About Dalton Ousley

Technologist focused on DevOps, cloud, and customer success — bringing automation, observability, and practical engineering to business outcomes.

dalton@homelab:~
$ kubectl get pods -n observability
NAME                        READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE grafana-6c9dbbd666-ck9v2   1/1     Running   0          3d prometheus-768b9b9f7c-z2s4q 2/2     Running   1          3d
$ helm ls -n automation
NAME    NAMESPACE   REVISION  UPDATED             STATUS   CHART n8n     automation  4         2025-01-01 12:00    deployed n8n-0.21.0
$ terraform plan
Plan: 3 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy
dalton@homelab$
Dalton Ousley portrait

Tooling comfort zone

KubernetesKubernetesGCPGCPLinuxLinuxPythonPythonReactReactTypeScriptTypeScript

Introduction

> A cross-functional path from marketing to solutions engineering

Hi, I’m Dalton Ousley — a technologist with a background in entrepreneurship, freelancing, and technical consulting. Over the past 5+ years, I’ve helped clients solve complex problems through automation, integrations, and custom technical solutions.

I started in digital marketing, but quickly discovered my passion for the technical side of things — from CRMs and APIs to workflows, compliance, and cloud systems. Today, I’m pursuing a career that blends technical depth with customer success, aiming to become a Technical Account Manager, Cloud Engineer, or Solutions Architect.

Career Journey

> Hands-on delivery across roles and industries

  1. Entrepreneur & Freelancer

    2018–Present

    Built a client base by providing CRM implementations, automation workflows, and cross-functional technical support. Worked extensively with GoHighLevel, Zapier, custom APIs, and SaaS tools.

  2. Technical Consultant & Solutions Architect

    • Designed AI-powered CRM systems with automated lead scoring and chatbot integrations.
    • Reduced churn through custom onboarding and product adoption programs.
    • Led UX improvements by working closely with stakeholders and developers.

  3. Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Partnered with engineering teams to secure API access, develop custom components, and meet compliance requirements (including regulated industries like health & life insurance).

Skills & Expertise

> Breadth across the stack with a DevOps core

Programming & Dev

Languages, frameworks, and platforms

JavaScriptTypeScriptPythonSQLReactNext.js

Automation & SaaS

Enablement and system glue

GoHighLevelHubSpotZapierCustom APIsWebhooks

Cloud & DevOps

Shipping reliable systems

Kubernetes (K8s)DockerGrafanaPrometheus

Other Strengths

People and process

Technical TrainingCustomer OnboardingWorkflow DesignCompliance Consulting

Current Projects

> Learning by building and operating

Personal Home Lab

Cloud-hosted, Kubernetes-centric environment

  • Hosting n8n for automation flows and AI Agents
  • Configuring VPN networking for secure remote work
  • Implementing observability with Grafana & Prometheus
  • Developing custom apps and API integrations

Portfolio & Case Studies

Proof through practice

Creating real-world projects that demonstrate skills in DevOps, automation, and full-stack development — proving I can do the work, not just talk about it.

Certifications & Learning Path

> Bias for action and hands-on learning

In Progress

  • Google Professional Cloud Architect (PCA)

Next Steps

  • LPIC-1
  • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
  • Additional DevOps/Cloud certifications
“To learn and not do is not to learn; to learn and then do is to learn.” — Stephen Covey

What’s Next

> Where I’m excited to add value

I’m eager to join a forward-thinking team as a TAM, Cloud Engineer, or Solutions Architect. My blend of entrepreneurial drive, technical expertise, and customer-facing experience fits roles that require both technical depth and business alignment.