Sam Jefferis

DevSecOps & Platform Engineer

Building and securing cloud infrastructure on AWS and Azure, with a focus on CI/CD automation, security compliance, and Linux systems. CS graduate from Texas A&M with 3+ years of professional experience in government and defense environments.

Projects

Experience

Nov 2025 – Present Houston, Texas · Remote

DevSecOps Engineer

Raft · Full-time
  • Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure for secure software and environments
  • Diagnose and resolve OS (Linux), networking, and software issues across production systems
  • Generate, document, and enforce policies and procedures while providing tier 1 client support
GitLab CI/CD Linux DevSecOps Bash
Sep 2024 – Nov 2025 Langley AFB, Virginia · On-site

Platform Engineer

Raft · Full-time
  • Constructed Terraform to deploy AWS resources including EC2, Lambda, and networking
  • Assessed and remediated security findings within the Linux OS and AWS Security Hub
  • Built GitLab CI/CD pipelines deploying Terraform via YAML and Bash, integrated with security compliance frameworks
  • Hardened, customized, and debugged Linux environments for development and production workloads
  • Responded to and resolved production outages caused by networking and certificate failures
  • Developed and implemented policies and procedures for 24x7 coverage of critical production systems
AWS Terraform GitLab CI/CD Linux Security Compliance
Jun 2022 – Aug 2024 Plano, Texas · Hybrid

Associate DevOps Engineer

OCEUS · Full-time
  • Designed and built GitLab CI/CD pipelines using Ansible, Terraform, Bash, Harbor, and Kubernetes (RKE2), automating deployments that previously required constant 4-hour manual intervention
  • Performed STIG security remediations on Ubuntu and RHEL systems to meet U.S. DoD requirements for defense customers
  • Deployed and managed Azure environments including VMs, Key Vault, NSGs, VNets, and storage accounts
  • Deployed a Tektelic IoT network using Datacake & The Things Network for a proof-of-concept product
  • Managed and maintained upgrades for GitLab and GitLab Runner servers; administered instance, group, and project settings
  • Led Agile scrums and managed epics/issues for the DevOps team; mentored interns in Summers 2023 and 2024
  • Awarded Rookie of the Year (Dec 2023) out of all first-year employees and contractors
Azure Terraform Kubernetes Ansible Harbor STIG / DoD Grafana Prometheus
Mar 2020 – 2023 College Station, Texas · Part-time

Emergency Medical Technician

Texas A&M University Emergency Medical Services

Provided emergency medical care to the Texas A&M campus community as a certified EMT.

Education & Certifications

2018 – 2023

Texas A&M University

Bachelor of Science — Computer Science & Engineering

GPA: 3.5 / 4.0

🏆 Member of the Year — Texas A&M Student Government Association (Apr 2022)
Licenses & Certifications

Credentials

  • CompTIA Security+ Fall 2024 – Present
  • AWS Cloud Practitioner Fall 2024 – Present
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Feb 2025 – Present
🏆 Rookie of the Year — OCEUS (Dec 2023)

Volunteering

Dec 2024 – Present

Associate Board Member & Tutor

UPchieve · Remote

Co-Chair of the School Impact Committee, contributing fundraising, marketing, and strategic outreach skills. Also tutoring 5th–12th grade students in math and computer science for Title I schools.

Jun 2023 – Sep 2024

Disaster Action Team Volunteer

American Red Cross · Dallas, TX

Responded to local disasters — primarily residential fires — to provide emergency assistance, shelter referrals, and support to affected residents across the DFW area.

Honor

Eagle Scout

Boy Scouts of America · Troop 89, The Woodlands, TX

Attained the highest rank in Scouting through demonstrated leadership, community service, and personal development.

Skills

Cloud & Infrastructure

AWS Azure Terraform Ansible ARM Templates ESXi

CI/CD & Automation

GitLab CI/CD Jenkins Bash YAML Git

Containerization

Docker Kubernetes (RKE2) Helm Harbor

Security

STIG AWS Security Hub CompTIA Security+

Observability

Grafana Prometheus Telegraf

Development

Python Java C++ Linux (Ubuntu / RHEL) Agile / Scrum