Ralph King Jr - Resume

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Internal Tools & Platform Engineer with 5+ years of experience building automation infrastructure and developer productivity solutions for mission-critical government systems. Specialized in container orchestration (OpenShift/Kubernetes), CI/CD automation, and self-service platforms that enable development teams to ship faster. Proven track record architecting internal tooling infrastructure serving 7,500+ users across 9 enterprise applications, reducing deployment cycles by 70% through automation and developer enablement.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Senior Software Engineer / IT Specialist (APPSW)

Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

Washington, DC | January 2025 - Present

Architect and operate OpenShift container orchestration platform serving 7,500+ users across 9 enterprise applications.
Design and deploy platform services including Elasticsearch integration, configuration management, and self‑service automation.
Established CI/CD automation and infrastructure‑as‑code practices, reducing release cycles by 70%.
Technologies: OpenShift, Kubernetes, Docker, Azure DevOps, Python, Django, Flask, JavaScript, React, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, Memcached, Git

Internal Tools & Automation Engineer / IT Specialist (APPSW)

Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

Remote | September 2020 - January 2025

Architected CI/CD automation infrastructure for nine enterprise applications using Azure DevOps.
Led platform migration from TFS to Azure DevOps, implementing automated workflows and self‑service deployment patterns.
Mentored engineering teams for 3+ years on CI/CD, platform automation, and tooling best practices.
Technologies: OpenShift, Kubernetes, Docker, Azure DevOps, TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, Flask, Git

Software Development Engineer

Skyline Technology Solutions

Remote | August 2019 - September 2020

Built full‑stack web applications and internal tools for federal programs.
Developed real‑time monitoring dashboards using Node.js and React for distributed video streaming platforms.
Technologies: Java, PHP, JavaScript, Node.js, Angular 7, MySQL, Docker, AWS, Ansible, Rancher (Kubernetes), Git

Software Development Engineer

Skyline Technology Solutions

Glen Burnie, MD | August 2017 - August 2019

Designed and implemented automation frameworks improving software reliability across multiple platforms.
Built automated validation systems for live video streams and API integrations.
Technologies: Playwright, Node.js, Postman, Docker, AWS, Ansible, Git

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Platform & Infrastructure: Kubernetes, OpenShift, Docker, Azure, AWS (learning)
CI/CD & Automation: Azure DevOps, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Configuration Management, Ansible
Programming Languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Ruby, Go (learning)
Backend & Frameworks: Django, Flask, Node.js, React, Angular
Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Elasticsearch, Memcached
Tools & Practices: Git, Infrastructure as Code, Terraform (learning), Container Orchestration

CERTIFICATIONS & TRAINING (In Progress)

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) – Expected January 2026
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate – Expected February 2026
AWS Solutions Architect Associate – Expected April 2026