About Me

30+ years of experience in software development and technical architecture

Rob Vugts

Freelance Technical Architect & Software Engineer

I am an experienced technical architect and software engineer with over 30 years of experience in the banking sector, gained at leading institutions such as ING, Credit Suisse and UBS. In my career, I have built complex, sustainable IT systems, led technological initiatives and successfully developed and implemented technology strategies. My strength lies in solving complex challenges, minimizing operational costs and realizing scalable, innovative solutions that create tangible value for organizations and their customers.

I have expertise in software development, performance engineering, Azure Cloud platforms, Big Data technologies and the latest AI-assisted development methods ("vibe coding").

With experience in leading multidisciplinary teams — from developers to designers and testers — I deliver result-oriented products, within agile environments, on time and with high quality. My focus is on technical leadership, optimization of Azure cloud costs, performance engineering and the structural design of robust, scalable and future-proof systems.

Additionally, I am passionate about coaching and inspiring software engineers, increasing developer productivity with AI and building systems that structurally improve operational efficiency and customer experience.

Rob Vugts

My Mission

My mission is to empower organizations to unlock the full potential of their developers, tools, and IT infrastructure by leveraging modern AI solutions and cloud technologies. As a technical architect, I work to make cloud costs transparent and help organizations structurally optimize them, ensuring IT investments deliver sustainable returns.

I support organizations and their development teams to:

  • gain insights into and reduce Cloud (Azure) costs,
  • formalize, implement, and test non-functional requirements—such as performance, availability, scalability, and observability—in both new and existing systems,
  • drive innovation and increase productivity through the pragmatic use of AI-powered tools across the entire development process.

With more than thirty years of experience in complex, demanding IT environments, I partner with my clients to build a solid, future-proof technology foundation that enables technical teams to innovate with confidence, efficiency, and lasting quality.

My Values

My core values are craftsmanship, working with pleasure, transparency and result orientation. I believe that technology is a means, not an end in itself. By continuously investing in knowledge and innovation, I strive for solutions that truly make a difference – for now and for the future of organizations. Honesty, reliability and mutual trust always form the foundation of my way of working.

Professional Experience

October 2025 - Present

Freelance ICT Architect & Software Engineer

AI-chitect, Lelystad

Operating independently under the trade name AI-chitect, focused on supporting organizations with advanced ICT solutions. Services include pragmatic integration of AI-assisted software development, Azure Cloud cost optimization, and direct strategic advice on non-functional system requirements such as scalability and performance.

Unique in combining deep technical expertise and hands-on coaching for development teams, helping clients achieve measurable productivity gains, robust IT architecture, and sustainable cost reductions.

May 2024 - June 2025

Product Owner, Senior Software Engineer

UBS, Amsterdam - Group Functions (Finance Tech)

Led the Cloud Engineering Pod as Product Owner, driving technical strategy and cross-functional collaboration. Partnered with stakeholders to gather and prioritize requirements, ensuring the product backlog was well-defined and organized. Established best practices and operational guidelines for Azure Compute Products.

Key Achievements

  • Successfully delivered an Azure Cloud optimization product on time, automating daily reporting and actionable insights
  • Achieved close to $1 million in yearly cost savings by optimizing underutilized virtual machines, databases, and Kubernetes clusters
  • Uncovered $3 million in potential savings using a newly developed recommendation engine analyzing cost, pricing, configuration, uptime, and utilization data
  • Recruited, trained, and upskilled new team members

Technologies

Microsoft Azure, Azure Kubernetes, Python, KQL, Airflow

November 2020 - April 2024

Lead Big Data Performance Engineer, Technical Architect

Credit Suisse, Amsterdam - Finance

Defined and enforced technical standards for Big Data technologies. Provided governance, training, and best practices for Big Data solutions. Developed tools for Big Data performance monitoring and optimization. Mentored and managed Performance Champions across functional areas.

Key Achievements

  • Saved over $1 million annually by rightsizing Big Data infrastructure after optimizing inefficient Spark/Impala workloads
  • Stabilized system reliability and service levels by resolving recurring outages and SLA breaches, directly enabling the time-critical parent bank merger of UBS and Credit Suisse to be completed on schedule and in full compliance with regulatory requirements
  • Educated more than 100 developers on the effective and efficient use of Big Data, including best practices and use case advice

Technologies

Cloudera, Impala, Spark, Splunk, Java, Openshift

October 2015 - October 2020

Lead Technical Architect, Group Finance

Credit Suisse, Amsterdam

Technical governance, infrastructure management and optimization, TCO reporting and TCO reduction. Application decommissioning, end-of-life remediation and technical consultancy.

Key Achievements

  • Achieved over $5 million in yearly cost savings by decommissioning over 30 outdated applications, removing obsolete infrastructure, and resolving end-of-life scenarios
  • Successfully completed an Exadata proof-of-concept for the general ledger platform, demonstrating the solution delivers the high performance, scalability, and capacity needed to future-proof the general ledger
  • Contributed to the technical strategy for the department

Technologies

Oracle Database, Oracle WebLogic, Oracle Exadata, Linux, Java

November 2010 - September 2015

Lead Architect, Platform Services

Credit Suisse, London - Market and Credit Risk, Finance

Lead technical architect in a department with 400 engineers/architects. Technical strategy and technical governance for the Risk & Finance IT department. Infrastructure and IT cost management. Application decommissioning, end-of-life remediation and technical consultancy.

Key Achievements

  • Implemented a comprehensive cost reporting framework to enhance financial transparency and control
  • Implemented a comprehensive capacity management capability within the Market and Credit Risk ecosystems, optimizing resource allocation and system performance while ensuring a 5x capacity headroom for future growth
  • Boosted scenario reporting performance by 20x with Vertica MPP database integration, significantly accelerating data analysis and reporting capabilities to meet regulatory reporting SLAs

Technologies

C++, Java, R, Oracle, Vertica

September 2007 - October 2010

Lead Technical Architect, Market Risk

Credit Suisse, London

December 1998 - August 2007

Lead Architect

Credit Suisse, London

November 1995 - November 1998

Software Developer

ING International (Amsterdam), ING Barings (London)

Education

MSc Computer Science and Engineering

Eindhoven University of Technology

1988 - 1995

UBS Certified Engineer Program

Pluralsight

Completed over 30 Skill IQ assessments at the Expert level, including DevOps Foundations, Data Modelling, Microservices Architecture, Databricks SQL, Linux Fundamentals, Splunk Fundamentals, Java, Python, C++, Cloud Computing, and Managing Microsoft Azure (Compute, Storage, Monitoring)

My Skills

Leadership & Strategy

Functional Leadership Innovation Technical Strategy Technical Architecture Technical Standards Stakeholder Management Influence at all Levels

Technical Expertise

Non-Functional Requirements Software Engineering Performance Engineering AI-assisted Development Problem Solving Cost Optimisation Analytical Skills Microsoft Azure

Technologies & Tools

Linux/Bash Impala (Big Data) Oracle Database Vertica Splunk Python C++ Java Web Development Kusto Query Language (KQL) Cursor IDE

Methodology & Communication

Agile Scrum Written Communication Coaching/Training