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<figure class="alignleft size-medium is-resized"><img src="https://vkafed.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/headshot-800_low-242x300.jpeg" alt="Val Kafedzhy, AI Infrastructure and Enterprise Platform Architect" class="wp-image-379" style="width:240px;height:auto;border-radius:10px;box-shadow:0 6px 20px -8px rgba(15,23,42,.35)"/></figure>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>AI Infrastructure & Enterprise Platform Architect · Washington, D.C.</strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">For over 20 years I’ve designed and operated the infrastructure layer beneath large systems: networks, platforms, and the security that holds them together. Today I focus on the problems specific to running AI at scale: routing inference traffic across regions, segmenting workloads with Zero Trust, seeing into the kernel with eBPF, and keeping expensive accelerators fed and reachable.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I work across the full stack of the part users never see: BGP, anycast, and enterprise routing; firewalls, Zero Trust, and network security; DNS, email and SMTP infrastructure, and IPv6; cryptography and PKI; the Linux kernel and eBPF; Kubernetes and service meshes; and multi-cloud platforms across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. I have also taken systems through the compliance that enterprise work demands: SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, FIPS, and GDPR. Most of that now points in one direction: the networking, security, and platform foundations that AI systems run on, the kind of deep systems work that stays valuable as the tooling above it keeps changing.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What I care about</h2>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Architectures that survive contact with production, not diagrams that only work on slides.</li>
<li>Networks and platforms that are fast, secure, and global by design.</li>
<li>Making complex infrastructure legible: clear trade-offs, honest failure modes.</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Certifications</h2>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Kubernetes</strong>. The full CNCF trifecta: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Application Developer (CKAD), and Security Specialist (CKS).</li>
<li><strong>Cloud</strong>. AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional) and Google Professional Cloud Architect.</li>
<li><strong>Networking & Systems</strong>. Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).</li>
<li><strong>In progress</strong>. Currently pursuing CISSP (2026).</li>
</ul>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Away from the keyboard, I’m a licensed amateur radio operator, callsign KN4OCB. Radio is where a lot of my interest in networks and RF started.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Connect</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vkafed/">LinkedIn</a> · <a href="https://github.com/initv0">GitHub</a> · <a href="/contact/">Contact</a></p>
AI Infrastructure & Enterprise Platform Architect · Washington, D.C.
For over 20 years I’ve designed and operated the infrastructure layer beneath large systems: networks, platforms, and the security that holds them together. Today I focus on the problems specific to running AI at scale: routing inference traffic across regions, segmenting workloads with Zero Trust, seeing into the kernel with eBPF, and keeping expensive accelerators fed and reachable.
I work across the full stack of the part users never see: BGP, anycast, and enterprise routing; firewalls, Zero Trust, and network security; DNS, email and SMTP infrastructure, and IPv6; cryptography and PKI; the Linux kernel and eBPF; Kubernetes and service meshes; and multi-cloud platforms across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. I have also taken systems through the compliance that enterprise work demands: SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, FIPS, and GDPR. Most of that now points in one direction: the networking, security, and platform foundations that AI systems run on, the kind of deep systems work that stays valuable as the tooling above it keeps changing.
What I care about
- Architectures that survive contact with production, not diagrams that only work on slides.
- Networks and platforms that are fast, secure, and global by design.
- Making complex infrastructure legible: clear trade-offs, honest failure modes.
Certifications
- Kubernetes. The full CNCF trifecta: Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), Application Developer (CKAD), and Security Specialist (CKS).
- Cloud. AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional) and Google Professional Cloud Architect.
- Networking & Systems. Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).
- In progress. Currently pursuing CISSP (2026).
Away from the keyboard, I’m a licensed amateur radio operator, callsign KN4OCB. Radio is where a lot of my interest in networks and RF started.
Connect
LinkedIn · GitHub · Contact
