About Me

Professional headshot

Hello! I'm Kraai Du Toit, born in May 1979 in South Africa, now living in the Netherlands since 2021. I'm a Solutions Architect with extensive experience in the Insurance and Financial industries. My expertise lies in Microservices Architecture and making solutions cloud-ready and vendor-independent. I have a strong technical background with hands-on programming experience in C#, HTML, Front-end web development , and SQL, and I am well-versed in cloud-based development and deployment practices.

In my spare time I also like playing around with different technology stacks. NOTE If you are on laptop/pc:Visit the 3D interactive Portfolio
here

if you want to experience augmented reality (AR)augmented reality (AR) scan this QR Code:

Beyond my technical expertise, I've had the unique experience of performing stand-up comedy alongside Trevor Noah, an adventure that taught me the power of storytelling and humor. You can learn more about this chapter of my life on my IMDB page.

In 2018, I won the Grab the Mic open mic competition and was selected to perform with Trevor Noah on the Nationwild tour. My work has been featured on television channels like Comedy Central, Kyknet, and Vuse Amp, as well as on radio stations such as Jacaranda FM. I also write and direct comedy for radio and starred in the Telkom Free Me Radio advert.

I’m passionate about staying at the forefront of AI, particularly in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) AI, and continuously seek out new learning opportunities. Fluent in English and Afrikaans, I’m currently expanding my language skills in Dutch at an A1 level. Whether in technology or on stage, I bring creativity, enthusiasm, and dedication to everything I do.

Work Experience

Solutions Architect/ AI engineer

Lionsville B.V. · Full-time

Apr 2023 - Present ·

The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands · Hybrid

  • Design and developed Digital Twin application for offshore logistics Company , developed in React for frontend and Python as an api layer , using Azure digital twin.
  • Loading cad files using Three.js and interacting with IOT data, showing real time data ingestion.
  • Delivered AI Proof of Concepts (POCs) for retail industry with RAG AI models, Neo4j, and React.
  • Created AI Vision POCs for the farming industry, detecting cows using Python and YOLO.
  • Created AI Promotional video as Proof of Concept for future products (see video below)
  • Skills: Azure DevOps · Azure · Neo4j · React.js · Terraform · Gitlab · Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Bitbucket
  • Architecture Designs C4. Containerized PHP and React applications on AWS using ECS Fargate, S3, API Management, and full VPC setup.
  • Automated deployment pipelines using Terraform and GitLab.
  • Transformed Bitbucket from on-premise to Bitbucket Cloud.
  • Designed and implemented Azure API Management solutions using Terraform.

Software Architect

CGI

Oct 2021 - Apr 2023 · 1 yr 7 mos

Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands

  • Skills: Azure devops, Powershell, Power Automate
  • Developed Azure Functions in C# and Powershell to integrate Azure DevOps with PagerDuty and Dynatrace.
  • Used Azure Power Apps to support IT4IT projects, integrating them with Power Automate (Flow).

Solutions Architect

Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH) · Full-time

Jan 2020 - Apr 2023 · 3 yrs 4 mos

South Africa

  • Skills: .NET Core
  • Working on Microservice architecture using Azure Functions (C#), RabbitMQ, and MSSQL containers locally on Rancher, and in the cloud on Azure Containers.
  • Using Azure DevOps for continuous deployment and integration.
  • Applied TOGAF (BDAT) from the ADM framework, collaborating with business analysts, SQL developers, and C# developers to create POCs and architecture designs.

Developer

Telesure Investment Holdings (TIH)

Jul 2016 - Jan 2020 · 3 yrs 7 mos

  • Skills: .NET Core
  • Developed applications using C#, VB.NET, and Angular 6.
  • Worked extensively with T-SQL, DB2, and SharePoint development for enterprise solutions.
  • Built backend APIs and integrated them with the ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) layer for seamless communication between systems.
  • Designed and developed front-end web applications for user-facing functionality.

Web Developer

HR-Focus Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Jun 2008 - Jun 2016 · 8 yrs 1 mo

Sandton

Database Developer

MBD Attorneys

Oct 2007 - May 2008 · 8 mos

Johannesburg Area, South Africa

  • Database developer working on financial systems

Analyst Programmer

Cornastone Consulting – Department of Water affairs

Sep 2006 - Sep 2007 · 1 yr 1 mo

Pretoria Area, South Africa

  • Work as an Analyst Programmer, working at the department of water affairs.
  • Working on Engineering software, that involve the planning and distribution of water across the country based on statistical information.

Delphi Programmer / Interface Manager

HR-Focus Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Jul 2003 - Aug 2006 · 3 yrs 2 mos

Sandton and based at Client Edcon

  • Worked and maintained the Delphi Applications at the main office including the install packages, HR-focus main software, Custom Capture, Casuals system and Various interfaces.
  • Later was located to Edcon and promoted to Interface manager, where I was in charge of all interfaces at client Edcon: http://www.edcon.co.za, the largest textile retail group in Southern Africa.
  • I had a team of 2 developers under me, and was in charge of maintaining various interfaces from various 3rd party vendors mostly financial eg, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Discovery and many more.

Application Developer

ATM Solutions

Aug 2003 - Jan 2005 · 1 yr 6 mos

Sandton

  • Writing Postilion office plugins
  • Writing the backoffice system called backoffice manager to reconcile all the transactions from the financial institutions involved.
  • Applications involving ATM related balancing and reconciling

Web Developer

Techikon Pretoria

Nov 2001 - Jun 2002 · 8 mos

Pretoria Area, South Africa

Technologies

HTML5

CSS3

JavaScript

React

Node.js

Git

Azure

AWS

C#

Python

Terraform

SQL

Qualifications

Diploma computer engineering

University of Technology | Graduated: 2004

  • Specialized in Web Technologies and Software Engineering

Certifications

  • Azure AI Engineer (AI-102)
  • Azure AI fundamentals (AI-900)
  • Bentey systems Digital Twin developer
  • AWS Certified solutions architecth Associate
  • MCSD Web development
  • Azure solutions architect
  • Azure Developer
  • Azure Devops engineer
  • Azure databases
  • Togaf
  • Azure Administrator
  • Terraform Associate
  • Neo4j profetional

GitHub Repositories

Repository
Summary
Open
AWS Session Manager
Access and manage EC2 via SSM; CLI and docs.
C4 Diagram RAG
Generate C4 architecture diagrams with RAG techniques.
Chat with Max
Conversational AI demo and tooling.
Yolo Cow Camera monitoring
Camera monitoring with YOLO detection.
Yolo Live Cow detection
Real-time object detection for livestock.
CV2 Facial Recognition
OpenCV-based face recognition experiments.
Web cam Face Detection
Webcam integration and face detection samples.
Microservice Builder
Templates and scaffolding for microservices.

Applications

Application
Summary
Open
IT Toolbelt
Shortcuts for common sysadmin/devops tasks.
Simple C4
Create C4 diagrams quickly for architecture docs.
Task Builder
Generate task plans and structured workflows.
Stakeholder Diagram Generator
Map stakeholders and their relationships.
Business Model Canvas
Interactive business model canvas builder.
Disruption Risk Assessment
Frame and assess disruption risks.
Innovation Project Scorecard
Score innovation projects across criteria.
Value Proposition Canvas
Craft and refine value propositions.
Budget Builder
Estimate and plan project budgets.
Mindmap Creator
Create mind maps quickly.
Image Converter
Convert images between formats.
Database Schema Visualization
Visualize and inspect database schemas.
QR Code Generator
Generate QR codes for links and text.
Mental Priming (Site)
Focus, habit and priming exercises.
Mental Priming (Google Play)
Android app available on Google Play.
Get it on Google Play
AI Tools Portal
Curated directory of AI tools.

Cross‑platform Standalone Tools

Tool
Platform
Download
Priority Matrix Planning
Windows
Mind Map Creator
Windows
Mind Map Creator
macOS
Mind Map Creator
Ubuntu (amd64)

Blog

Stop Hardcoding URLs in React Builds

Avoid absolute asset URLs; use relative PUBLIC_URL, CI guard scripts, and runtime config for slot-safe builds.

Read
Definitive Guide to SQL Connection Strings

Pooling, retries, timeouts, TLS; patterns across APIs, Functions, Blazor, and mobile for reliable performance.

Read

Arcade Video Games

Balloon Shooter
Play
Tetris
Play

Music & Comedy

Title
Type
Open
Different Tongues Different Tongues
Album
Verlore in die geraas Verlore in die geraas
Album
Snaakse Gevoelens Snaakse Gevoelens
Single
Die Kraai Nes Die Kraai Nes
Album
My Doellose Lewe My Doellose Lewe
Album
In die Mistige Woud In die Mistige Woud
Album
Spotify Spotify Comedy
Comedy

Video

Title
Open
YouTube Video 1
YouTube Video 2
YouTube Video 3

Contact

Channel
Open
LinkedIn
YouTube

Training

Course
Open
YouTube Training
Udemy AZ-900
Udemy Brain Hacks

Interactive Portfolio

Interactive Portfolio - Work in Progress

Note: The Interactive Portfolio is currently best viewed on desktop.