About Experience Projects Skills Education
DevOps Lead at FUTO

Kenneth Ward

DevOps lead and systems engineer with 10+ years of experience building automation tools, integrating complex systems, and driving measurable impact — from open-source infrastructure to enterprise network operations.

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Building tools that move the needle.

I specialize in DevOps, infrastructure automation, and building integration platforms that eliminate manual work and cut costs at scale. Currently leading DevOps at FUTO, an organization building open-source, privacy-respecting software and funding independent technology.

Previously at Charter Communications, I built internal tooling that saved the organization $700K+ annually. At Uniti Fiber, I led OSS implementations — integrating 8+ network management systems into a single pane of glass, building network discovery tools, and creating GIS-integrated ticket tracking. I'm driven by practical engineering that solves real operational problems.

10+
Years of experience
$700K+
Annual savings generated
8+
Systems integrated
1000s
Devices automated

Where I've worked

A track record of building impactful tools and leading technical initiatives across enterprise environments.

DevOps Lead FUTO Dec 2024 — Present

Open-source technology organization building privacy-respecting software and funding independent tech — Austin, TX

  • Leading DevOps infrastructure and operations for an organization dedicated to returning control of technology to users
  • Building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines, deployment infrastructure, and developer tooling for open-source projects
  • Supporting the development and delivery of privacy-first, ad-free software products
Systems Engineer IV Charter Communications Dec 2022 — Dec 2024
  • Created bulk upload ticket tool for automating Finance tickets, saving hours of work weekly
  • Built tools to replace Voice device statistics, saving the voice team $100K+/yr
  • Created comparison tool between two different inventory systems to find and correct irregularities
  • Built API integration and XML parsing of 5G network inventory, replacing licensed software — potential savings of $600K+/yr
  • Worked with the team on implementing CI/CD practices and documenting code & processes
  • Created packaged modules to streamline automation projects across the team
  • Promoted to highest Systems Engineer position within first year
Network OSS Engineer Uniti Fiber May 2019 — Dec 2022
  • Integrated 8+ NMS/EMS systems into a unified interface using APIs, scraping, and reverse engineering — giving the NOC a single pane of glass for alarms and node details
  • Created B2B integration between 4+ carriers using Jitterbit, integrating 3rd party systems with Salesforce
  • Built a network inventory system using Python and SNMP to walk the network, stored in MariaDB
  • Created PHP web tools for the NOC to view aggregated network data per device
  • Integrated Salesforce, Monday.com, and ESRI/ArcGIS for GIS-based trouble ticket tracking
  • Built automated SLA reports that aggregate data and calculate per-provider contract requirements
  • Implemented Netcool for Trap/Alarm collection, Elasticsearch for syslog, and Oxidized for config collection
  • Automated configuration changes on thousands of network devices using Python Expect and Ansible
  • Project lead for all OSS implementations for the NOC team
Instructional Media Technician Techsoft — Government Education Oct 2018 — May 2019
  • Created 3D tutorials on military equipment using Blender
  • Modeled life-like military equipment in 3D
  • Recorded instructional videos in secure military environments
  • Traveled to different areas of the US for training engagements
IT Engineer Techsoft — IT Services May 2016 — Oct 2018
  • IT Helpdesk support for law firms, architectural firms, franchises, and agencies
  • Managed and maintained Windows and Linux servers (Active Directory, Group Policies, System updates)
  • Monitored backups, system health, and Blue team security for clients
  • Designed scripts to automate IT related functions
Level 3 Technical Support Clearwire (ISP) Jun 2012 — Feb 2016
  • Highest tier of customer support at the ISP
  • Resolved escalated technical issues and TOS violations
  • Worked directly with the NOC to resolve network issues
  • Assisted writing scripts for the final network handover to Sprint

Key projects

Highlights from my professional work — tools and platforms built to solve real operational challenges.

Charter Communications

5G Inventory Automation

API integration and XML parsing engine for 5G network inventory, replacing expensive licensed software and saving the team $600K+ annually.

PythonREST APIsXML5G

Open Source

MechAngel

AI-powered autonomous VRChat agent — speech recognition, multi-LLM response generation (Gemini, Claude, OpenAI, Ollama), text-to-speech, avatar control via OSC, and ChromaDB-backed RAG memory.

PythonLLMsWhisperChromaDBOSCFlask

Uniti Fiber

NOC Unified Dashboard

Integrated 8+ NMS/EMS systems into a single pane of glass interface, providing real-time alarms and node details for the network operations center.

PHPAPIsReverse Engineering

Uniti Fiber

Network Discovery System

Automated network inventory system that crawls the network using SNMP, discovers devices, and stores topology data in MariaDB for real-time visibility.

PythonSNMPMariaDB

Uniti Fiber

GIS Ticket Mapping

Integration between Salesforce, Monday.com, and ESRI/ArcGIS — displaying trouble ticket statuses on interactive maps with real-time location tracking.

SalesforceArcGISMonday.com

Charter Communications

Finance Automation

Bulk upload ticket tool that automates Finance ticket creation, eliminating hours of manual work each week across the team.

PythonAutomationAPI

Uniti Fiber

SLA Reporting Engine

Automated SLA report generator that aggregates analytics data and calculates compliance per provider contract requirements.

PythonAnalyticsAutomation

Technical expertise

A broad toolbox built across a decade of hands-on infrastructure and software engineering.

Languages & Scripting

Python PHP Bash Perl Ruby Go Java C++ PowerShell

Databases

PostgreSQL MySQL MariaDB Microsoft SQL Oracle SQLite SWQL

Web & APIs

HTML CSS JavaScript REST JSON XML YAML cURL Postman

Networking

SNMP SSH DNS DHCP Static Routing Cisco Ciena Calix Juniper Adtran

Linux / Unix

Debian Ubuntu RHEL CentOS Rocky Arch Gentoo

Tools & Platforms

Ansible CI/CD Elasticsearch Netcool Salesforce ArcGIS Jitterbit Blender

Credentials

Education

West Florida High School of Advanced Technology

High School Diploma — Academy of Information Technology
Certificate of Mastery

Certifications & Awards

  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate — Office 365
  • Microsoft Certified Professional
  • Spirit of Uniti INNOVATIVE Award
  • Perfect manager review scores for 2+ years