Gustazos, part of GoBeyond, was rebuilding its platform and preparing for new releases. Engineering leadership was managing several projects across the business, and the team needed additional DevOps expertise to support the work ahead.

The role called for someone who could work independently, make thoughtful technical decisions, and take responsibility for infrastructure without needing detailed instructions at every step.

Through Develative’s staff augmentation model, a Senior DevOps Engineer joined Gustazos to work directly with its engineering team.

Finding the right person

We introduced a candidate with experience in AWS, Terraform, and cloud infrastructure. Gustazos evaluated both technical skills and team fit through its interview process, and the feedback after the first conversation was clear: they wanted to move forward.

Develative coordinated the hiring process and onboarding, then stayed involved through regular check-ins with the engineer and the client. Those conversations gave both sides a chance to share feedback, discuss upcoming work, and address anything needed to keep the engagement running well.

Taking ownership of the work

Once on the team, the engineer took responsibility for planning and building infrastructure, documenting decisions, and making the resulting setup straightforward for other engineers to use.

That approach stood out to Cody Harvey, VP of Product and Technology at GoBeyond. In one check-in, Cody described how a period of planning came together in a substantial delivery of infrastructure code. After reviewing the work, he wanted to use it elsewhere in the company as well.

The engineer also helped set priorities. When one piece of work was complete, he proposed what to tackle next. Cody found that those recommendations closely matched what he would have suggested himself, reducing the amount of direction needed to keep things moving.

Working as part of the team

Cody particularly valued the engineer’s willingness to contribute opinions and suggest different approaches. He participated in technical decisions, explained his thinking, and actively asked for feedback.

His work also includes implementing Grafana Cloud to support monitoring of the company’s infrastructure and applications. This is part of the team’s preparation for operating and supporting the rebuilt platform.

With the engineer and his teammates working independently, Cody had more time to focus on other areas of the business that needed his attention.

Building a lasting working relationship

Across regular check-ins, the client consistently praised the quality of the work, the documentation, and the engineer’s understanding of the business. Discussions grew to include long-term continuity and the possibility of adding a junior engineer for him to mentor.

Cody summed up his experience in a check-in:

“He really understands the business, he does a really good job.”

— Cody Harvey, VP of Product and Technology, Go Beyond Group

For Gustazos, the engagement provided dedicated DevOps capacity and a team member trusted to make decisions, follow through, and take on the next challenge.