Steven Thwaites

Principal Solutions Engineer | Istio & Ambient Mesh, Kubernetes, Agentic AI | Ex-Docker & AWS Containers GTM

London3.4k followers

solo.io

ex-Docker, Inc

ex-Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Principal SE with 12+ years in the cloud-native ecosystem -- from infrastructure-as-code at Puppet, through the container revolution at Docker, hyperscale at AWS, and now service mesh and agentic AI at io.
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I help organizations from startups to Fortune 500s adopt Kubernetes, Istio, and AI infrastructure, and I'm just as comfortable building a PoC in a terminal as presenting architecture to a CTO. Always happy to talk shop. I've had a front-row seat to the container-driven transformation of how software is built and operated. I combine deep hands-on expertise with a track record of building and leading high-performing pre-sales teams, mentoring Solutions Engineers, and shaping product strategy through tight field-product feedback loops. Today, my focus is the intersection of AI and cloud-native infrastructure. At io I work on projects like kagent, agentgateway, and agentregistry -- tools that are changing how teams build and manage AI agents on Kubernetes. That includes: - Architecting solutions for running AI agents at scale on Kubernetes and service mesh - Enabling secure, observable connectivity for AI applications and agent skills - Helping customers build, deploy, and operate AI agents and their supporting platforms in production I'm also a hands-on practitioner -- actively integrating agentic tools like opencode and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) into my own engineering workflows to accelerate PoC development and technical problem-solving. Whether operating as a hands-on Principal IC or as an SE leader, I partner closely with sales, product, marketing, and services to drive adoption and customer success. Specialties: Kubernetes, Istio, Ambient Mesh, API Gateways, Service Mesh, Agentic AI, Containers, AWS, CI/CD, DevOps, Software Supply Chain Security.

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SOLO.IOJOB
1. Principal Solutions Eng
  1Y 1M
DOCKER,JOB
1. Dir, Solutions Eng, Intern…
  1Y 10M
2. Dir, Solutions Eng, EMEA
  2Y 2M
3. EMEA Technical Presales Lead
  1Y 3M
AMAZON WEB SERVICES (AWS)JOB
1. Senior Containers GTM Spec…
  2Y 3M
MIRANTISJOB
1. Dir, Solutions Eng, EMEA
  1Y 6M
PUPPETJOB
1. Principal Technical Soluti…
  4M
2. Senior Technical Solutions…
  1Y 7M
3. Technical Solutions Eng
  1Y
ORACLEJOB
1. Principal Advanced Support…
  8M
XSIGO SYSTEMSJOB
1. Professional Services Eng
  2Y 9M
HOUSE OF COMMONSJOB
1. Senior Enterprise Systems…
  2Y 4M
2. Enterprise Systems Support…
  1Y 2M
3. Support Analyst
  2Y 1M

Job: solo.io — Principal Solutions Engineer · 2025-09 – present · 11 mo — ▪️ Partner with customers ranging from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 financial services, government, and technology organizations to solve complex cloud-native challenges using solo.io's service mesh (Istio, Ambient Mesh) and API/AI gateway technologies -- from initial architecture and PoC through production-hardened deployments. ▪️ Accelerate time-to-value and de-risk deployments by recreating complex customer environments and validating configurations, actively utilizing AI-assisted engineering tools (like opencode and MCP) to drastically reduce technical validation cycles. ▪️ Influence product direction by synthesizing customer feedback, field patterns, and technical findings into…
Job: Docker, Inc — Director, Solutions Engineering, International · 2023-09 – 2025-07 · 1y 10mo — ▪️ Recruited to rebuild and scale the Solutions Engineering function for the "new" Docker, growing the team from 2 to 5 SEs supporting Fortune 500 and Global 2000 accounts across AI/LLM developer experiences, Docker Desktop, and secure software supply chain solutions. ▪️ Drove technical pre-sales strategy for AI-powered developer tools, trusted content, and software supply chain security across EMEA and APAC, whilst internally pioneering the use of AI engineering tools (like opencode and MCP) to accelerate our technical pre-sales workflows. ▪️ Acted as executive sponsor for Fortune 500 enterprise accounts across financial services, government, and technology sectors, strengthening C-level r…
Job: Amazon Web Services (AWS) — Senior Containers GTM Specialist · 2021-05 – 2023-08 · 2y 3mo — ▪️ Owned the go-to-market (GTM) strategy for AWS container services (ECS, EKS, Fargate) across EMEA, driving adoption within Fortune 500 and Global 2000 accounts in financial services, government, and technology, while fostering deep relationships with enterprise, ISV, and SMB sales teams. ▪️ Acted as a key technical advisor and overlay for account teams, providing deep subject matter expertise on containers to help customers design, build, and scale cloud-native workloads. ▪️ Formulated and piloted customer-centric initiatives to accelerate the adoption of container services, resulting in significant usage uplift and technical wins. ▪️ Provided critical feedback to the business on emergent…
Job: Mirantis — Director, Solutions Engineering, EMEA · 2019-11 – 2021-05 · 1y 6mo — ▪️ Led the EMEA Solutions Engineering team through the acquisition of Docker's Enterprise business by Mirantis, ensuring the retention of key talent and the continued success of the sales organization. ▪️ Maintained and grew the customer base for the newly acquired Docker Enterprise platform (now Mirantis Kubernetes Engine), providing technical leadership and pre-sales support during a critical transition period. ▪️ Collaborated with Mirantis leadership to integrate the Docker Enterprise technology and team into the new organization, contributing to a unified product vision and go-to-market strategy.
Job: Docker, Inc — Director, Solutions Engineering, EMEA · 2017-09 – 2019-11 · 2y 2mo — ▪️ Built and led a top-performing Solutions Engineering team of up to 9 SEs across EMEA and APAC, driving technical sales for all customer tiers. ▪️ Forged tighter feedback loops between customers, product, and engineering by defining and implementing new collaboration processes. ▪️ Secured key enterprise wins by leading pre-sales engagements and architecting solutions with Docker Enterprise (Swarm, DTR, UCP). ▪️ Improved sales forecasting and execution by implementing a more rigorous, data-driven sales qualification process and CRM usage. ▪️ Developed and scaled a comprehensive technical enablement program and sales collateral, empowering the sales team to win more deals. ▪️ Served as a ke…
Job: Docker, Inc — EMEA Technical Presales Lead · 2016-06 – 2017-09 · 1y 3mo — ▪️ First Solutions Engineer in EMEA, focused on enterprise accounts, starting new regions and supporting triple-digit sales growth during a period of rapid change in the container market. ▪️ Acted as the sole pre-sales resource initially, covering all opportunities across EMEA, then hiring and mentoring additional SEs to scale the team. ▪️ Drove the full technical sales cycle—discovery, workshops, evaluations/PoCs, solution design, and proposals—for Docker Enterprise software and services across top-tier accounts. ▪️ Enabled and supported channel partners with training, bid support, and joint customer engagements. ▪️ Landed early strategic accounts across EMEA and APAC (including Bosch, UBS…
Job: Puppet — Principal Technical Solutions Engineer · 2016-02 – 2016-06 · 4 mo — ▪️ As a Principal Technical Solutions Engineer, I owned the technical relationship with Puppet's largest and most strategic customers across EMEA. ▪️ I was responsible for mentoring and developing the next generation of Solutions Engineers, creating and delivering a comprehensive onboarding program. ▪️ I provided deep technical expertise and thought leadership to our flagship accounts, helping them to solve their most complex automation challenges with Puppet.
Job: Puppet — Senior Technical Solutions Engineer · 2014-07 – 2016-02 · 1y 7mo — ▪️ Promoted to Senior Technical Solutions Engineer, taking on additional leadership responsibilities, including mentoring and training new team members. ▪️ Developed and delivered a comprehensive suite of training materials, labs, and workshops that significantly improved the onboarding process and technical skills of the Solutions Engineering team. ▪️ Continued to provide expert pre-sales support to enterprise customers, while also acting as a technical leader and mentor within the team.
Job: Puppet — Technical Solutions Engineer · 2013-07 – 2014-07 · 1y — ▪️ I played a key role in the expansion of Puppet's customer base in EMEA, leading the technical pre-sales for Puppet Enterprise and open source Puppet. ▪️ I specialized in designing and delivering compelling PoCs that showcased the power of Puppet to solve real-world automation challenges for our customers. ▪️ I was a frequent presenter at technical workshops and marketing events, where I had the opportunity to share my passion for automation with the broader community.
Job: Oracle — Principal Advanced Support Engineer · 2012-11 – 2013-07 · 8 mo — ▪️ Transitioned to Oracle through the acquisition of Xsigo Systems, a pioneer in software-defined networking (SDD) and I/O virtualization. ▪️ As a Principal Advanced Support Engineer, I provided expert, post-sales support for the Xsigo product line (now Oracle VM Server for x86) to Oracle's top-tier customers. ▪️ I was responsible for resolving the most complex technical issues, providing proactive and preventative support, and acting as a trusted advisor to ensure the success of our customers' virtualization initiatives.
Job: Xsigo Systems — Professional Services Engineer · 2010-02 – 2012-11 · 2y 9mo — ▪️ At Xsigo Systems, I had the opportunity to work with some of the earliest adopters of I/O virtualization and software-defined networking, which was based on high-performance computing (HPC) networking principles. ▪️ As a Professional Services Engineer, I was responsible for the complete lifecycle of our customer deployments, including requirements gathering, solution design, implementation, and post-sales support. ▪️ I was a hands-on technical expert, configuring the Infiniband fabric and HCAs, and handing off to Ethernet and Fiber Channel network fabrics, and was equally comfortable in the data center racking and cabling our hardware as I was in a conference room presenting our technolo…
Job: House of Commons — Senior Enterprise Systems Specialist · 2007-09 – 2010-01 · 2y 4mo — ▪️ In my role as Senior Enterprise Systems Specialist, I was entrusted with the operational ownership of a number of key enterprise IT systems for the Houses of Parliament, including the Windows server estate, Active Directory, and our web infrastructure. ▪️ I was a technical lead on a major data center virtualization and consolidation project, using P2V techniques to transform our server infrastructure and lay the foundation for a more modern and flexible IT environment. ▪️ I provided expert-level support and guidance to a wide range of stakeholders, from MPs and Peers to parliamentary staff, ensuring they had the tools and technology they needed to do their work effectively.
Job: House of Commons — Enterprise Systems Support Engineer · 2006-07 – 2007-09 · 1y 2mo — ▪️ In my role as an Enterprise Systems Support Engineer, I was on the front line of IT support for the Houses of Parliament, ensuring that our users had the technology they needed to perform their critical work. ▪️ I was responsible for the operational health of our key enterprise systems, and I was a key contributor to a number of projects to improve and modernize our IT environment. ▪️ I gained valuable experience in a wide range of technologies, including Windows Server, Active Directory, and virtualization, which laid the foundation for my future career.
Job: House of Commons — Support Analyst · 2004-06 – 2006-07 · 2y 1mo — ▪️ My role as a Support Analyst was my entry into the world of IT, and it was an incredible opportunity to learn and grow in a unique and historic environment. ▪️ I was responsible for providing front-line IT support to the entire parliamentary community, and I quickly became adept at troubleshooting a wide range of technical issues. ▪️ This role taught me the importance of customer service, problem-solving, and working as part of a team, and it was the perfect start to my career in technology.
School: Chiswick Community School

Skills

Service MeshAPI GatewaysDevOpsIstioAgentic AI DevelopmentSolution ArchitectureSystem DeploymentInfrastructureCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareProfessional ServicesKubernetesContinuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)Model Context Protocol (MCP)Artificial Intelligence (AI)Amazon Web Services (AWS)Python (Programming Language)DockerLinuxNetworking

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Steven Thwaites

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