whoami

I'm Darian.

I develop cloud infrastructure, automate DevOps, ship AWS systems, and build agentic AI solutions.
Get in touch →
  • 8+ Years
    Building
  • 4,400+ Engineers
    Reached
  • 8 Certifications
Darian Lee
  • AWS
  • Terraform
  • Agentic AI
  • Docker
  • Automation

#projects

shipped

PlanMyInterview

  • ai
  • saas
  • aws
  • serverless
  • react

An AI-powered interview prep SaaS built on AWS. Turns a job description and resume into a personalized day-by-day study plan, with quizzes, flashcards, and YouTube videos.

EKS Framework

  • terraform
  • kubernetes
  • helm
  • grafana
  • aws
  • iac

A Terraform-based framework for deploying microservices on Amazon EKS with Fargate. Includes automated CI pipelines, Helm-based add-ons, and a preconfigured Grafana stack for monitoring and observability.

Secure Cloud Baseline

  • terraform
  • security
  • aws
  • iac

A production-ready AWS secure baseline built with Terraform. Logging, IAM, GuardDuty, and optional VPC; deployable in under an hour. Built for startups that can't afford to get security wrong.

ls more →

#writings

from the blog

blog

From Weeks to Minutes: How AI Changed the Way I Build

My journey from manual everything to fully AI-assisted development, and what it means for shipping faster.

Read blog →
case study

Stopping WooCommerce Checkout Bots at the Edge

How I traced a Cloudflare Turnstile misconfig back to the edge layer and shipped a zero-fraud fix.

Read case study →
guide

Deploying EKS on AWS Fargate: A Cleaner Way to Run Containers

A hands-on look at deploying a production-ready EKS Fargate framework with Terraform and GitHub Actions.

Read guide →
guide

Secure Cloud Baseline: A Cost-Conscious Starting Point for AWS

A Terraform-based secure baseline for AWS that deploys logging, IAM roles, guardrails, and optional networking for under $25 a month.

Read guide →

kind words

His thorough explanations and responsive communication style enabled us to make the best decisions for our website. He came in with the needed repairs on time and on budget.

— Aubrey Project Manager · Swedish American Historical Society

#about

cat about.md

Principal Engineer with eight years of hands-on cloud experience. I build agentic AI solutions and DevOps automation, with a focus on secure-by-default architectures and the kind of systems that don't wake people up at 3am.

I came up through support, applications development, and large-scale AWS consulting before going independent. Whether I'm leading a serverless ETL migration or debugging a checkout-bot exploit, the throughline is the same: ship reliable things, document them clearly, and teach what I learn along the way.

#experience

git log --career

Independent Consulting

ind

Contractor · August 2025 – May 2026 · Remote

  • Provided technical diagnostic and incident response services for small business clients
  • Identified WooCommerce Store API bot exploits and guided client through Cloudflare edge security implementation, resulting in zero fraudulent orders post-resolution
  • Conducted systematic root cause analysis resolving 503 production error through plugin isolation, PHP-level debugging, and WooCommerce query analysis

Amazon Web Services

aws

Cloud Consultant · December 2020 – August 2025 · Arlington, VA

  • Led design and implementation of serverless ETL pipeline architecture using AWS Step Functions, Amazon EventBridge, Amazon ECS Fargate, and Docker Containers
  • Engineered CI/CD automation framework using GitLab CI/CD and AWS CDK, resulting in 94% reduction in manual operations and standardized IaC practices
  • Architected and implemented enterprise data lake solution using AWS CDK with multi-stage (Bronze/Silver/Gold) data processing architecture
  • Established technical enablement artifacts reaching more than 4,400 AWS employees globally; conducted hands-on workshops and technical panels

General Dynamics Information Technology

gdit

Applications Developer · April 2019 – December 2020 · Falls Church, VA

  • Led AWS infrastructure operations: RDS optimization, SQS monitoring, S3 security, CloudWatch alerting
  • Developed Java-based microservices and REST APIs integrated with MySQL; automated CI/CD and coding standards
  • Architected test automation framework using Selenium and JUnit, reducing regression testing time by 60%

SCLogic

scl

Software Support Analyst · March 2018 – April 2019 · Annapolis, MD

  • Collaborated with backend team implementing enterprise software using SQL Server, stored procedures, and query optimization
  • Led technical troubleshooting of client systems, resolving server-to-server and database connectivity issues while maintaining 24-hour SLA
  • Delivered on-site implementations, data migrations, and training for customer success teams

#skills

the stack

// cloud · iac · languages · runtime · os

AWS Terraform CDK Python Docker Linux

// tooling · ci · observability · data · practices

GitHub GitLab Cursor Claude Grafana SQL Agile

#certifications

credentials

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional DevOps Pro
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate SysOps Admin
AWS Certified Developer – Associate Developer
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Cloud Practitioner
AWS Certified AI Practitioner AI Practitioner
CompTIA Security+ Security+
HashiCorp Terraform Associate Terraform Associate
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Azure Fundamentals

#currently-building

ls projects/wip

planning

iac-to-diagram

Paste Terraform, CDK, or CloudFormation and get an interactive architecture diagram out. Generates accurate visual representations so engineers skip manual diagramming and stakeholders always have up-to-date docs.

planning

daily-feed

A topic-organized RSS aggregator designed to live as a browser homepage. Pull feeds from across tech, news, and personal interests into one daily reading view.

#contact

echo $CONTACT

I check LinkedIn weekly — happy to chat about cloud, AWS, or building things.