Jonathan Layman

This website exists first and foremost as a hands-on project. I wanted a single place where I could take what I've learned through certifications, teaching, and prior experience and turn it into something concrete. The goal was never just to earn credentials—it was to build, deploy, secure, and maintain real systems in a way that reflects how cloud environments actually work. This site serves as both a technical portfolio and a living record of that process.

It's what led me to the Cloud Resume Challenge.

At its core, the challenge is about building a resume website using modern cloud tools and best practices. More importantly, it forces you to work through real-world concepts like infrastructure design, security, automation, and deployment. It isn't about following a tutorial step by step; it's about understanding why each component exists and how the pieces fit together. This site is the result of that work.

Background

My professional background includes military service in intelligence and analysis roles, followed by several years teaching cybersecurity and networking. Both experiences emphasized structured problem-solving, attention to detail, and the importance of understanding complex systems rather than memorizing surface-level information.

Over time, I reached a point where I felt a clear career ceiling in education. While teaching cybersecurity was rewarding, I wanted to move closer to designing and operating the systems themselves. Cloud engineering—especially within AWS—felt like a natural progression, combining infrastructure, security, automation, and architecture in a way that aligned with both my interests and prior experience.

From Certifications to Application

My shift toward cloud engineering was intentional and gradual. I focused first on networking and security fundamentals, then layered in AWS-focused certifications to build cloud-specific knowledge. Certifications provided structure and accountability, but they also highlighted a limitation: they don't fully demonstrate how someone builds, troubleshoots, or improves real systems.

That realization is what pushed me toward hands-on projects. I wanted something I could own end-to-end, where decisions, mistakes, and improvements were part of the learning process rather than abstract concepts.

Why the Cloud Resume Challenge

I chose the AWS Cloud Resume Challenge because it sits at the intersection of theory and practice. It requires you to design infrastructure, secure resources using least-privilege principles, automate deployments, and treat documentation and iteration as part of the work.

This project touches on a broad range of core cloud concepts, including infrastructure with Amazon S3, CloudFront, and Route 53; security through IAM and HTTPS; CI/CD and automation using GitHub workflows; infrastructure as code with Terraform; and backend services built with Lambda, API Gateway, and DynamoDB. Each piece exists here for a reason, chosen to reflect how real cloud systems are built and maintained.

While the challenge provided the starting structure, this site is designed to go beyond it. New projects will be added, existing ones will evolve, and approaches will change as my skills grow. That ongoing refinement is intentional.

Where This Is Going

Right now, this site is centered on the Cloud Resume Challenge. Over time, it will grow into a broader portfolio of cloud and security-focused projects. If you're here as a recruiter or hiring manager, this site is meant to show how I approach learning and building systems, not just what I've studied. If you' re here out of curiosity, I hope it provides a clear picture of what the challenge is and why hands-on work matters.

If you'd like to explore the technical side of what I've built, you can view the projects section of the site. If you'd like to reach out, there's a contact section where you can send me a message directly.