Stephen D.Thomas
AI Cloud Architect & Team Lead
Architecting institutional-grade cloud infrastructure with zero-downtime track record across multi-cloud environments.
Global Infrastructure
Deployed across 9 data centers on 3 cloud providers — click any region to explore.
All Regions (9)
The Stack
Production infrastructure, agent fleet, and everything being built right now
Proprietary agent-to-agent authentication and coordination standard — defining how autonomous AI agents negotiate, verify, and collaborate across distributed systems.
Scaling the 170+ agent fleet with new verticals, improved memory systems, mixture-of-agents reasoning chains, and tighter K3s/KEDA orchestration.
Building standardised MCP server patterns for authentication, tool registration, context compression, and multi-tenant agent access control.
Institutional fintech platform — 70-agent financial operations fleet, fund accounting, trading execution, risk management, investor reporting.
Proprietary security framework for the AI agent fleet — tamper-evident audit trails, cryptographic agent identity, and non-repudiation for every agent action.
PST for form anti-fraud (browser-native Privacy Pass) and C2PA for AI output provenance — every artifact cryptographically signed with issuer identity and inputs.
The Journey
From building computers in 6th grade to architecting global cloud infrastructure
The First Build
Built my first computer from parts in 6th grade. Not from a kit — sourced components, assembled the machine, installed the OS. While most kids were playing games, I was figuring out IRQ conflicts and jumper settings on motherboards.
Discovered that building things from scratch was the only way that felt right.
First Business
Started selling custom-built computers to classmates, teachers, and neighbors. Learned pricing, customer service, and the art of the upsell — all before turning 13. This was the first time technology became a business, not just a hobby.
Entrepreneurship was in the DNA from day one.
Edina Football Goes Online
Hosted Edina Football's website using Road Runner cable internet. Designed the site, managed the hosting from a home server, and kept it running for the team and community. In 8th grade, I was already running production web infrastructure.
Proved that real infrastructure could run from anywhere — the cloud mindset before the cloud existed.
From Helpdesk to IT Manager
Started on the helpdesk at Sybaritic, a medical device manufacturer. Didn't just answer tickets — identified patterns, automated repetitive tasks, and grew the role until I was managing IT for the entire organization. This is where the enterprise mindset was forged.
Learned that the best way to advance is to make yourself indispensable by solving problems nobody asked you to solve.
Senior Consultant — Financial & Legal
Joined an MSP and quickly became the senior consultant responsible for our most demanding clients — financial firms and law firms. These industries don't tolerate downtime, data loss, or excuses. Built highly available infrastructure, managed complex Exchange migrations (10,000+ mailboxes), and delivered VMware implementations and Hyper-V environments. This was the proving ground for enterprise-grade reliability.
Financial services and legal — two industries where failure is measured in millions. Zero tolerance became the standard.
Microsoft Power BI & Azure Data Warehouse
Took time to consult directly with Microsoft during the Power BI preview phase. Converted Power Query reports to Power BI, built their Azure Data Warehouse, and supported the surrounding infrastructure. Got hands-on with the platform before it was generally available — shaping how enterprise analytics would work at scale.
Working with Microsoft on a product before GA — few people get to shape the tools that millions will use.
SaaS Administration — Enterprise Scale
Worked as SaaS Administrator at FPX, where the client roster included the nation's top credit card processors and helicopter manufacturers. Managed enterprise SaaS platforms at massive scale — uptime, security, and performance for clients who move billions in transactions.
When your clients process billions in credit card transactions, 'good enough' doesn't exist.
Data Center Migration to Azure
Led the data center migration of a 3M product (Bibliotheca) from 3M's on-premises data center to Azure. This was a full lift — not a simple rehost, but a re-architecture for cloud-native operation. IoT security architecture for library systems deployed globally.
Moved a physical product's entire infrastructure to the cloud — bridging the gap between hardware and software at scale.
Green Field Cloud Build — AWS
Green field AWS build for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. Everything automated from day one — no in-place patching, no manual deployments. Rip and replace architecture with A/B deployments. Started with CloudFormation, transitioned to Terraform. This was cloud done right: immutable infrastructure, automated everything, zero drift.
Proved that healthcare infrastructure can be both compliant and cutting-edge — no compromises.
45,000-User Entra ID Migration — Zero Downtime
Performed a 45,000-user Entra ID migration at Fairview Health Services. Disconnected all 45,000 users from Entra ID Sync, disconnected every security group and synced object, re-mapped and re-anchored the Source Anchor — all with zero issues, zero downtime, and zero user impact. This had never been done at this scale. Promoted from Cloud Security Architect & Engineer Consultant to Supervisor of Cybersecurity, Cloud Access & Federation.
Did something that had never been done — 45,000 users, zero downtime. The track record isn't theoretical.
Building the Cloud from Scratch — Global Hedge Fund
Joined Farallon Capital Management as the sole cloud architect and built the entire infrastructure from zero — 9 public cloud regions across Azure, AWS, and GCP, 100% Infrastructure as Code. Every Terraform module written with security built in and scanned with tfsec and Trivy. ExpressRoute circuits and GCP tunnels for private intra-cloud connectivity. OAuth 2.0 and zero-trust access for the NAV/PAC portfolio API. DR strategies across all regions with tested recovery runbooks. Built the AI platform that became the AIHiveMind — 170+ agents, MCP protocol, A2A coordination, TAMP security framework, and C2PA content provenance for every AI output.
Sole architect building a hedge fund's entire global cloud. Every module, every network, every identity — from zero to global production.
AI Infrastructure & The Future
Currently leading AI infrastructure initiatives at the intersection of cloud architecture and artificial intelligence. Working on C2PA (Content Provenance and Authenticity) for verifiable AI content. Designing Agent-to-Agent communication protocols for autonomous system orchestration. Building institutional-grade AI automation that serves investment management operations — NAV calculations, reconciliation processes, and portfolio analytics. The future of infrastructure is intelligent, autonomous, and provably trustworthy.
Infrastructure doesn't just host applications anymore — it thinks, decides, and acts. Building the systems that make that possible at institutional scale.
Experience
15+ years of progressively complex infrastructure challenges
Farallon Capital Management is a San Francisco-based multi-strategy investment firm founded in 1986, managing approximately $40 billion in capital across public equity, credit, real assets, and direct investments. The firm operates globally with offices in San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and London, deploying capital across developed and emerging markets. Farallon is one of the longest-tenured and most respected hedge funds in the industry, known for disciplined risk management and a research-intensive investment process.
AI Cloud Architect — Team Lead
Jan 2024 — Present (2 yrs 4 mos)Leading AI infrastructure initiatives and cloud architecture for a global investment firm. Designing C2PA content provenance systems, Agent-to-Agent communication protocols, and institutional-grade AI automation. Managing team while continuing to architect and build multi-cloud infrastructure.
- Developing proprietary AI agent-to-agent (A2A) communication protocols — the standards layer for how autonomous agents authenticate, negotiate, and coordinate across distributed systems without human intervention
- Building TAMP (Trusted Agent Messaging Protocol) — a security framework governing how AI agents exchange messages, verify identity, and maintain tamper-evident audit trails across the fleet
- Implementing C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity) outputs — every AI-generated artifact is cryptographically signed with provenance metadata so the firm knows exactly what created it, when, and from what inputs
- Building and standardizing MCP (Model Context Protocol) server architecture — tool registries, context compression, authentication patterns, and multi-tenant agent access control
- Leading all AI infrastructure initiatives: 170+ agent fleet orchestration, memory systems, multi-model routing, and mixture-of-agents reasoning chains
- Building AI-driven investment operations automation: NAV, PAC, reconciliation, compliance monitoring, research synthesis, and portfolio analytics
- Managing and mentoring cloud engineering team while continuing to architect and build hands-on — never left the keyboard
Cloud Architect
Apr 2022 — Present (4 yrs 1 mo)Built the firm's entire cloud infrastructure from zero as sole architect — 9 public cloud regions spanning the globe across Azure, AWS, and GCP. Designed all Terraform modules (Checkov/tfsec scanned), Express Route circuits, GCP tunnels, and intra-cloud private connectivity. Built API management for the custom NAV/PAC solution with OAuth and zero-trust access. Created internal platforms: AI assistant, cloud management system, and project management tools.
- Built entire cloud infrastructure from zero as sole architect — every resource, every module, every network
- Designed and deployed a global multi-cloud footprint spanning 9 public cloud regions across Azure, AWS, and GCP — covering North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific
- Deployed Express Route circuits and GCP tunnels for private intra-cloud connectivity across all three providers
- Built all Terraform modules from scratch with security baked in by design — every module scanned with tfsec and Trivy before deployment; security is not a layer added after, it is the foundation
- Operated a 100% code-based infrastructure — zero manual provisioning, zero console configuration; every resource, every policy, every secret is defined in code and version controlled
- Built out API management for the firm's custom NAV/PAC solution — designed OAuth 2.0 authentication and zero-trust access controls for all portfolio analytics API endpoints
- Designed and implemented DR (Disaster Recovery) strategies across all cloud regions — cross-region failover, backup policies, RTO/RPO targets, and tested recovery runbooks
- Built custom Service Principal lifecycle management with automated secret rotation via Key Vault
- Created Farallon AI Assistant — first internal AI chat system, deployed before ChatGPT was public
- Built Fusion Nexus — full cloud management and operations platform
- Built Fusion Forge — internal project management platform replacing Jira
- Designed Zero-Retention Data Sandboxes for secure investment data operations
- Built NAV, PAC, and reconciliation processes in Azure — institutional-grade financial operations automation
- Trained and mentored helpdesk teams; built all internal operational tooling
Capabilities Developed
Notable Projects
Platforms, tools, and systems built from scratch
Automated Server Build-Outs with Automatic VM Creation
Automated server provisioning with automatic virtual machine creation in highly available networks. Multiple backup methods based on budget tiers.
Exchange Migration Suite (2003 → 2010 → 2013 → O365)
Complete Exchange migration pipeline from Exchange 2003 through 2010, 2013, and Office 365. Included Active Directory upgrades, GAL upgrades, mailbox migrations of 10,000+ mail stores, public folder migration and retirement.
Farallon AI Assistant
First internal AI chat system for the firm. Built from scratch to provide AI-powered assistance to employees.
Fusion Nexus — Cloud Management Platform
Full cloud management platform providing observability, monitoring, and operational oversight across multi-cloud infrastructure.
Fusion Forge — Project Management Platform
Replacement for Jira built to match the specific workflows and requirements of the organization. Full project management, tracking, and collaboration.
Skills & Expertise
63+ endorsed skills across cloud, security, AI, and development
Cloud Platforms
Infrastructure as Code
Identity & Security
Networking
Containers & Orchestration
AI & Machine Learning
Development
Virtualization
Cloud Computing
Recommendations
19 received on LinkedIn — here are a few
“Steve was one of the nicest IT people I ever worked with: he was always happy to help, patient, smiling and professional. We collaborated on many in house projects to promote some of our products (marketing and training tools) and he showed great initiative, ideas, quality and fast delivery from start to finish. As a product manager he was a great asset to my work; I really enjoyed working with Steve and would recommend him for any position.”
“Steven is a remarkably dedicated individual with a wealth of experience and a huge passion for cloud based infrastructure and web development. He's always keen to improve and has a great work ethic. He was my web based wing man at Imagine IT.”
“Steve demonstrated a unique balance of organization and creativity to provide specialized IT solutions for our team. He listened to our needs and provided a variety of ideas with our desired outcome in mind. He showed a great amount of skill and know how with building a variety of web based programs and solutions.”
“I would highly recommend Steve. He has always worked very hard both personally and professionally. He is very detailed and continues to prove no challenge is too difficult.”
Let's Connect
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