We are pleased that Stephan Hüttner has been responsible for Platform Engineering at white duck as Head of Platform Engineering & Cloud Solution Architect since March 1, 2026. With this, we are permanently filling this area, which Nico Meisenzahl built up and managed on an interim basis since his appointment as COO at the beginning of 2025, from within our own ranks. The focus is on resilient Azure platforms, Internal Developer Platforms, and operations that are considered from the outset.
From Engineer to Leadership Role
Stephan has been part of white duck since 2023. His entry came at the recommendation of our colleague and Cloud Solution Architect Philip Welz. After starting as a Senior Platform & Kubernetes Engineer, he increasingly took on responsibility for architecture, platform setup, and technical guidelines around Azure and Kubernetes in customer projects. Today, he brings this experience to the technical and strategic development of the department.
With his background in software development, Stephan understands the requirements of development and operations from both perspectives. This precisely shapes his leadership approach in Platform Engineering: designing platforms and automation in such a way that teams can deliver faster and standards for security, maintainability, and scalability are set from the beginning.
“With my team, I build scalable cloud-native infrastructure and Internal Developer Platforms on Azure – with the claim that architecture, automation, and operations work together from the start. We already use Agentic AI in our own workflows and directly integrate this experience into the implementation for our customers.”
Stephan Hüttner, Head of Platform Engineering
Platform Engineering: What Our Team Delivers for Customers
At white duck, Platform Engineering is far more than just infrastructure. It is the discipline that brings together Developer Experience and Operations Excellence.
In practice, this means: We design and implement Kubernetes-based application platforms on Azure, build Internal Developer Platforms with self-service portals and Golden Paths, automate infrastructure with Crossplane and Infrastructure as Code, and integrate DevSecOps into the entire development process. Whether AKS clusters for enterprise workloads, Container Apps for SaaS products, or Crossplane-based platform abstractions – our focus is on Internal Developer Platforms, Kubernetes, and Developer Experience.
The goal is always the same: empower development teams to focus on their business logic instead of manually managing infrastructure. And to do so with a partner who considers platform, development, and operations as a single unit.
“Everything from a Single Source” – Even More Consistently
A central focus of Stephan’s new role is the close integration of Platform Engineering and Managed Services. The goal: to implement the principle of “everything from a single source” even more consistently in the infrastructure and platform context.
The advantage for our customers: knowledge from architecture, implementation, and automation flows directly into maintenance, security updates, and 2nd and 3rd-level support. When the team that built a platform also prepares and accompanies its operation, unnecessary handovers are eliminated, and decisions remain traceable.
Stephan will specifically further expand this connection between engineering and operations. His focus is on platforms that are not only cleanly implemented but can also be operated stably, securely, and efficiently throughout their entire lifecycle – in close cooperation with our Operations as a Service.
Dedicated Leadership for a Core Area
Platform Engineering, alongside Cloud Native Development and Developer Productivity, is one of white duck’s three core focus areas. With over 150 Azure & AI projects per year and a growing team, we rely on specialized leadership in each area. Especially now, when topics like Agentic AI, Sovereign Cloud, and EU compliance are fundamentally changing platform requirements, focused expertise and clear responsibilities are needed.
With Stephan as Head of Platform Engineering, we continue our path of filling key positions with strong personalities from within our own ranks. This ensures continuity and quality for our customers.
Nico Meisenzahl, COO of white duck GmbH
In the coming months, Stephan will further refine the Platform Engineering portfolio, expand collaboration with the Managed Service Team, and drive Agentic AI-powered automation where it demonstrably improves architecture, implementation, and operations.
