Thabo Makhubele

Cloud, Data and AI Engineer

Thabo Makhubele

Building the future, one project at a time.

My Journey

My tech career didn't start in a fancy office - it started in call centers and on-site with clients, untangling network cables and solving real-world problems. That hands-on experience at places like Clicks Retailers taught me how massive enterprise systems actually work and, more importantly, how they break. I realized I didn't just want to fix things; I wanted to build better, smarter systems from the ground up. This led me to a deliberate, self-funded pivot. I went all-in on mastering the cloud, not just one piece of it, but the whole 360-degree view. I wanted to understand how the infrastructure (IaaS), the data (PaaS), and the intelligence (AI) all connect. The projects you see on this site are the direct result of that journey.

Key Skills

  • Cloud Platforms (Azure, AWS)
  • AI / ML Services (Azure AI)
  • Serverless Functions & Cosmos DB
  • CI/CD & GitHub Actions
  • Windows Server & Active Directory
  • Performance Monitoring
  • Enterprise Networking & Security

Programming & Scripting

  • Python
  • JavaScript / Node.js
  • PowerShell (Advanced)
  • SQL / T-SQL
  • Bicep / IaC
  • HTML/CSS
  • YAML

Certifications

  • Microsoft Certified: AI Fundamentals (AI-900)
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
  • In Progress: Azure Administrator (AZ-104)
  • Actively Pursuing: AWS Solutions Architect

My Projects

AI Sign Language Translator Project Screenshot

AI Sign Language Translator

A real-time, two-way communication tool that translates American Sign Language (ASL) into spoken text and vice-versa. This project showcases the full lifecycle of an AI application, from data collection and model training to front-end integration.

Azure AI Vision Python JavaScript HTML/CSS MediaPipe
AI Barbershop Booker Project Screenshot

AI Barbershop Booker

An end-to-end data engineering and AI project that digitizes a traditional paper appointment book. Using AI Document Intelligence to extract handwritten data, the project analyzes historical appointments to find business patterns and uses those insights to power an intelligent, natural language booking system.

Azure AI Document Intelligence Azure Cosmos DB Azure Functions Node.js Data Analysis
Cloud Governance IaC Project

Automated Cloud Governance (IaC)

Designed and implemented a secure, governed cloud environment using Bicep (Infrastructure as Code). This project automates the provisioning of VMs, Key Vaults, and Azure Policy, showcasing expertise in cloud security and automation principles.

Azure Bicep IaC Azure Policy GitHub Actions
Personal Portfolio Website Project

Personal Portfolio Website

This very website, designed to showcase my skills. It was built from scratch and is automatically deployed via a CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions to Azure Static Web Apps, ensuring zero-downtime updates.

HTML/CSS JavaScript Azure Static Web Apps GitHub Actions

Contact Me

Have a question or want to work together? Leave your details and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.