Cloud Solutions Architect / Cloud & DevOps Engineer

Khalid
Korena

I design, build, secure, and optimize cloud architectures across AWS, Azure, and other cloud providers, with a focus on scalability, high availability, reliability, performance, and security. I modernize legacy systems, automate infrastructure, troubleshoot recurring technical issues, and build websites and business systems that are designed to scale with the business.

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Portrait of Khalid Korena in a navy three-piece suit
AWS / Azure / Linux / Windows Server / Networking
2 Cloud platforms: AWS and Azure
11 Certifications across AWS, Microsoft, Red Hat and Cisco
7 Public projects on GitHub
2022 Working in IT infrastructure since
Services

One engineer, the whole stack.

From the first architecture sketch to the alert that wakes someone up at 3am, I take a system through its full life. You get one person who designs it, ships it, locks it down and keeps an eye on it.

01 Build Architecture and deployment on AWS and Azure, from VPCs and containers to serverless pipelines.
02 Secure Least-privilege access, MFA, firewalls and continuous security scanning.
03 Monitor Logs, metrics and alarms that tell you something is wrong before users do.
04 Modernize Upgrading legacy systems and finding the real cause behind recurring problems.

Cloud architecture and migration

  • Solution design on AWS and Azure
  • Migrating on-prem systems to the cloud
  • Multi-cloud setups
  • Cost optimization

DevOps and automation

  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Infrastructure as Code: Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep
  • Containers and Kubernetes (ECS, EKS, AKS)
  • Automation scripts in PowerShell, Bash and Python

Security and monitoring

  • IAM, MFA, RBAC and SSO
  • Firewalls and VPN: pfSense, Fortinet
  • GuardDuty, Prowler and security audits
  • CloudWatch and Log Analytics alerting
  • Backup and disaster recovery

Legacy modernization and troubleshooting

  • Auditing old systems and infrastructure
  • Fixing root causes, not symptoms
  • Upgrading and re-platforming
  • Stabilizing unreliable services

Websites and business systems

  • Corporate websites
  • Internal dashboards and company systems
  • Forms and mail backends
  • AI assistants and integrations
  • Mobile app backend operations

Networking, IT infrastructure and CCTV

  • Routing and switching (Cisco)
  • Company networks, VLANs and subnetting
  • Site-to-site and remote access VPN
  • Wi-Fi and access points (WPA2, WPA3)
  • Structured cabling, racks and PoE
  • CCTV and IP camera systems
  • VoIP phone systems
  • Active Directory and Entra ID
  • Corporate email, domains and hosting
  • Windows Server and Linux administration
ALSO: IT CONSULTING / TEAM LEADERSHIP / TRAINING Not sure where to start? Tell me the problem.
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Technical skills

What I work with

From racking a VLAN to wiring a serverless pipeline: networking foundations first, cloud on top, security throughout.

Cloud platforms
AWS: EC2, S3, IAM, VPC, ECS, Fargate, ECR, Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, Step Functions, CloudWatch, GuardDuty
Azure: VMs, Azure AD, App Service, Storage, Networking
Systems and networking
Windows Server, Red Hat Linux, Active Directory, Entra ID and SSO, Group Policy, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, site-to-site and remote access VPN, routing and switching, Wi-Fi and access points, PoE, structured cabling, CCTV and IP cameras, VoIP, backup and DR
Containers and DevOps
Docker, Kubernetes (EKS, AKS), Amazon ECS / Fargate, Nginx, ALB, Auto Scaling, CI/CD pipelines, Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep
Scripting and tools
PowerShell, Bash, Python, AWS CLI, Azure CLI, cPanel, HTML / CSS / JavaScript, PHP, MySQL
Security and monitoring
IAM least privilege, MFA, RBAC, pfSense, Fortinet, Prowler, GuardDuty, CloudWatch, Log Analytics

Experience

3 roles / 2022 to present
Jul 2026 - Present Current role Remote, part-time

Technical Operations Manager

Takween United Publishing
  • Manage and maintain the company's iOS and Android app and its internal dashboard
  • Administer the cPanel server hosting the mobile app backend and related services
  • Built and maintain the company website; manage corporate email infrastructure
  • Lead a small technical team overseeing daily operations and deliverables
  • Designed and automated an EPUB production pipeline; run digital publishing on Amazon KDP and Kobo Writing Life
Mar 2023 - Apr 2023 Khartoum, Sudan

Network Administrator Intern

City College
  • Deployed and configured NComputing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure across the internal and external network
  • Audited network devices, migrated data from primary to backup servers, and reviewed pfSense firewall rules and network design
Jun 2022 - Mar 2023 Khartoum, Sudan

System Administrator Intern

RCB Bank
  • Managed user accounts, security policies and Group Policy software deployment in Active Directory
  • Monitored network communications and verified backup integrity on SAN storage

Selected projects

Hands-on builds, each documented with its architecture on GitHub. Select a diagram to view it full size.

github.com/khalidkorena15
Platform / FeaturedLive in production

PharmaLink

A B2B platform connecting pharmaceutical companies and their distributors with licensed pharmacies in Sudan. It replaces phone calls and paper invoices with one auditable system: a shared catalog, batch expiry tracking with FEFO alerts, a full order to payment flow with installment plans, price negotiation, mutual ratings, live support chat, and automatic monthly commission settlement.

Node.js / ExpressReact 18 / ViteTailwindMySQL / MariaDBJWT + MFAArabic and English, RTL
Web / FeaturedLive in production

Takween United Publishing Website

A corporate site built from scratch for a publishing group founded in 2006. Calm luxury design in cream, maroon and gold, a 3D logo that rotates with scroll, pinned sections, animated counters, and a PHP mail backend for the literary agent and author contract forms.

HTML / CSS / JSGSAP ScrollTriggerLenisPHP mail backendResponsive
AWS / Security01

Bank Transaction Microservice

A secure banking microservice on AWS with public and private VPC subnets, bastion-host access, and continuous security monitoring.

BastionPrivate subnetCloudWatchGuardDutyProwler
View repository
AWS + Azure02

Multi-Cloud Application

A cross-cloud architecture routing traffic from an AWS ECS frontend to an Azure App Service Flask backend over HTTPS.

ECS FargateHTTPSAzure App Service
View repository
Containers / HA03

ECS Fargate Nginx Deployment

A production-style containerized service with an Application Load Balancer, multi-AZ high availability and auto scaling.

ALBECS Fargate x Multi-AZAuto ScalingECR
View repository
Serverless04

Serverless Event Processing API

An event-driven pipeline with retry logic and full CloudWatch observability.

API GatewayLambdaStep FunctionsDynamoDB
View repository
AI / Web platform05

Takween Assistant

An embedded AI helpdesk chat widget for an author-management platform, with tiered escalation, an admin FAQ console and full audit logging.

PHPMySQLClaude APIAudit log
View repository
Identity / HybridIn progress

Hybrid Active Directory Lab

Connecting an on-prem Windows Server domain (corp.local) to AWS Managed Microsoft AD through a forest trust, with SSO via IAM Identity Center.

On-prem AD DSForest trustAWS Managed ADIAM Identity Center
Infrastructure and Azure labs04

Virtualization and Infrastructure Deployment

Configuring and deploying Virtual Desktop Infrastructure using NComputing.

IT InfrastructureSystems Administration

Cloud Networking and Deployment

Experimenting with pairing a group of VMs and App Services in different geographical regions and across several virtual networks.

Cloud ComputingAzure Infrastructure

Virtualization and Desktop Systems

Creating a Microsoft.Compute/disks resource with the Bicep language.

VirtualizationNetworked Computing

Azure Storage Management

Managing blob containers and file shares in Azure Storage Explorer, with SAS-authenticated uploads and downloads.

Azure StorageBlob and File Shares

Certifications

Formal training across Cisco, Microsoft, AWS and Red Hat. Select any certificate to view it full size.

11 certifications + 1 record
Microsoft06
Verify on Microsoft Learn Credential ID 284ED94E05518574
Cisco02
Verify on Cisco Verification No. ef387e55d02f4eb7884211ef007b6662
Red Hat01
Amazon Web Services02
Verify on Udemy UC-e05d26f5-d0eb-4a73-baa1-c3756cb4fffc
View course on AWS Skill Builder AWS Skill Builder course 134
Recognition01
View certificate online Most users in an AI video lesson (14,075). ID KANZ-GWR-BD1970B01C
Education
National University, Sudan
B.Sc. (Honours) in Information Technology
Full time / Grade: Good / Awarded 28 April 2022
Languages
ArabicNative
EnglishB2 / Upper intermediate

Let's build something reliable.

Emailkhalid.korena14@outlook.com Phone+249 997 193 304 LinkedInin/khalid-korena GitHubkhalidkorena15
Khalid Abd Elrahman Mustafa Korena Cairo, Egypt