecture
- High Availability and Fault Tolerance
- Cloud Networking and VPC Design
APIs, Integrations and Events
- REST APIs and API Gateway
- Webhooks and Event-Driven Architecture
- JSON/HTTP Protocols
- OAuth2 and JWT Authentication
- SSO Integration
- Third-Party APIs (Stripe, Supabase)
- Cloud Services Integration
Data and Persistence Layer
- PostgreSQL and SQL Schema Design
- Relational Databases
- Row-Level Security (RLS)
- Data Modeling and Query Optimization
- State and Metadata Storage
- DynamoDB and NoSQL
- Database Replication and DR
DevOps, CI/CD and Automation
- Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions
- Jenkins CI/CD Pipelines
- GitOps Workflows
- Automated Deployments
- Environment Promotion (Dev/Prod)
- Secrets Management and Vault
- Infrastructure Automation
SRE and Production Operations
- System Reliability Engineering
- Prometheus, Grafana, Loki
- Monitoring and Alerting
- Incident Response and Root Cause Analysis
- Patch and Fleet Management (Automox)
- Backup and Disaster Recovery
- 99.9%+ Uptime SLAs
Security, Identity and Zero Trust
- IAM, RBAC, and Entitlement Management
- Active Directory and Azure AD Administration
- Security Attack Surface Analyzer
- Firewall Implementation and Patch Coordination
- SiteLock Website Security Monitoring
- Symantec Anti-Virus Deployment
- Security Hub and GuardDuty
GRC and Identity Governance
- Varonis and Sailpoint Administration
- Separation of Duties (SoD) Policies
- User Access Reviews and Certifications
- Risk Analysis and Remediation (RAR)
- Emergency Access Management (Firefighter)
- AD Security Groups Compliance Auditing
- Service Account Management and Auditing
AI and Application Engineering
- AI-Driven Applications
- Agentic Workflows
- OpenAI / Claude Integrations
- Mobile and Web App Development (iOS, Android, PWA)
- Real-Time Interactive UIs
- Subscription and Entitlement Systems
- MCP Server Integration
Networking and Systems
- TCP/IP and DNS
- Citrix Access Management
- Distributed File System (DFS)
- VPC Architecture
- Windows Systems Administration
- Transit Gateway and Peering
- Route53 and Global Accelerator
Certifications & Credentials
Projects I Have Built
From AI-native SDLC tooling to production cloud infrastructure — here are the projects I have built. Click a category to explore.
DLX7 ShieldNet
Autonomous production integrity platform for web and agent-driven systems. Cryptographic SHA-256 DNA snapshots capture your verified DOM state. Real-time drift detection fires within seconds of unauthorized change. The auto-heal engine restores from verified snapshots without manual intervention. Free tools (Website Scanner, Secrets Scanner, Red Team Arena) drive a freemium acquisition funnel.
Key Features
- Cryptographic DNA snapshots — SHA-256 per protected element
- Autonomous healing restores to last verified state automatically
- AI Shield: ML threat detection, guardrail scanning, CVE search
- Edge security layer via Cloudflare Workers (rate limiting, bot filtering, geo-fencing)
- DLX7 Uptime: drift-correlated healing with auto VCS pull requests
- Free Website Scanner (9-category scoring, PCI-DSS/HIPAA compliance mapping)
Terraform Academy
Production IaC and cloud certification learning platform serving 10,000+ engineers. 250+ interactive labs, 12+ competitive training modes (PvP IaC Arena, Drift Detective, Tournament Mode, VS Challenge), AI coaching engine, and structured cert paths for HashiCorp Terraform, AWS, Azure, GCP, and Docker. Core engine open-sourced under MIT (terraform-academy-oss).
Key Features
- 250+ interactive labs with real infrastructure simulation
- AI coaching engine — diagnoses skill gaps and guides cert paths
- PvP IaC Arena, Tournament Mode, Drift Detective, VS Challenge
- 5 certification tracks: HashiCorp, AWS, Azure, GCP, Docker
- Full gamification: XP, streak tracking, leaderboards, achievements
- Works as a PWA — no install required, works offline
AI SDLC Transformation Toolkit
Maturity assessment and roadmap generator for enterprises adopting AI-assisted development. Measures readiness across 8 dimensions and produces phased transformation plans with ROI projections.
Key Features
- 8-dimension maturity assessment
- 4-phase transformation roadmap
- ROI calculator with productivity multipliers
- Copilot rollout playbook
Agentic Workflow Engine
Multi-agent pipeline for automated code review, test generation, and PR analysis. Agents coordinate through an orchestrator with configurable risk thresholds and merge recommendations.
Key Features
- Multi-agent orchestrator pipeline
- Code review agent with LLM + rules
- Test generation for Python & TypeScript
- Multi-provider LLM gateway with cost tracking
Copilot Metrics Dashboard
Executive dashboard measuring GitHub Copilot adoption, developer productivity KPIs, and AI tool ROI. Collects data from GitHub APIs and generates reports with trend analysis.
Key Features
- GitHub Copilot usage collection
- Productivity trend analysis
- ROI engine with cost breakdowns
- Executive report generation
Prompt Engineering Framework
Enterprise toolkit for standardizing LLM interactions with parameterized templates, injection detection, PII filtering, and automated quality scoring across prompt libraries.
Key Features
- Parameterized Jinja2 prompt templates
- Prompt injection detection
- PII filtering and redaction
- Automated quality scoring (5 dimensions)
Plus more projects including AWS Cost Optimizer, Instance Scheduler, Server Tagging Module, Sprint Pulse, Homeschool Planner, and Quantum Viper Game.
View All ProjectsProfessional Experience
I have spent over a decade building and running infrastructure for enterprise organizations. Here is a bit about my journey and what drives me.
Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure
I have spent over a decade building and running cloud systems for large organizations. My focus has always been on creating infrastructure that stays up when it matters most.
Identity and Access Management
I administer Active Directory, Azure AD, and Entra ID across multiple domains. I manage user identities, roles, service accounts, and access privileges while ensuring seamless integration with on-premises AD.
Security and Compliance
I run Security Attack Surface Analyzer on new implementations, audit AD Security Groups for compliance, and work with security teams on firewall patches and policy enforcement.
Platform Leadership
I lead platform work across both on-premises and cloud environments. I work closely with security, compliance, virtualization, and networking teams.
Career Timeline
Lead Developer — CoGen, LLC
I founded CoGen, LLC and lead all product development. I built and ship two live SaaS platforms: DLX7 ShieldNet, an autonomous web integrity and security platform, and Terraform Academy, an IaC and cloud certification learning platform serving 10,000+ engineers with AI coaching, competitive PvP modes, and 250+ hands-on labs.
- DLX7 ShieldNet — cryptographic DOM integrity, AI Shield, autonomous healing (shieldnet.app)
- Terraform Academy — 10,000+ users, AI coach, 250+ labs, 12+ PvP game modes (terraformacademy.app)
- Full-stack product ownership: architecture, dev, infra, security, go-to-market
- AI integrations: LLM coaching engine, ML threat detection, RAG chatbot tooling
- Cloudflare Workers edge security layer and Supabase serverless backend
Site Reliability and Platform Engineer
I design and operate cloud infrastructure across AWS, Azure, and hybrid environments. I lead our identity management, observability, and compliance automation efforts.
- Multi-cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Identity governance with Entra ID
- Automated security compliance
- High availability platforms (99.9%+ SLA)
Platform Engineer
I built and maintained critical infrastructure with a focus on automation, monitoring, and making sure we could recover quickly from any issue.
- Terraform infrastructure as code
- CI/CD pipeline automation
- Monitoring and alerting systems
- Disaster recovery implementation
IAM and GRC Engineer
I managed identity governance, AWS account provisioning, and compliance controls. I worked with Varonis and Sailpoint to enforce Separation of Duties policies and conduct access certifications.
- Active Directory and Azure AD administration with hybrid integration
- User account, service account management and auditing
- Security Attack Surface Analyzer for vendor reviews
- AD Security Groups auditing for compliance standards
- GRC process management with Varonis and Sailpoint
- SoD policy enforcement and risk analysis
- User Access Reviews and access certifications
- Emergency Access Management (Firefighter access)
Systems Engineer
This is where I built my foundation in systems, networking, and security. I worked across IT Security, Virtualization, DFS, Citrix, and networking teams.
- Windows Server and Citrix administration
- Firewall implementation and patch coordination
- SiteLock website monitoring and malware protection
- Symantec Anti-Virus deployment
- Security policy enforcement and escalation
- DFS and network access coordination
Let's Talk
If you want to chat about platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, or potential opportunities, I would love to hear from you.
Location
Ocala, FL · Remote onlyOpen to Opportunities
I am looking for my next challenge in platform engineering or SRE. I want to join a team where I can help build infrastructure that makes a real difference.