Ben Humphreys-Newman
Technical Director at IBM | DevOps & AWS Specialist
Professional Summary
Accomplished Technical Director with deep technical expertise in DevOps, AWS and cloud-native infrastructure, coupled with strong business acumen. Demonstrated success in leading and scaling high-performing teams, driving profitability through efficient delivery and outcome-focused strategies. Open to discussing new opportunities where I can leverage my technical leadership and commercial savvy to create impactful solutions.
Employment History
Technical Director, IBM Jan 2025 – Present
As Technical Director at IBM, I lead multiple technical teams to deliver robust, secure, and cost-efficient cloud solutions. With over a decade of experience specialising in DevOps and AWS, I combine deep technical expertise with strong business acumen, ensuring projects align with strategic business objectives while delivering technical excellence.
- Lead cross-functional technical teams to ensure successful project delivery.
- Conduct monthly technical health assessments to maintain system reliability and performance.
- Act as the primary escalation point for technical issues, ensuring timely and effective resolutions.
- Drive project transformation initiatives to optimise delivery processes and improve outcomes.
DevOps Engineer, IBM Jul 2019 – Dec 2024
In my role as a DevOps Engineer at IBM, I specialised in designing, implementing, and managing robust cloud-native infrastructures, primarily using AWS. I played a key role in automating deployment processes and improving overall delivery speed and reliability.
- Built scalable AWS infrastructures (EC2, Lambda, CloudFormation).
- Implemented and maintained containerised applications with Kubernetes and OpenShift.
- Developed advanced CI/CD pipelines with Jenkins and GitLab.
- Monitored system performance and maintained high availability.
Software Engineer, BT Sep 2013 – Jul 2019
As a Software Engineer at BT, I was responsible for refreshing and dockerising a legacy system deployed globally. This involved writing new services in Python and setting them up as microservices. Setup communication between all services using a QPID broker to enable faster and more efficient communications between services. All microservices deployed as docker containers and managed with Rancher.
- Wrote services in Python and set them up as microservices.
- Integrated services using a Qpid message broker to improve communication efficiency.
- Containerised applications with Docker and managed orchestration through Rancher.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to troubleshoot and optimise system performance.
Skills
Cloud & DevOps
- DevOps (Docker, Kubernetes, Puppet).
- AWS Cloud Architecture & Services (EC2, Lambda, CloudFormation, CloudWatch, CodePipeline).
- Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation).
Automation & CI/CD
- CI/CD & Automation (Jenkins, GitLab).
- Containerisation & Orchestration (OpenShift, Rancher).
Programming & Data
- Python & C++ Software Development.
- Database Management (MongoDB, SQL).
- Web Development (Node.js, Vue.js, AngularJS).
Education
Aston University 2010 – 2013
BSc (Hons) Computer Science, Second Class Honours.
Activities and Societies: Founding member of the Computer Science Society; Social Secretary and Treasurer.
Key Modules:
- Software Engineering.
- Java Program Development.
- Internet Applications.
- Software Project Management with Agile Techniques and SCRUM.
- Data Mining.
Final Year Project: Developed an online system for the School of Engineering to manage final year projects, including advertising potential projects, allocating projects to students, and delivering project grades.