Csaba SÁRI

At Synabi, I’m driving the end-to-end design and implementation of our Microsoft Defender XDR and Sentinel ecosystem. This includes building a unified detection, response, and monitoring architecture aligned with ISO/IEC 27001:2022, GDPR, NIS2, and the EU AI Act. I’m responsible for threat protection, cloud asset hardening, and centralized log ingestion pipelines, as well as telemetry collection. I ensure compliance with CIS Benchmarks, Azure CSPM practices, and Microsoft Cloud Security Benchmark.

Tasked to be the Principal Architect to oversee the end-to-end technology strategy across infrastructure, data platforms, security, and developer experience. My role sits at the intersection of technical leadership, architectural vision, and cross-team alignment, driving platform scalability, observability, and resilience.

Promoted into a dual leadership role, I became responsible for both platform operations and data engineering processes across Emnos’ cloud transformation journey. With a shrinking team and increasing delivery pressure, my focus was on solidifying workflows, securing reliability, and enabling cross-functional collaboration between Cloud, Dev, and Data teams.

I joined Emnos with a clear mission: to establish DevOps culture, modernize internal systems, and lay the foundations for a cloud-native future. From my first year, my work was recognized with the Collaboration Champion Award, voted by colleagues for cross-team support and positive impact. My responsibilities spanned cloud transformation, legacy infrastructure stabilization, and tooling management, while introducing new processes, team practices, and modern automation.

At Chimera Entertainment, I led DevOps operations and infrastructure management for a portfolio of live and in-development mobile games, including globally recognized Angry Birds titles. This role combined high-pressure production support, platform automation, and technical mentorship, as I built and led one of the strongest engineering teams I’ve ever worked with.

At SHORE, I led the infrastructure modernization efforts that transformed the company’s delivery model from monolithic, Heroku-hosted systems to a scalable, containerized microservice architecture running in AWS and later Kubernetes. I was responsible for building the full cloud platform, implementing DevOps practices across teams, and integrating monitoring, alerting, and cost optimization strategies into our production lifecycle.

Key responsibilities & contributions: - Designed and managed Java-based CI/CD pipelines on AWS, using Atlassian stack (JIRA, Bamboo, Bitbucket, Confluence) - Automated infrastructure using Docker, Chef, and Puppet for reproducible builds and testing - Managed networking, VPNs (IPSec, OpenVPN), and firewalls using FreeBSD/pfSense and Cisco gear - Oversaw security policies, access management, and infrastructure hardening for public-facing apps

After stepping away from executive leadership, I took deliberate time to rebuild myself, both professionally and technically. I fully immersed myself in hands-on system administration, modern web technologies, and automation - reigniting my passion for engineering from the ground up. This period became the foundation of my future in DevOps and cloud-native infrastructure.

I served as the Deputy Director General responsible for IT operations and digital transformation - one of the largest higher education institutions in Hungary, with over 35,000+ students, 12+ faculties, and 25+ medical clinics. Reporting directly to the Director General (the university’s operational lead), I oversaw a team of ~150 IT professionals, with a strategic mandate to integrate the university’s fragmented systems following a government-mandated merger of institutions and medical facilities.

What I delivered: - Pivoted the company into a Microsoft Dynamics CRM and NAV consultancy - Secured break-even profitability within 2 years - Earned Microsoft CRM Partner of the Year (2006 & 2007) - Recognized as a Top Microsoft Public Sector Partner in Hungary - Built long-term customer relationships across finance, government, and SMB sectors

My role included: - Executive leadership and investor reporting - Restructuring product strategy and go-to-market - Hiring, training, and mentoring across technical and commercial functions - Vendor alignment with Microsoft - P&L management and financial recovery

This role was my first full-scale executive leadership experience, combining international coordination, education program development, distribution operations, and emerging cybersecurity services, all under one roof.

With a background in infrastructure and systems integration, I became the go-to person for bridging business needs and technical feasibility, supporting both public sector and SMB customers with solutions ranging from data platforms to networking.

I co-founded one of Hungary’s earliest IT service companies during a time when digital infrastructure was still in its infancy. What started as building and selling computers quickly grew into a full-service technology operation, providing network design, systems integration, licensing, and support to clients ranging from multinational enterprises to local offices.