Taylor Johnson
- becker63.digital
- github.com/becker63
- (+1) 220-246-8386
- New Albany, Ohio, USA
- johnsontaylor6320@gmail.com
Summary
Platform- and infrastructure-focused engineer with software engineering and security foundations. Experienced with Linux, Docker, Kubernetes-adjacent platform work, GitOps-style infrastructure, CI/CD, Python tooling, IAM/authentication systems, Prometheus/Grafana observability, and reproducible development environments. Strong at making opaque systems easier to inspect, reproduce, test, debug, and operate.
Skills
Languages: Python, Go, JavaScript / TypeScript, Nim, Bash
Platform / DevOps: Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Crossplane, FluxCD, HelmRelease, GitOps, CI/CD, NixOS, Nix flakes, Buck2, networking, reproducible environments
Cloud / Infrastructure: AWS fundamentals, DigitalOcean Crossplane provider, infrastructure-as-code patterns, declarative provisioning, deployment automation, local and homelab infrastructure
Observability / Operations: Prometheus, Grafana, infrastructure monitoring, logging concepts, incident-oriented troubleshooting, platform debugging
Security / Systems: IAM, OIDC, LDAP, authentication tracing, Linux networking, reproducible fuzzing, security testing, low-level systems debugging
AI / Agentic Systems: Agent evaluation harnesses, reproducible AI workflow testing, model execution pipelines, typed scoring/reporting systems
Experience
- Security & Infrastructure Documentation Intern
- Ohio Supercomputer Center
- Oct 2024 - Nov 2025
- Reverse-engineered and documented a 100k+ LOC production HPC platform supporting ~2,100 academic sites
- Traced OpenID Connect → JWT → LDAP identity flows across Apache modules, Nginx per-user process isolation, and Lua authentication hooks
- Built Docker-based local reproduction of the production authentication stack to reason about IAM behavior without privileged access
- Analyzed embedded Apache and Nginx subsystems implementing layered MVC-style configuration over authentication infrastructure
- Designed security test scenarios identifying double URL encoding behavior with RCE-adjacent implications
- Proposed reproducible dependency management using Nix / asdf to reduce CI flakiness and environment drift
- Mapped operationally sensitive authentication and infrastructure behavior into documentation usable for debugging, onboarding, and future platform work
- Systems-Oriented Frontend Engineer
- Tarigma Corporation (now GE Vernova)
- 2021 - 2023
- Built state coordination layer for a real-time electrical grid incident response platform
- Synchronized multiple live relay data feeds while preserving operator trust and temporal consistency
- Integrated Recoil with react-mosaic to support high-density diagnostic workflows and dynamic windowed layouts
- Extended Chart.js fork supporting draggable temporal annotations for grid event analysis
- Implemented COMTRADE-based relay data pipelines used in electrical disturbance analysis
- Worked on reliability-sensitive operator interfaces where correctness, timing, and debugging clarity were critical
- Programming Instructor & Technical Operator
- STEMTree
- 2021 - 2023
- Taught Python, JavaScript, React, and core computer science concepts to students ages 10-16
- Managed classroom network, device, and software environment issues during technical instruction
- Helped students debug programming, environment, and tooling problems in a hands-on learning setting
Projects
- Static Control Plane
- Kubernetes / Crossplane / KCL / FluxCD / HelmRelease / Nix / Buck2
- Built typed Crossplane/KCL control-plane infrastructure for GitOps-based cloud provisioning
- Modeled cloud, DNS, ingress, secret, and Helm-managed platform resources as typed, reviewable Kubernetes resources
- Generated infrastructure schemas and code from CRDs using Buck2 and Nix-pinned toolchains
- Validated rendered Kubernetes and Crossplane resources with automated Python tests before deployment
- Used FluxCD-style GitOps and HelmRelease resources for platform components including Crossplane, Traefik, Infisical, and FluxCD
- NixOS Homelab Infrastructure
- NixOS / Colmena / disko / nixos-anywhere / Tailscale / nix-serve
- Built a declarative multi-node NixOS homelab with separate gateway, gaming, and remote-builder hosts
- Managed host deployment through Colmena with flake-pinned NixOS configurations
- Provisioned disks declaratively with disko using GPT, EFI, LVM, and ext4 layouts
- Configured a Tailscale subnet gateway with NAT, route advertisement, OpenSSH, and remote management
- Deployed a distributed Nix builder and binary cache using nix-serve to accelerate builds across machines
- Generated reproducible installer ISO images and supported bootstrap deployment through nixos-anywhere
- nftables Structure Fuzzer
- Nim / Nix / Linux Networking / Prometheus / Grafana / MicroVMs
- Built a structure-aware fuzzing harness for nftables userspace libraries including libnftnl and libmnl
- Modeled nftables netlink attribute trees explicitly rather than relying only on blind byte-level mutation
- Used Nim bindings, protobuf-based mutation, sanitizer instrumentation, and isolated runtime support
- Automated Prometheus and Grafana observability setup to monitor fuzzing runs and runtime behavior
- Built reproducible Nix-based fuzzing infrastructure with containerized services, MicroVM isolation, and flake-pinned toolchains
- Applied Linux networking and security testing knowledge to low-level infrastructure-adjacent components
- SearchBench
- Go / Python / Pkl / Agent Evaluation / Reproducible Pipelines
- Designed a typed evaluation harness for comparing AI code-search backends and agentic search strategies
- Separated pure scoring/report models from adapters for configuration, filesystem bundles, model execution, and subprocess pipelines
- Built reproducible run artifacts for comparing search quality, token usage, and execution behavior across experiments
- Connected agentic AI project work with practical infrastructure concerns around repeatability, observability, and debugging
Professional Engagement & Recognition
- US Cyber Challenge Cyber Camp
- 2025
- Selected for multi-day cybersecurity training and CTF-style competition focused on practical security skills
- PicoCTF, Carnegie Mellon University
- 2024
- Placed 57th of 1,329 teams in national cybersecurity competition
- SkillsUSA Cybersecurity, State Competition
- Second Place
- Competed in hands-on cybersecurity and infrastructure troubleshooting scenarios
- Central Ohio Engineering Community
- 2024 - Present
- Active participant in conversations around platform engineering, infrastructure reliability, security, reproducible development environments, and AI-assisted engineering workflows
Education & Certifications
- Computer Science Coursework
- Ohio State University, Newark
- Cybersecurity Program
- Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools
- CompTIA Security+
- Certification
- CompTIA Network+
- Certification
- TestOut Network Pro
- Certification