About Me
Role
Platform Architect
Companies
DATEV eG, ODIT.Services
Age
26 years old
Hobbies
Ju Jutsu, Homelabbing, Motorcycles
Hi, I'm Nicolai – a Platform Architect specializing in Kubernetes operations, GitOps, and cloud-native transformation.
I work as a Platform Architect at DATEV eG, where I design and operate internal Kubernetes-as-a-Service platforms for highly regulated financial environments. My focus is on day-2 operations: upgrades, reliability, automation, and building self-service tools that reduce platform toil. Before Kubernetes, I spent years automating VMware vSphere operations across thousands of VMs using Ansible and Terraform.
I'm also the founder and CEO of ODIT.Services, where we deliver Kubernetes consulting, infrastructure management, and application development for SMEs. I work directly with clients from initial discovery through design, implementation, and ongoing support.
I'm passionate about sharing knowledge in the cloud-native community. I've spoken at KubeCon/CloudNativeCon, Cloud Native Rejekts, and Container Days about topics ranging from global load balancing strategies to Windows workload migration on Kubernetes.
Outside of work, I enjoy home automation, homelabbing, and riding electric motorcycles. I'm also a Ju Jutsu instructor, teaching self-defense to children and adults since 2014.
Speaking & Writing
Conference talks, reports, and insights from the cloud native ecosystem.
ContainerDays Hamburg 2026
My talk 'But we have GPUs at home - on-prem AI with Kubernetes, OpenStack & KubeVirt' with Maik Zimmermann at ContainerDays 2026 in Hamburg. Video available.
Platform Engineering Day EU 2026
My talk 'Promotion Failed: How (not) To Stage Your (Kubernetes) Platform' at Platform Engineering Day EU 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
KubeCon/CloudNativeCon EU 2026
Notes and impressions from KubeCon/CloudNativeCon EU 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
ContainerDays London 2026
My talk "Ctrl+Alt+Deploy: Windows Workloads as VMs on Kubernetes" from ContainerDays London 2026. Slides and sample code available.
ContainerDays 2025
My talk "Evaluating Global Load Balancing Options for Kubernetes in Practice" at ContainerDays 2025 in Hamburg. Slides, video, and sample code available.
KubeCon/CloudNativeCon EU 2025
Notes and impressions from KubeCon/CloudNativeCon EU 2025 in London.
Cloud Native Rejekts EU 2025
My talk "Evaluating Global Load Balancing Options for Kubernetes in Practice" at Cloud Native Rejekts EU 2025 in London. Slides, video, and sample code available.
Cloud Native Summit Munich 2025
Talk notes and impressions from Cloud Native Summit Munich 2025.
KubeCon/CloudNativeCon EU 2024
Talk notes and impressions from KubeCon/CloudNativeCon EU 2024 in Paris.
Featured Projects
A selection of my current and actively maintained projects
ODIT.Services
In 2020, I founded ODIT.Services together with Philipp Dormann.
As an IT service provider, we offer a wide range of services from full-stack development and IT support to custom hardware solutions.
PartyPic
PartyPic by ODIT.Services gives event organizers a simple way to share photos with their guests.
Lauf für Kaya!
Since 2015, I've been managing the IT infrastructure (website, email, runner tracking system) for Lauf für Kaya! - a charity run supporting Herzogenaurach's partner city Kaya.
In November 2020, maintenance and a major development project was transferred to my company ODIT.Services.
S3Ops
A Kubernetes operator for managing S3 resources (buckets, users, policies) via Custom Resources. Developed to simplify management of S3 buckets for cloud backups and automated deployments.
Kusatoko
Test container for Docker/Kubernetes with a simple web server that can deliver messages and respond with desired status codes.
GHOps
A Kubernetes operator for managing GitHub resources (initially Deploy Keys) via Kubernetes CRDs. Developed to simplify management of Deploy Keys for FluxCD.
Docker-Backup-Files
Docker image for periodic backup of files to an S3 bucket. Developed to enable simple Kubernetes volume backups.
Service-Directus
Helm chart to deploy Directus in Kubernetes standalone or as an Epinio service. Directus is an open-source headless CMS and API provider.
Archive
Past projects and experiments from earlier years
Stonx
A portfolio overview system. As I became interested in cryptocurrencies and their ecosystems, I wanted an overview of my current investments. The Stonx project supports several exchanges and external wallets.
Electrical⚡Badges
A simple Electron-based frontend for shields.
The project originated because colleagues and I wanted to decorate our repos in an internal GitLab with badges - but we had no internet access there.
So this small Electron app was created.
LinkyLinky
The small, fast URL shortener behind kauft.es
As a small URL shortener, LinkyLinky comes with its own Chrome extension and dashboard. In addition to randomly generated or chosen short URLs, site-specific links are also supported (e.g. /yt/dQw4w9WgXcQ)
Get in Touch
Interested in cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes operators, or conference speaking? Let's connect.