Mohammed Rahhal
System Engineer · IT Operations · Kubernetes
📍 Zürich, Switzerland
At a glance
Open to full-time roles
- Based in
- Zürich, Switzerland
- Work permit
- Permit B, married to a Swiss citizen
- Start
- As soon as possible
- Languages
- English (native) · Arabic (native) · German (A1, working towards A2) · French (basic) · Spanish (basic)
Sec.01 // Service record
Experience
What colleagues say
Sec.02 // Identity
About Me
I run my own mail server, password manager, music streaming, storage and Git — the whole stack, some on Cloudflare and some on hardware sitting in my flat. Not because it is easier. Because I got tired of renting my own data from companies that could change the terms tomorrow. Born in Bethlehem, based in Zürich. I work in Python, C++ and Rust, and I have spent the last few years learning the difference between running someone else’s infrastructure and running your own. The second teaches you more, mostly at 3am.
Skills
Sec.03 // Independence
What I replaced
I got tired of renting my own data. One service at a time, I moved off the platforms and rebuilt each one on hardware I own, running on Kubernetes I maintain myself.
- Gmail my own mail server + aliasing
- Spotify my own music streaming
- Google Drive my own encrypted storage
- WhatsApp my own messaging + voice/video
- 1Password my own password manager
- GitHub self-hosted Forgejo
I wrote every one of them except the Git server, which runs Forgejo. Nobody can discontinue them, change the terms, or start mining them — and when something breaks at 3am, it is mine to fix. Read how and why →
Sec.05 // Credentials
Certifications
Sec.06 // Secure channel
Get in Touch
Recruiters and hiring managers: I am looking for System Engineer and IT Operations roles in Switzerland. Share the requisition, team size, and stack — I will reply with fit and timing.
Everyone else: collaborations, tooling ideas, or a friendly hello are welcome too.
How I handle data from this form is described in the privacy notice.