Jennifer Opal written in all caps.

Services

Jennifer Opal

Technical Consulting

From Messy to Automated: Developer Experience (DevEx) & Platform Engineering

I help fast-moving Seed to Series B startups untangle their legacy infrastructure so their developers can actually ship code. Drawing from my experience as a former solo technical founder and Platform Engineer, I replace fragile, manual deployments with robust, automated pipelines. I don't just manage servers; I build the "paved roads" that allow your engineering team to move fast without breaking production.

What I Deliver

  • CI/CD Pipeline Modernisation: Migrating legacy pipelines to fast, automated GitHub Actions.
  • Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) Refactoring: Modularising complex environments using Terraform for secure, repeatable cloud deployments (AWS/GCP).
  • Security & Compliance Guardrails: Integrating automated vulnerability scanning (tfsec, checkov) directly into pull requests to ensure HIPAA/GDPR compliance by default.

Business Outcomes

  • Eliminate deployment bottlenecks, allowing your developers to ship features multiple times a day instead of once a week.
  • Reduce deployment failure rates through automated testing and strict PR gates.
  • Free up your founding engineers from fighting infrastructure fires so they can focus on core product features.

Ideal Clients: Healthtech and AI startups, companies building ML-powered products, organisations integrating ML with wearables or IoT devices

Ready to work on your infrastructure?

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Stop Bleeding Cloud Compute Margins

SaaS companies live and die by their cloud margins. If your AWS bill is growing faster than your MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue), your infrastructure is poorly architected. I come in for targeted, high-impact sprints to audit your cloud spend, identify wasted compute, and implement strict FinOps guardrails to ensure every deployment is cost-optimised.

What I Deliver

  • Cloud Cost Auditing & Rightsizing: Identifying over-provisioned databases, orphaned volumes, and inefficient network routing.
  • Proactive FinOps Pipelines: Integrating cost-estimation tools (like Infracost) into your GitHub Actions so developers see the financial impact of their code before it gets merged.
  • FinOps Observability:Building custom Grafana dashboards to track Cost-per-Deployment and API inference latency.

Business Outcomes

  • Immediately slash wasted cloud spend, typically finding 20-30% savings in the first 30 days.
  • Protect your runway, by preventing junior developers from accidentally spinning up massively expensive infrastructure.
  • Prevent costly outages by shifting from reactive billing alerts to proactive cost engineering.

Ideal Clients: Growing tech companies, startups scaling infrastructure, organisations with frequent deployments or reliability concerns

Let's build infrastructure you can trust.

Get in touch

Inclusive Technology & Thought Leadership

Build Truly Inclusive Organisations (Backed by Data and Lived Experience)

I help organisations create workplaces and products that work for neurodivergent people. My consulting background (Data But Make It Human, 2019-2024), lived experience as an autistic person with ADHD, and technical expertise give me a unique perspective. I don't just recommend best practices—I help you understand the real barriers your neurodivergent employees and customers face, and I give you a strategic roadmap to address them.

What I Deliver

  • Neurodiversity & Accessibility Audit & Strategy: Comprehensive audit of current practices, identification of barriers and opportunities, and a strategic implementation roadmap with metrics
  • Inclusive Product Design & Accessibility Implementation: Product accessibility audit, specific recommendations, implementation roadmap, and team training on inclusive design
  • Neurodiversity-Inclusive Hiring, Retention & Culture: Recruitment process redesign, onboarding programs, manager training, and culture initiatives to attract and retain neurodivergent talent

Business Outcomes

  • Potential savings per employee by improving the retention of neurodivergent talent, as replacing a technical employee can cost 50-150% of their annual salary
  • Expand your addressable market, as designing for accessibility benefits the 1 in 4 people who have situational, temporary, or permanent disabilities
  • Improve your employer brand, attract a wider pool of diverse talent, and build a culture where everyone can thrive

Ideal Clients: Tech companies committed to diversity, healthtech and wellness startups, organisations building accessible products

Let's build an organisation where neurodivergent people thrive.

Get in touch

Keynote Speaking

What's Included

  • Keynote Delivery: 45-60 minute engaging presentation tailored to your audience
  • Q&A Session: Interactive discussion with audience members
  • Custom Content: Presentations adapted to your event theme and objectives
  • Audience Engagement: Interactive elements and real-world examples

Sample Topics

  • "Building Inclusive Technology: A Neurodivergent Perspective"
  • "DevOps for Humans: Reducing Burnout and Building Sustainable Teams"
  • "The Intersection of Identity and Technology: Black, Queer, and Neurodivergent in Tech"
  • "AI-Powered Solutions for Accessibility and Inclusion"
  • "Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage"

Previous Clients

Neurodiversity Alliance
AnitaB.org
BBC Micro:bit
HackaJob

Content Partnerships

Partnership Types

  • Guest Articles: Thought leadership pieces for publications and platforms
  • Interviews: In-depth conversations about expertise and insights
  • Video Content: Speaking engagements, interviews, and educational content
  • Collaborative Projects: Joint initiatives and research

Topics of Expertise

  • Neurodiversity in tech and the workplace
  • AI and inclusive technology design
  • DevOps engineering and career development
  • Building equitable tech communities
  • Intersectionality in technology

Technical Writing

Content Types

  • Blog Posts: In-depth technical articles and tutorials
  • Whitepapers: Comprehensive technical documentation
  • Case Studies: Real-world implementation stories
  • Technical Guides: How-to documentation and best practices

Technical Expertise

  • DevOps engineering and infrastructure
  • AI and machine learning applications
  • Cloud infrastructure and deployment
  • Accessible technology design
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