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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>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Through my independent practice I take a small number of advisory engagements: audit readiness diagnostics, fractional CISO work for regulated companies, and high-stakes migration projects. What those look like is on the <a href="/advisory/">advisory page</a>.</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="/advisory/">Advisory</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.
Through my independent practice I take a small number of advisory engagements: audit readiness diagnostics, fractional CISO work for regulated companies, and high-stakes migration projects. What those look like is on the advisory page.
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 · Advisory · Contact
