Aviatrix wants to elevate the work of cloud networking heroes who labor to keep networks secure, effective, and performant. We’re proud to highlight people who have taught themselves the necessary skills, designed and managed successful networks, and have the expertise to share.
Our next hero spotlight is on Yujun Liang, Cloud Enterprise Architect. See our previous hero spotlights here.
Background: From Y2K Bug Bounty Hunter to Cloud Enterprise Architect
Yujun began his tech journey over three decades ago, with experience coding in legacy systems like NATURAL/ADABAS and PowerBuilder. “I came to the U.S. as a Y2K Bug Bounty Hunter—yes, that was a real title back then!” he said. “My first big break came when I taught myself Java during a project drought, which opened doors to roles at Oracle and Deutsche Bank.”
Over time, Yujun transitioned into cloud and enterprise architecture, leading large-scale cloud migrations across industries. “Today, I serve as a Cloud Enterprise Architect, helping organizations modernize their IT infrastructure on Google Cloud,” he said. “I hold all Aviatrix Certified Engineer (ACE) certifications, as well as credentials across Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, and Kubernetes—each one marking a milestone in my ongoing journey through the evolving landscape of cloud networking.”
Yujun’s favorite part about his role is making a complex transformation journey feel achievable for his clients.
“Whether it's building a secure cloud foundation or modernizing legacy workloads, I enjoy translating business goals into scalable architectures,” he said.
A few of Yujun’s career highlights include leading SAP workload migrations to the cloud, designing a global hybrid network backbone, and speaking twice at Google Cloud Next—where his team’s breakout session became one of the top three most-viewed videos from the conference on YouTube.
“I’m also proud of earning all Aviatrix ACE certifications, which deepened my ability to design secure and agile cloud networks,” he said.
Overcoming Challenges
One of the biggest challenges Yujun faces in his role is aligning cross-functional teams on complex cloud migration projects, especially when there are conflicting priorities, legacy mindsets, or competing tools. “A great example is when I led a data center exit strategy for a global enterprise,” he explained. “The Compute team favored vRealize due to their VMware expertise, while the Cloud Enablement team pushed for Terraform based on long-term automation goals.”
Yujun took an innovative approach. “Instead of picking sides, I brought everyone together — including cybersecurity and vendor architects — for a series of architecture alignment sessions. We chose vRealize for the initial migration to leverage existing skills and accelerate timelines, while designing a roadmap to transition toward Terraform for future state automation. “That decision wasn't the most obvious or popular, but it worked. It balanced short-term execution with long-term vision. To me, leadership means listening deeply, building consensus, and making practical decisions—even if they don’t follow the script.”
Baking Security into Cloud Architecture
Yujun’s work in cloud architecture has increasingly focused on security. “In the on-prem world, security was often seen as a separate function—handled by dedicated teams after the network and systems were built. But in the cloud, security is baked into every layer of architecture,” he explained. “As a cloud architect, I’m involved in security conversations from day one: identity and access management, encryption strategies, zero trust networking, and compliance requirements.”
Yujun highlighted some of the ongoing challenges of secure design. “The cloud’s agility is both its strength and its risk—misconfigurations can happen fast, and data can be exposed in seconds,” he said. “That’s why proactive security planning, automation, and shared responsibility are more important than ever. Today, if you’re not thinking about security, you’re not thinking about the cloud correctly.”
Tackling Cost Optimization
Yujun offered some advice to networking peers who struggle with a common issue: cost optimization.
Be proactive – “Architect with cost in mind—not after deployment, but from the start,” he said. “In cloud, every packet, route, and egress matters financially.
Maximize visibility – “Avoid ‘lift and shift’ traps that replicate legacy inefficiencies. Instead, use tools to gain visibility into traffic flows and identify optimization opportunities.”
Pursue efficiency – “Design with simplicity, consolidate transit layers, and use policy-based routing to reduce unnecessary data movement.”
Educate stakeholders – “Sometimes, a higher upfront investment in automation or centralized control can lead to major long-term savings. In cloud networking, good design is the best cost control strategy.”
The Evolution of Networking
Over the course of his career, Yujun has watch networking evolve from being “hardware-centric and reactive” to “software-defined, programmable, and security-first.”
“In the early 2000s, network design meant racking physical gear and manually configuring routers. Today, it’s about infrastructure-as-code, zero trust, and global mesh architectures that scale elastically,” he said.
Over the next decade, he foresees networks becoming even more intelligent: AI-driven policy enforcement, autonomous routing decisions, and seamless multicloud overlays will become the norm. “The line between application and network will blur further, and observability will be built into every layer,” he predicts.
The Network is the Cloud
To Yujun, “the network is the cloud” means that “networking is no longer a supporting player—it is the cloud experience. Whether it's routing between regions, securing traffic with encryption, or optimizing app performance with global load balancing, the network is foundational.”
The network is fundamental for the cloud. “Without a resilient and intelligent network, there’s no cloud,” Yujun said. “Cloud-native services like Aviatrix’s Cloud Native Security Fabric (CNSF) have proven that the network is the foundational layer for connectivity, security, and visibility in the cloud era.”
Outside of Work
Outside of work, Yujun is a proud member of Toastmasters International. “I’ve competed in speech contests, served as club president, and coached others to find their voice,” he said. “I enjoy storytelling, especially weaving technical and personal narratives to inspire others.”
A fun fact about Yujun is that he once gave a humorous speech as “Clint Eastwood, Microsoft Certified Bounty Hunter” to explain Y2K.
“I’m also a lifelong learner—certifications are my version of a hobby. Recently, I took up gardening and planted tea roses by hand,” he said. “It reminded me that growth, whether personal or professional, takes patience, practice, and getting your hands dirty.”
