pigsinzen

Location: Maine, USA

Remote: Only

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Ansible, Terraform, Kubernetes, Postgres, AWS/GCP/Bare Metal, and many more...

Resume/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtismullins & https://www.kurtismullins.com

Email: hire@kurtismullins.com

18 Years of Experience in the SaaS + Web Apps -> Developer Tooling -> DevOps / SRE / Platform Engineering worlds. Currently freelance developer. Open to projects and fractional work. My emphasis is on enjoying the summer with my kids, taking care of our homestead, and making time for my own projects so I'm explicitly not interested in full-time roles.

It would be super cool to get in with folks who are doing anything related to sensors, mesh networks, homestead-tangent projects, homelab things, DevOps for game devs, and so forth. It would definitely be a "learning on the job" scenario for anything outside my professional resume.

I have an LLC and we can work B2B or whatever your preference is... Just no staff augmentation roles, pretty please.

Thanks!

Location: Maine (USA)

Remote: Only. Open-minded to occasional travel.

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Postgres, Flask, Containers, k8s, Ansible, Terraform, Helm, Linux, various clouds. Currently learning Rust. Etc...

Resume/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtismullins or https://www.kurtismullins.com (WIP)

Email: hire@kurtismullins.com

18 Years Web, SaaS, Full-Stack, Backend, and SRE/DevOps/Platform Engineering.

Looking for freelance clients/projects and part-time opportunities.

Would love to work with universities, research institutes, public good non-profits, and so forth but open to working with all kinds of wonderful people!

Work-life balance is my goal over getting rich; if you support my lifestyle then I am happy to reciprocate with my time & skills.

At home, you can find me homesteading and exploring merging tech knowledge with the natural, real world. Currently refreshing my old electronics skills to build sensors and automation systems for various projects around the house (e.g. growing food, rain water collection, etc..)

I have recently traveled to Boston a few times (its ~3 hours by train) and its amazing! Would love to make some connections down there as well. I can't come down every day but am open-minded to dropping in every once in a while.

I also really want to check out MIT (swap meet & library!), FSF, and all of this super cool culture in Boston that was too far away when I used to live in Ohio.

Thanks!

SEEKING WORK: USA

Location: Maine (USA)

Remote: Only. Occasionally willing to take the train down to Boston.

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Postgres, Flask, Containers, k8s, Ansible, Terraform, Helm, Linux, various clouds. Currently learning Rust.

Resume/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtismullins or https://www.kurtismullins.com (WIP)

Email: hire@kurtismullins.com

~18 YoE across backend development, DevOps/SRE/platform engineering, and many other hats. Name drops include Red Hat (quay.io), Rackspace (internal tooling), and Equinix Metal/Packet (platform engineering). Also went through NSF's I-Corps startup program in the early 2010s, so I'm relatively business-aware.

I left my last full-time role in November to go all-in on freelance work and solo projects (homesteading, indie game dev). Now taking on project-based or fractional engagements. No staff augmentation or pager duty.

I bounce between architecture/systems design and hands-on implementation. Looking to build long-term relationships.

Side note: I've used Go professionally and am currently enjoying Rust, but compared to my depth with Python, I won't pretend to be a specialist in either. I'd love projects that push me toward more low-level systems programming or are tangent to my homestead (future sensors/IoT) and Game Dev interests.

Thanks!

Location: Maine (USA)

Remote: Only. Occasionally willing to take the train down to Boston.

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Postgres, Flask, Containers, k8s, Ansible, Terraform, Helm, Linux, various clouds. Currently learning Rust.

Resume/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtismullins or https://www.kurtismullins.com (WIP)

Email: hire@kurtismullins.com

~18 YoE across backend development, DevOps/SRE/platform engineering, and many other hats. Name drops include Red Hat (quay.io), Rackspace (internal tooling), and Equinix Metal/Packet (platform engineering). Also went through NSF's I-Corps startup program in the early 2010s, so I'm relatively business-aware.

I left my last full-time role in November to go all-in on freelance work and solo projects (homesteading, indie game dev). Now taking on project-based or fractional engagements. No staff augmentation or pager duty.

I bounce between architecture/systems design and hands-on implementation. Looking to build long-term relationships.

Side note: I've used Go professionally and am currently enjoying Rust, but compared to my depth with Python, I won't pretend to be a specialist in either. I'd love projects that push me toward more low-level systems programming or are tangent to my homestead (future sensors/IoT) and Game Dev interests.

Thanks!

Location: Central Maine

Remote: Yes (17+ years fully remote)

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Kubernetes, Linux, AWS, Terraform, Ansible, Postgres, CI/CD. Some Go and Rust experience.

Résumé/CV: https://linkedin.com/in/kurtismullins

Website: https://www.kurtismullins.com

Email: kurtis@growdigitalroots.com

GitHub: https://github.com/kurtismullins

Freelance backend and infrastructure engineer. 18 years across startups, SaaS, enterprise, non-profit, and a game studio. Available for project-based or part-time work (~20 hrs/week).

Highlights:

- Equinix Metal: Platform engineering across 50+ global bare-metal Kubernetes clusters — drove log vendor migration and rollout of internal DNS recursors fleet-wide

- Red Hat: Senior dev on Quay.io (~1B requests/month), led Python 2→3 migration, drove Kubernetes operator from prototype to shipping product

- Clockwork Labs: Owned infrastructure for SpacetimeDB and supported BitCraft playtests — multiplayer game backend built on WASM + database

- The Water Institute (FloodID): Owned infra for hurricane flood prediction — converted AWS from ClickOps to declarative Terraform, HPC simulations with post-processing in Kubernetes

- Rackspace: Maintained internal tooling across 10-15 applications including greenfield coordination tooling for a large-scale datacenter consolidation

- Cox Media Group: Maintained Django CMS serving 50+ newspapers/radio stations/TV channels, led migration from on-premise to AWS

Backend development, infrastructure automation, CI/CD, cloud migrations, internal tooling.

Location: Maine (USA)

Remote: Only

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: Python, Docker/Kubernetes/Ansible, Go, SQL

Résumé/CV: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kurtismullins

Email: hire@kurtismullins.com

17 YoE developing software; mostly Python web-based applications, data pipelines, internal tooling, and automations.

I have worked on products such as Quay.io (Red Hat) and on some cool teams at places such as Equinix Metal (formerly Packet) and Rackspace, among others.

I am currently employed as DevOps/SRE at a small game studio, focused on their non-game product. I really want to get back into writing software instead of managing infrastructure, but unfortunately our business is currently too small for me to switch roles. I have had a hard time finding any interviews that are not DevOps/SRE, so I am hoping for luck or feedback here.

I love working with a variety of languages but don't have any projects to show off. Python is probably still my strongest but happy to use anything and always learning! We use Rust at my current company but I am a beginner at best compared to those who use it full-time.

Happy to do just about anything; I do need a break from on-call rotations, long days, and fast paced culture. But I cannot take a massive pay drop (some recruiters assume that because I live in Maine, I will be extremely cheap labor). I'd be most useful developing/architecting backends for web-based applications and internal tooling but would also love to branch out more. Extremely comfortable with Kubernetes/Containers and automation.

Happy to go full-time, part-time, or even discuss contract/freelance engagements. It just must be a good enough deal to leave my current role because I can't juggle side gigs.

Thank you!

SEEKING WORK

Location: Eastern Timezone (Maine, USA)

Remote: yes

Willing to Relocate: no

Tech: Kubernetes, various cloud services, common DevOps tools, Linux, Python, Go, Postgres

Resume/CV: in/kurtismullins

Email: hire@<firstlast>.com

17 YoE in backend development, web applications, SaaS, distributed systems, data pipelines, internal tooling, PasS, IaaS, and DevOps (including at a game studio).

I have used too many technologies to list concisely but mentioned the tools I am strongest with above.

Interested in freelance & consulting engagements. I prefer working primarily async while providing high-quality documentation & written reports.

My strengths are going to be related to writing backend code for SaaS, setting up cloud/Kubernetes infrastructure, and creating automation or internal tooling. I also had a lot of fun helping founders build their MVCs/Prototypes in the early years of my career.

I am especially interested in working tangental to video games (1yr DevOps) or low/systems-level programming (0yrs professional experience), but open-minded to most projects or consulting arrangements.

Feel free to reach out if you're interested in a potential engagement. I am happy to work on projects within my "comfort zone" or jump into new areas on the job; it doesn't hurt to discuss it!

Location: Maine

Remote: Very

Willing to relocate: Negative

Technologies: Python, Kubernetes, Postgres, Go, etc...

Resume: in/kurtismullins

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17 YoE -- mostly Web Applications, SaaS, Developer-focused products, internal tooling, and PaaS/IaaS. Typically used higher-level languages.

Currently DevOps at a game studio but working on a different product/service.

Interested in two tracks:

- DevOps at a game studio; preferably with opportunities to get my feet wet in backend development on games.

- Low-Level/Systems programming using languages such as C/C++/Rust/Zig. No professional experience here, but I learn quickly and enjoy tinkering in this space.

Also open to freelance/consulting engagements with long-term projects using my past knowledge & experience.

Contact me through LI or hire@myname.com.

I've met a lot of people who spent most of their lives at school and still end up with social issues. I understand where you're coming from; just pointing out that school is not always good socialization or the only way to socialize children.

SEEKING WORK | USA | Remote

Timezone: Eastern / Atlantic

15+ years experience with Full-Stack development and related hats (DevOps, CI, Data Plumbing). Most of my expert-level programming experience involved Python but I love to learn and have used many languages+tools. Lately I’ve been diving deeper into systems-level languages such as C++, C, and Rust as well as revisiting C# for game dev. I’ve toyed with Unity and Unreal Engine but am far from an expert with either.

I am slowly pivoting out of the infrastructure/tech-focused industry (Rackspace, Red Hat, Equinix Metal, etc) to the video game industry where I hope to acquire more skills writing game backends and tooling. I’m not fully walking away from application development — just having some fun and expanding my horizons.

I have a full time salary DevOps position but open to meeting with potential clients who need help or consultation for less than 10 flexible hours/week; especially if it’s game-tangent. In the long-term future, I still hope to pursue working fully independently (freelance/consulting/entrepreneur) so maybe I will have more availability as your needs grow. On the other hand, my current job or an unforeseen future position could keep me completely comfortable; only time will tell! Startups are always a gamble.

Email me at kurtis AT hey.com if you’re interested in discussing potential work or relationships.

Specifying work hours does not sound like you’re looking for freelance developers. Perhaps you mean contract/1099 part-time employees?

I live in a small, relatively rural farming community in central Maine. Electric bikes would be great but I wouldn’t trust drivers on country roads to be aware of them. Otherwise, it’s been amazing and I could never go back to the sprawling suburbs or cities.

Before as well, of course. But prior to the ACA there was no requirement for every individual filing taxes to show they had coverage, or most businesses (even relatively small ones) to offer benefits packages.

It also changed small medical practices because suddenly everyone wanted to use this insurance they were paying for. No longer could it just be a doctor and maybe a couple of medical staff; they needed medical coders, specialized software, and so forth. Some decided to join large hospital networks (for worse, from what I have generally heard).

And this cascaded into multiple sub-industries developing around this revenue stream and the medical system. Everyone trying to sell something and grab their piece of the pie.

It was not great before, but you could go see a doctor and literally pay a small amount of cash for an appointment. Many won’t even accept anyone without insurance now.

Edit: as mburns@ pointed out, the IRS no longer asks individuals about their health insurance status since 2019.

The government has been directly interfering with this industry since the ACA (“Obamacare”) was enacted; forcing everyone to purchase health insurance.

in sublime text?

Not sure if you're under the impression that he is using Sublime Text or we're looking at different editors. In the video from his second class, it looks like he is using a Jetbrains[0] product.

[0] https://www.jetbrains.com/

Your hands almost never have to leave the keyboard.

There is often not telemetry.

You can remotely connect from a different machine and you your development environment.

The cross-platform story is much better. For example, supporting BSDs.

It exposes you to a lot of details hidden or abstracted away by GUI applications.

Also, its a matter of preference.

Nice idea! I’m excited to check it out. I write a lot of docs in Markdown and this could be a great way to browse them.

Out of curiosity, have you seen glow[0]?

[0] https://github.com/charmbracelet/glow

I’m not sure how to change the title. Apologies for the confusion!

I’m looking for good blogs, sites, and other reading (or video) material on hacking.

Think pushing tech to its limits or making it so things it wasn’t designed to do, or coming up with unique ideas, etc… The old usage of the word hacker.

Its really tough to find anything using Google because I get all cybersecurity, penetration testing, and general SEO results from businesses.

Are you serious? “They got what was coming to them” — wow…

You’re living in what sounds like it’s one of the highest cost of living regions in the world laughing at the misfortune of innocent people who don’t have the option to just pickup and move.

If you’ve lived in this area, you would know how “stuck” most people are. The cost of living and wages don’t provide most people the option to do a whole lot more than make a living. Even if they can leave, they have families/friends/communities.

This is also not too far from where individuals have been fighting very hard for worker’s rights for a long time. The UAW against the auto factories. A generation of coal miners who migrated from KY and WV.

You claim you’re from one of the poorest areas in Ohio but are laughing from the West Coast. I signed in just to respond to you because this is one of the most sociopathic things I’ve heard. Have some sympathy.

Allegedly this is the reason that the only Chipotle in/near the Capital of Maine was permanently closed.

They have demonstrated that some people have interest in controlling formatting.

It would be a stretch to say they demonstrated that it’s better to enforce a standard.

Black, itself, changed rules many times within a 1-year period to the point our own CI would fail on existing code that previously passed.

Ahh nice! I was recently on the market and had nearly no luck finding a culture like that which matched my skill-set. I am envious.

Is the lack of "meetings" offset by pair-coding, dragging out synchronous conversations in Slack, or otherwise controlling engineering time and schedule?

As someone who has also spent a lot of time camping, rain hitting the tent of a roof, a metal roof, or even a tarp over a hammock is hypnotic and I love sleeping to it.

It’s one of my favorite sounds and puts me in an amazing headspace.

Maybe there were circumstances which led to us each experiencing the same type of soundscape completely different?

This is not so consistent, you sound a lot like me when I was trying to cope with [...] getting a new job in an industry

I really appreciate the advice! This doesn't match my situation but I have known others in the position you mention and maybe they will stumble across it one day.

A valid point on the inconstancy :) I hoped I had quite a bit more time to save money while working at my current role. I am concerned with my resume because I need to fall back on it if self-employment doesn't pan out.

Have you tried talking to your manager about your performance and future at the company?

I did. I go well out of my way (and comfort zone) to make very open conversations with him. I can't get any answers or feedback at all related to my future. He says my performance is not meeting his expectations and points to multiple examples -- subjective but he rationalizes and sells it well.

I believe he wants to get rid of me but needs corporate buy-in to make it happen. I've never been a manager before so I could be wrong.