Rico Gu

I'm

About

Rico Gu profile portrait

Senior Platform Engineer & Cloud Native Software Engineer

Senior Platform Engineer / Cloud Native Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience building, automating, and operating Kubernetes-based infrastructure platforms. Specialized in Gardener, IronCore, Cluster API, GitOps, platform reliability, and software tooling, with practical AI-assisted workflows for delivery quality and knowledge reuse.

Reference letters are available upon request.

Resume

Here is a summary of my professional background and achievements.

Core Competencies

  • Cloud & Platforms: SAP Cloud Infrastructure, Kubernetes, Gardener, IronCore, Cluster API, SAP BTP, Kyma, Azure
  • GitOps & Platform Automation: FluxCD, ArgoCD, Helm, Kustomize, Crossplane, External Secrets Operator, Renovate
  • Reliability & Operations: Cluster lifecycle automation, Rollout safety, Credential lifecycle, Observability, Alerting, Runbooks
  • Software Tooling: Go, Java, Python, Bash, Node.js, GitHub Apps, GitHub Actions, Docker, Terraform
  • AI-Assisted Engineering: OpenCode, Claude Code, MCP, Semantic Search, Knowledge Automation, SDD, TDD

Professional Experience

Senior Platform Engineer

SAP SE, SAP Cloud Infrastructure, Munich

May 2026 - Present

  • Contributing to Kubernetes, Gardener, IronCore, and Cluster API based platform engineering for SAP cloud infrastructure
  • Improving cluster lifecycle automation, bare-metal provisioning workflows, and multi-cluster delivery tooling
  • Hardening platform reliability through rollout safety, credential and configuration lifecycle improvements, and operational automation
  • Developing internal software tooling and AI-assisted workflows for delivery quality, knowledge reuse, and developer productivity

Senior DevOps Engineer

SAP SE, SAP Business Network, Munich

Nov 2021 - Apr 2026

  • Led GitOps transformation for multi-cluster Kyma/Gardener environments using FluxCD, ArgoCD, Helm, Kustomize, and Crossplane
  • Built platform and delivery tooling for PR governance, deployment validation, semantic versioning, and CI/CD automation
  • Implemented Kubernetes operators and cloud-native integrations for SAP BTP and business network platforms
  • Centralized observability, audit logging, and alerting across distributed cloud environments
  • Explored LLM-based developer tooling, semantic search, and Kubernetes-hosted AI services

Senior Software Developer

SAP Customer Experience, Munich

Mar 2018 - Oct 2021

  • Designed and implemented backend microservices (Go, Node.js, OpenAPI, Docker, K8s)
  • Maintained CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins) and end-to-end testing frameworks
  • Conducted API stress tests with Locust, optimizing performance under production-scale loads
  • Mentored junior developers and served as Scrum Master

System DevOps

Hybris Software GmbH, Munich

Jan 2016 - Feb 2018

  • Provided consultancy support and technical advice for private cloud platforms
  • Built internal tools for DevOps automation (Java, Spring Boot, Bash, MySQL)

Research Engineer

DOCOMO Communications Laboratories Europe, Munich

Sep 2011 - Dec 2015

  • Conducted applied research in augmented reality and indoor localization (Android prototypes, DASH video streaming)
  • Presented technology demos at major events including NTT DOCOMO R&D Open House 2011 (Japan)

Education

Master of Engineering in Mobile Computing

National University of Singapore, Singapore

Jun 2009 - Aug 2011

  • Published two Android games on Google Play Store
  • Conducted research in augmented reality and mobile visualization, publishing 6+ conference papers and a book chapter
  • Supervised undergraduate dissertations and received multiple awards, including the Splash Award from the Singapore Computer Society

Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering

National University of Singapore, Singapore

Sep 2006 - May 2009

  • Final year dissertation on P2P multicast traffic theory
  • Received Dean's List award in 2006 and 2009

Diploma of Merit in Mechatronic Engineering

Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore

2003 - 2006

  • Designed and implemented a vision-controlled entertaining robot
  • Received multiple awards, including the Innovative Mechanism Design Award and Book Prizes for best performance

Selected Publications

  • W. Kiess, Yuan Xun Gu, S. Thakolsri, M. R. Sama and S. Beker, "SimpleCore: A connectionless, best effort, no-mobility-supporting 5G core architecture," 2016 IEEE International Conference on Communications Workshops (ICC), Kuala Lumpur, 2016, pp. 367-372.
  • A. Al-Nuaimi, R. Huitl, S. Taifour, S. Sarin, X. Song, Yuan Xun Gu, E. Steinbach, M. Fahrmair, "Towards location recognition using range images," 2013 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo (ICME2013), Workshop on Hot Topics in 3D (Hot3D), San Jose, USA

Interests

Cloud automation · Kubernetes · System reliability · AI agents · Travel · Food

Contact

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