I help CTOs and engineering leads make AI work in their teams without breaking what already works.
I've been running systems that must not fail since 2006. I moved FOCUS Online and CHIP.de to the cloud, led and trained teams, and now work with AI agents every day myself. What I advise, I've done first.
I started in Linux operations in 2006, back when servers still had names. From there it went to larger systems, then AWS, then the question of how to move entire platforms without readers or customers noticing. At BurdaForward I migrated FOCUS Online and CHIP.de to the cloud and ran them there. I've worked with OVB Media for many years and support SEMA Software in evolving their platform.
Teaching has always run alongside: as a cloud and DevOps trainer at CloudHelden, as an AWS re/Start instructor, and in every team I've led. I added a change management qualification at FH Kufstein and TH Rosenheim once it became clear that the hard problems are rarely technical.
Today I run nice solutions together with Kamil Kubica. There we train development teams in working with AI agents, among them dmTECH, adesso insurance solutions, Eventim and IONOS, guide companies through adoption, and build our own products such as the KI-Führerschein, an AI literacy certification. I develop with AI agents every day and run what comes out of it. This site is for the work I take on personally.
Three things people call me for. Anything else I'll say no to honestly in the first call, or point you to someone else.
One fixed session a month, reachable in between by email, phone or Slack. We talk through the decisions on your desk: tooling, architecture, team setup, AI in everyday engineering, the next board meeting. You stay in charge. I bring the outside view and the experience of how these decisions tend to play out.
I don't manage your team and I don't get between you and your people.
When something needs to be built, migrated or secured: AWS, infrastructure as code, CI/CD, security and compliance. I work in your team's code and infrastructure and hand over so your team runs it afterwards, with documentation and runbooks.
Taking stock with your leads, clear rules for tools, data and reviews, one pilot team, then the rest. Not handing out licenses, but a way of working that sticks.
Training for whole teams and company-wide programs run through nice solutions.
I look at code, pipelines and people before I form an opinion. No survey tools, no off-the-shelf checklist.
A pilot that runs beats a concept nobody implements. What works, we grow. What doesn't, we stop.
Documentation, runbooks, people who know the system. In the end you shouldn't need me. If you call anyway, I'll be glad.
If I'm not the right person, I'll say so in the first call and point you to someone who fits better.
Ten questions on leadership, usage, ways of working, measurement and rules. Three minutes, and you'll see where your engineering organization sits on a scale from L1 to L5 and what a sensible next step would be.
Three people I've worked with over a longer period. Quotes translated from German.
Sebastian combines deep technical understanding with high emotional intelligence and genuine curiosity for new technologies. He brings structure to complex systems, aligns teams around shared goals, and makes sure solutions don't just work but keep getting better.
Sebastian has supported our media house for many years: with foresight, technical know-how and real reliability. He convinces not only through his expertise but also through his calm, solution-oriented manner, and he's there when others have long called it a day.
Sebastian combines technical excellence with clear communication and valuable knowledge transfer. Working with him was not only successful but also enriching, both personally and professionally. I would choose him again any time.
A first call takes thirty minutes and costs nothing. Tell me where things are stuck. Afterwards we'll both know whether it's a fit.