James Chambers

James Chambers

Cloud DevOps Platform Consultant & Scrum Master

SC Cleared
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Professional Profile

I'm a Cloud DevOps Engineer, Scrum Master, and team leader passionate about transforming cloud infrastructures across Azure and AWS platforms. With a diverse background uniquely blending technical expertise, agile leadership, and seven years of policing experience, I bring a distinctive skill set focused on team empowerment, project delivery, and operational excellence.

14+ Years in Tech
7 Years Policing
4 Azure Certs
SC Cleared

The Foundation

My journey began 14 years ago in web development, establishing a robust technical foundation that underpins everything I build today.

The Edge

Seven years of policing, five as a Police Constable and two continuing as a Special Constable, honed resilience, leadership under pressure, and the ability to make critical decisions fast. Skills I now apply daily to lead DevOps teams and drive agile delivery.

The Leader

As a Scrum Master, I champion agile practices, facilitate sprint ceremonies, remove blockers for engineering teams, and drive cross-functional collaboration to deliver projects on time and to a high standard.

The Mission

Currently in the Higher Education sector, I lead initiatives deploying scalable, secure, and future-proof cloud solutions across Azure and AWS, backed by multiple Microsoft certifications.

My goal is to build automated, resilient cloud infrastructures that empower organisations to thrive, by leading high-performing teams through agile delivery, Infrastructure as Code, and robust CI/CD pipelines.

Experience

  • Serve as Scrum Master, facilitating sprint planning, daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and backlog refinement for cross-functional engineering teams.
  • Drive project delivery by removing impediments, tracking velocity, and ensuring alignment between stakeholders and delivery teams.
  • Designed, deployed, and managed Microsoft Azure infrastructure, ensuring high availability, scalability, and security in compliance with GDPR, PIPEDA, and SOC 2 regulations.
  • Developed Infrastructure as Code (IaC) solutions using Bicep and ARM templates, automating provisioning and management workflows via Azure DevOps.
  • Optimised cloud performance through Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Application Insights, implementing automated scaling and recovery mechanisms.
  • Enhanced and maintained CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps, enabling seamless application deployments and integrations across development teams.
  • Applied FinOps principles by monitoring cloud costs with Azure Cost Management, identifying optimisation opportunities, and recommending cost-saving measures.
  • Implemented Azure-native security solutions, including Azure Security Center, Defender, and Key Vault, enforcing Zero Trust principles with RBAC and MFA.
  • Mentored and guided team members on DevOps best practices, agile workflows, and cloud architecture decisions.
  • Created and maintained comprehensive documentation for Azure infrastructure, automation processes, and workflows, providing technical guidance to internal teams.
  • Engineered robust 'lift and shift' strategies, enhancing major applications' performance on Azure, directly contributing to efficiency gains and operational cost reductions.
  • Participated in agile ceremonies and supported sprint delivery within a cross-functional team, contributing to continuous improvement and on-time releases.
  • Proficient in optimising Azure services, including Compute, Storage, and Active Directory, to build scalable and secure cloud infrastructures.
  • Leveraged Azure DevOps, PowerShell, and Bicep to pioneer process automation, promoting efficiency and ensuring adherence to compliance standards.
  • Upheld stringent security measures and ensured compliance with UK Government policies, underpinned by AZ-900, AZ-104, and SC-900 Microsoft certifications.
  • Collaborated closely with multiple departments and stakeholders to ensure cloud solutions align with business strategies, driving innovation and organisational growth.
  • Applied Infrastructure as Code (IaC) methodologies to streamline and fortify cloud provisioning processes.
  • Continued voluntary policing alongside a full-time DevOps career, demonstrating exceptional time management and commitment.
  • Led small teams during operational deployments, coordinating response efforts and delegating tasks under pressure.
  • Applied incident management and rapid decision-making skills directly transferable to IT incident response and on-call scenarios.
  • Maintained SC-level vetting and upheld the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.
  • Served 4 years on Rapid Response, 1 year in Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
  • Led team briefings and coordinated multi-unit responses to critical incidents, developing strong leadership and delegation skills.
  • Communicated effectively within diverse communities and coordinated with specialists to resolve complex cases.
  • Managed competing priorities under extreme pressure, building the resilience and composure now applied to incident management and sprint delivery.
  • Skilled in intelligence reporting, evidence-based decision making, and stakeholder management.
  • Skilled in creating dynamic websites with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and SQL, leveraging cloud-based technologies for scalability.
  • Proficient in key development tools and secure command-line operations.
  • Innovates user experiences through data-driven enhancement strategies.
  • Executed quality-driven projects rapidly, maintaining user experience standards.
  • Designed and analysed email campaigns, leveraging Google Analytics for optimisation.

Technical Skills

Azure Cloud Platform

Azure Compute, Storage & Networking90%
Azure Active Directory / Entra ID85%
Azure Monitor / Log Analytics / App Insights85%
Azure Cost Management / FinOps80%
Azure Functions / App Services80%
AKS / Kubernetes70%
Docker / ACR70%

DevOps & CI/CD

Azure DevOps Pipelines (YAML)85%
GitHub Actions75%
Bicep / ARM Templates (IaC)85%
Terraform / Terragrunt70%
Git Version Control85%

Security & Compliance

Azure Defender / Security Center80%
Azure Key Vault / RBAC / MFA85%
Zero Trust / Conditional Access80%
GDPR / SOC 2 / UK Gov Compliance80%
Azure Policy / Governance75%

Scripting & Tooling

PowerShell85%
Bash / Shell Scripting75%
Python70%
Azure CLI / Az Module85%
Helm / Helmfile65%
HTML / CSS / JavaScript90%

Education

BA (Hons) 2.1 Business Management

University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK