Keelen Carrera

ABOUT ME

Shifting left.
Defending everything.

Security isn't a layer you bolt on at the end, it's the foundation. With 6+ years in backend development and cloud integration, I transitioned deliberately into security, earning my CompTIA Security+ and actively pursuing AWS Cloud Practitioner certification while building real-world skills in SIEM, SOC operations, and DevSecOps pipeline hardening.

My background as a software engineer gives me an edge in security: I understand how systems are built, which means I understand exactly how they break. I embed security into CI/CD pipelines, harden cloud infrastructure, and build detection capabilities that catch threats before they become incidents.

Currently pursuing for SOC Analyst and DevSecOps while simultaneously building a hands-on security lab and public portfolio demonstrating practical skills beyond certifications.

🛡️

CompTIA Security+SY0-701 · Issued Feb 2026 · Expires Feb 2029

☁️

AWS Cloud PractitionerIssued Mar 2026 · Expires Mar 2029

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CompTIA CySA+Next Target

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CargoWise Certified ProfessionalIssued Jun 2024 · Expires Jun 2026

keelen@devsecops ~

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keelen_carrera

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Role : DevSecOps Engineer / SOC Analyst

Stack : Node.js · Python · TypeScript · AWS

Security : Security+ · SIEM · CI/CD · IaC

Location : Houston, TX

Status : Open to Opportunities

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threat-detection/ incident-response/ pipeline-security/ cloud-hardening/ vulnerability-mgmt/ siem-engineering/

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Experience

Career Timeline

Feb 2025 – Present

Independent Cybersecurity Professional Development

Self-Directed Training & Hands-On Laboratory Work

Security-Focused

Conducting full-time independent training in cybersecurity disciplines, with a focus on detection engineering, blue-team operations, and cloud security.

Designed and built a home SOC lab with custom Sigma rules mapped to MITRE ATT&CK; executed Atomic Red Team simulations to validate detection coverage across 5 attack techniques, including credential dumping, PowerShell abuse and scheduled task persistence.
Developed experience in API design, data processing, and scalable system architecture, with an emphasis on translating system requirements into working applications and improving overall system reliability.
Focused on professional growth through certifications and hands-on development in cloud, backend, and security-focused systems. Earned AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and CompTIA Security+ while building real-world projects, including a logistics integration platform and a full-stack inquiry processing application.

AWSIAMREST APIsSecure SDLC

Jun 2023 – Jan 2025

Software Integration Engineer

Aries Worldwide Logistics

Integration

Owned end-to-end design, development, deployment, and ongoing maintenance of enterprise system integrations connecting Revenova TMS, CargoWise ERP, HubSpot CRM, Salesforce, EDI trading partners, and internal company tools.

Configured logging and monitoring for integration pipelines, instrumenting flows to surface failure conditions, capture audit trails of data transformation steps, and support root-cause analysis when production incidents occurred. Routinely reviewed logs to identify integration anomalies and remediation requirements.
Designed and implemented automated ETL pipelines using Python scripts and SQL stored procedures to optimize data ingestion and transformation, significantly improving data processing efficiency and ensuring data integrity.
Collaborated with business stakeholders and technical teams to troubleshoot production integrations, resolve data discrepancies, and improve operational reliability across logistics platforms..

MuleSoftPythonETLSQLAPI Integration

Dec 2022 – Jun 2023

Software Development Instructional Support Staff

Code Fellows

Education

Supported software development professional program, providing technical instruction, code review, mentorship, and deployment guidance to students transitioning into software engineering careers.

Supported 30+ students building full-stack applications using JavaScript, Python, SQL, and AWS services; conducted code reviews, guided deployment to AWS EC2/S3, and reinforced Git-based workflows.
Provided 1-on-1 tutoring for students who needed more assistance with web services, applying technical concepts and logic, and problem-solving skills for code challenges.

JavaScriptAWS EC2GitCode Review

Projects

Lab Portfolio

Hands-on security work built in a real home lab environment. Every project below reflects professional-grade problem solving, documented and version-controlled on GitHub.

SIEM Detection Engineering Lab 01

Demonstrates hands-on skills across detection engineering, vulnerability management, and incident response, built entirely in home-lab environments using industry-standard tooling. Every project maps to real-world workflows that mirror what SOC teams, vulnerability management programs, and IR teams execute daily.

SIEMMITRE ATT&CK mappingIncident ResponseEndpoint & Network Hardening

📋 In-Progress

Logistics Integration Portfolio

A collection of integration architecture patterns and data transformation examples inspired by real-world enterprise logistics system design, including examples of designing and building enterprise data pipelines across Transportation Management Systems (TMS), Freight ERP platforms, CRM tools, EDI trading partners, and warehouse systems using IaaS MuleSoft

MuleSoftCargoWisePythonETLSQL

✓ Professional Work

Dine Flow — AI Restaurant Management

Co-lead of technical strategy on a 6-week engineering cohort building an AI-driven restaurant management platform. Led backend architecture with Node.js, Express, and TypeScript. Platform features live inventory automation, predictive prep modeling that cut ingredient waste by 30%, supplier integrations, and an AI assistant (Dina) for staff support.

Node.jsTypeScriptExpressReactAI

✓ Shipped ↗ Live Site

Discover Texas

Award-winning travel web application showcasing Texas's three major cities — Austin, Houston, and Dallas — with rich city guides, attractions, dining, and a contact portal. Recognized for excellence in UI/UX design and front-end engineering during an academic cohort competition.

HTMLCSSJavaScriptResponsive Design

🏆 Award: Excellence

Learning Roadmap

A transparent view of the structured path I'm following to build professional-grade security skills — cert by cert, lab by lab.

🛡️

Security+

Completed 2026

→

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AWS Cloud Practitioner

Completed mar 2026

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CompTIA CySA+

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AWS Solutions Architect

Upcoming

SIEM Mastery

Wazuh, Splunk (BOTS CTF), Microsoft Sentinel, Elastic SIEM. Writing custom detection rules, SPL queries, KQL analytics.

Weeks 1–4Active

Practical Threat Detection Engineering Labs

Active Directory environment, attack simulation with VMS (WSL2), detection and incident reporting, Docker

Weeks 2–6Active

CTF & Platform Training

TryHackMe SOC paths, HackTheBox Sherlocks, LetsDefend.io alert triage, PortSwigger Web Academy.

OngoingActive

DevSecOps Pipeline

GitHub Actions with CodeQL, Semgrep, Trivy, TruffleHog, Checkov. IaC security with Terraform. Container scanning.

Months 2–4Planned

10-Lab Portfolio

SIEM deploy, phishing detection, Kerberoasting, PCAP analysis, vuln management, AWS threat detection, IR playbooks, DFIR challenges.

OngoingBuilding

Shifting left.
Defending everything.

Technical Arsenal

Security

Cloud & DevOps

Development

Tools & Frameworks

Career Timeline