Life at Kion: Brandon M.

Last updated on March 17th, 2025 at 2:24pm

How long have you been at Kion, and how did you find the company?

I was fortunate to join Stratus Solutions just as Cloudtamer was becoming its own business. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the team and had great appreciation for the product, since we used it on the contract I was supporting. After moving on to Encamp, one of my first initiatives was to purchase Cloudtamer. Nearly two years later, Cloudtamer rebranded to Kion, and Encamp underwent a reduction in force. Already familiar with the team, impressed by the product, and confident in Kion’s vision, I reached out to Randy the same afternoon I received my notice from Encamp. I joined Kion on April 19th, 2023.

Could you tell us about your role at Kion, what you're most passionate about in your role, and a bit about the tools and skills used in your role?

In my role as a Senior DevSecOps Engineer, I am involved in nearly every aspect of the company’s security. This includes business-level functions, such as drafting corporate policies and advocating for new technologies to safeguard Kion’s long-term security posture, as well as typical DevOps tasks like enhancing CI/CD security processes and patching vulnerabilities. I’m most passionate about ensuring that the business—its people and product—are as protected from threats as possible. Achieving this requires a broad range of tools and technical skills that I have developed over decades of experience in my career.

What are you currently working on that you're excited about?

This is definitely going to flood my LinkedIn profile with messages, but I’m currently evaluating new solutions as potential replacements for our SIEM. A SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a tool that collects, analyzes, and monitors security data across an organization’s information systems to detect, investigate, and respond to potential threats in real-time.

What is it like working on the DevOps team?

Working on the DevOps team is genuinely rewarding. The people are not only some of the most talented I've ever worked with but also incredibly supportive. They never hesitate to lend a hand when you need it, and don't sugarcoat things when you need that too, which I really appreciate. There’s a strong sense of honesty and transparency that makes all of us more effective. Management trusts us to make decisions and actively advocates for what we need to succeed. Overall, it feels like everyone truly cares about the team’s success and the quality of our work.

How did you get started in the cloud space? What about it piqued your interest?

Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working for companies and on government contracts that embraced new technology, so moving into the cloud space was a natural progression. I recognized early on that cloud technology was the future and focused on learning and working in the field as much as possible.

What's been the most dramatic change you've seen in the technology industry?

One of the most dramatic changes I’ve seen in the technology industry is the rapid adoption and evolution of cloud computing. In just over a decade, the cloud went from a niche concept to a foundational technology that powers everything from small startups to global enterprises. This shift fundamentally changed how organizations build, deploy, and scale their infrastructure and applications. It also transformed security practices, software development workflows, and even business models. The speed and scale of this transformation—along with the growing focus on automation, DevSecOps, and security in the cloud—have been truly remarkable.

What behavior or personality trait do you most attribute your success to and why?

I believe my ability to think in numerous directions at once, combined with my logical mindset, is what has driven much of my success. These traits allow me to approach challenges from different angles and stay adaptable, which is especially useful in my field as it requires constant problem-solving and continuous learning.

How do you prefer to start your day?

I start my day just like any other respectable technology worker, with coffee. I then like to get my brain working by tackling remedial tasks, such as cleaning out my inbox and checking various status boards.

What's one thing you're learning right now, and why is it important?

I’m constantly learning new things, but right now, I’m focusing on prompt engineering and how to better integrate AI into both my home and work life. AI is a powerful tool that is transforming technology and everyday tasks, and as a Security Engineer, it’s especially important to understand its capabilities. Not just for innovation, but also because adversaries are leveraging AI to enhance their attacks. Staying ahead of these evolving threats is critical to maintaining a strong security posture.

What has your experience been with our company culture?

I started at Kion about a week before the annual in-person All-Hands meeting. The same day I signed my offer, the VP of Engineering contacted me and asked, "Has anyone talked to you about Disney yet?" A week later, I was in Orlando with all my new co-workers, celebrating at Disney World. This experience showed me how much Kion values its employees.

What parts of our mission do you connect with?

Separation of duties is a core part of a secure environment, which means corporate services are spread across multiple accounts for better security and control. Kion makes it easy to access those accounts quickly and securely while keeping governance tight. For a security engineer, that’s a chef’s kiss.

What have been your most significant accomplishments on our team?

I believe that my most significant accomplishment at Kion has been helping the company achieve a SOC 2 Type 2 attestation. This involved implementing security controls, refining policies and procedures, and collaborating across teams to ensure compliance. It was a challenging but rewarding effort that strengthened our security posture and demonstrated our commitment to protecting customer data.

Which benefits are your favorite and why?

Besides being remote-first? I really appreciate the unlimited leave policy! It gives me the freedom to take days for unforeseen circumstances while still affording me the ability to plan vacations without stressing over accrued time or scheduling constraints.

What's your favorite Slack channel at Kion?

At Kion, we have a series of channels named #nobodycaresaboutyour*, where * covers topics like cars, whiskey, pets, kids, and more. While the titles may seem flippant, the content is anything but. These channels recreate the watercooler conversations you miss from office life, giving us a space to connect and ‘nerd out’ with like-minded coworkers. I love how they bring people together and make remote work feel a little more personal.