From Fiber Splicing to Data Pipelines: Why I’m Taking My “Layer 1” Skills to the AWS Cloud
For many developers, "The Cloud" is an abstract concept, a place where servers exist in a digital vacuum. But my journey started somewhere very different. It started in the trenches of the Physical Layer.
Before I was a Data Engineer, I was working with the "plumbing" of the internet: Fiber Optics.
The Power of the Physical Layer
I spent my early career mastering OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) testing, power meter diagnostics, and the delicate art of cable splicing. I’ve held the physical strands of glass that carry the world’s data in my hands.
In the world of Fiber, you learn a hard truth...
From Fiber Splicing to Data Pipelines: Why I’m Taking My “Layer 1” Skills to the AWS Cloud
For many developers, "The Cloud" is an abstract concept, a place where servers exist in a digital vacuum. But my journey started somewhere very different. It started in the trenches of the Physical Layer.
Before I was a Data Engineer, I was working with the "plumbing" of the internet: Fiber Optics.
The Power of the Physical Layer
I spent my early career mastering OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) testing, power meter diagnostics, and the delicate art of cable splicing. I’ve held the physical strands of glass that carry the world’s data in my hands.
In the world of Fiber, you learn a hard truth: If the physical connection isn't perfect, the most sophisticated software in the world won't matter.
The Pivot: From the “Highway” to the “Traffic”
While I loved building the "highways" (the fiber networks), I became fascinated by the "traffic" (the data) flowing through them. This curiosity led me to Data Engineering, where I now work on the higher layers of the stack.
Today, instead of splicing cables, I am building end-to-end data pipelines. My current workflow involves:
- Extraction: Pulling data from sources like GA4 using Python.
- Storage: Managing raw data in Amazon S3.
- Processing: Ingesting and optimizing data into Amazon Redshift.
By implementing these AWS-driven pipelines, I’ve been able to improve data availability by 40% and reduce processing time by 30%.
Why I’m Joining the AWS Community
I am applying to be an AWS Community Builder because I believe the best engineers are those who understand the full stack, from the light pulses in a fiber cable to the SQL queries in a data warehouse.
As a builder in Kenya, I want to show that:
- Hardware skills are a superpower: My background in network diagnostics helps me understand cloud latency and infrastructure in a way that pure software developers might miss.
- Learning in Public is key: I want to document how I use AWS tools to solve real-world data problems, helping other hardware engineers bridge the gap into the cloud.
The cloud is just someone else's computer, but that computer is still connected by fiber. I’m excited to keep building on both!
Connect with me on LinkedIn