Paul Nel
@paulnel
Head of Technology at New Ireland Technologies, running Kubernetes platforms for BMC Helix ITSM and building custom AI-assisted operations tools.
South AfricaWhat I'm looking for
At New Ireland Technologies, I manage the self-hosted Kubernetes platform that runs BMC Helix ITSM for client tenants. I deploy and upgrade Helix with Jenkins, Ansible and Helm, and led upgrades of platform services and Innovation Suite Apps from 25.3 to 26.3.
I built monitoring with Prometheus, Alertmanager and VictoriaMetrics, along with a full-stack alerting and notification aggregator. I also wrote k8-explore, a custom MCP server that lets AI assistants query the cluster and Prometheus, and a Python GitOps tool for encrypted cluster backups.
Earlier, I developed BMC Remedy and BMC Helix ITSM systems and integrations for managed-service clients at Metaweave and built Remedy solutions at Business Connexion. My work has included integrations for BCX, Sanlam and other clients, as well as leading teams and coordinating technical projects.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Head of Technology
New Ireland Technologies
Jun 2025 - Present (1 year 4 months)
Manage a self-hosted Kubernetes platform running BMC Helix ITSM for multiple clients, overseeing the full platform stack and leading deployments and upgrades.
Senior Developer
New Ireland Technologies
May 2023 - May 2025 (2 years)
Developed, deployed, upgraded and supported BMC Remedy and BMC Helix ITSM for managed-service clients, including building integrations and maintaining platforms.
Senior Developer
Metaweave
Jul 2018 - Apr 2023 (4 years 9 months)
Developed, deployed, upgraded and supported BMC Remedy and BMC Helix ITSM for managed-service clients, including building integrations and maintaining platforms.
Career break: chef, bistro owner and writer
Self Employed
Jan 2014 - Apr 2018 (4 years 3 months)
Owned and ran a bistro as head chef, studied French cooking, and completed a creative writing course.
Freelance Developer
Self Help Technologies (Pty) Ltd
Jan 2011 - Dec 2014 (3 years 11 months)
Built Active Directory password reset systems, integrations for ITSM systems, middleware for field engineers, and single sign-on solutions.
Principal Consultant, Remedy ARS
Business Connexion (BCX)
Feb 2005 - Dec 2010 (5 years 10 months)
Managed the ARS development team for a bespoke Helpdesk, Change, Asset, Problem and SLA system with up to 700 concurrent users, and led the upgrade from Remedy 6 to Remedy 7.
IT Consultant
Capgemini Ernst & Young
Sep 2000 - Aug 2004 (3 years 11 months)
Delivered client projects and supported bid teams, including developing a customized Remedy helpdesk, automating Windows 2000 builds, and setting up Siebel environments.
System Specialist
ICL / Royal Bank of Scotland
Mar 1999 - Apr 2000 (1 year 1 month)
Packaged applications for standard installations, solved complex application problems, and provided third-line support to engineers.
Rollout Team Leader
Computacenter / IBM / Cable & Wireless
Feb 1999 - Mar 1999 (1 month)
Led a team of eight engineers to deploy about 450 NT 4.0 workstations in a Genesys call center, finishing well ahead of schedule.
Supported a 7,500-user site, migrated a call center to Genesys, administered NT 3.51 servers, and automated builds with SMS, KIX and WinInstall.
Rollout and Upgrades
Anglo American (Namakwa Sands)
Jul 1996 - Jan 1997 (6 months)
Upgraded the site from WFW 3.11 to Windows 95 and migrated from Novell 3.1 to NT Server 3.51.
Writing and media
M-Net, The Pretoria News, Interest Investigations, Die Beeld
Jan 1990 - Dec 1995 (5 years 11 months)
Worked as a script writer, journalist, and computer operator across various media organizations.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
BMC
BMC Certified Associate: Control-M, Control-M
2025 - 2025
Completed BMC Certified Associate: Control-M certification in 2025.
Jitterbit
Jitterbit Developer Training, Jitterbit Development
2020 - 2020
Completed Jitterbit developer training, all courses in 2020.
Le Cordon Bleu
Superior Cuisine and Basic Pastry Diplomas, Culinary Arts
2016 - 2016
Earned Le Cordon Bleu Superior Cuisine and Basic Pastry Diplomas in 2016.
UCT GetSmarter
Creative Writing Course, Creative Writing
2014 - 2015
Completed a creative writing course with UCT GetSmarter from 2014 to 2015.
AL Indigo
BMC Remedy ITSM 7, IT Service Management
2010 - 2010
Completed BMC Remedy ITSM 7 training at AL Indigo, at BCX Midrand in 2010.
Uniweb
AR System 5.x Administering, AR System Administration
2003 - 2003
Completed AR System 5.x Administering Parts 1 and 2 training at Uniweb, Stockholm in 2003.
Siebel
Siebel 7 Core Consultant, Siebel CRM
2002 - 2002
Completed Siebel 7 Core Consultant training in Amsterdam in 2002.
Linsoft
PVCS Dimensions 7.0 Process Modelling, Version Control
2002 - 2002
Completed PVCS Dimensions 7.0 Process Modelling training at Linsoft, Linköping in 2002.
RSA Security
RSA ClearTrust 5, Security
2002 - 2002
Completed RSA ClearTrust 5 training in Stockholm in 2002.
QA Training
VBScript ASP Web Authoring, Web Development
2001 - 2001
Completed VBScript ASP Web Authoring training at QA Training, Edinburgh in 2001.
Cosmocom
CosmoCall Certified Systems Engineer, Contact Center
2000 - 2000
Completed CosmoCall Certified Systems Engineer training in New York in 2000.
Capgemini
CRM in Depth, CRM
2000 - 2000
Completed CRM in Depth training at Capgemini, Stockholm in 2000.
ISU Campus
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Systems Engineering
1996 - 1996
Completed Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) training at ISU Campus, Cape Town in 1996.
University of Stellenbosch
BA courses, Liberal Arts
1991 - 1992
Completed BA courses in Classical Culture, German, History, Political Philosophy, and English from 1991 to 1992.
Technikon Pretoria
National Diploma: Journalism (incomplete), Journalism
1989 - 1990
Completed two of three years of the National Diploma in Journalism from 1989 to 1990.
Paarl Gimnasium
Matric, General
1988 - 1988
Completed Matric with all subjects at higher grade in 1988.
Afrikaanse Hoërseunskool
Matric, General
1988 - 1988
Completed Matric with all subjects at higher grade in 1988.
Tech stack
Software and tools used professionally
Availability
Location
South AfricaAuthorized to work in
Salary expectations
Job categories
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