::: center **Ben Pilger**\ Systems & Security Engineer  IT Trainer\  Stuttgart, Germany  +49 160 98641438  \  [arteii.net](https://arteii.net)  [github.com/arteiii](https://github.com/arteiii)  [linkedin.com/in/ben-pilger](https://linkedin.com/in/ben-pilger) ::: # Core Competencies - **Languages:** Rust, C++, C, Erlang, TypeScript, x86-64 Assembly, Python, SQL - **Domains:** Zero-Trust Architecture, Privileged Access Management (PAM), IAM, Cryptography, PKI,\ Windows Internals, Kernel Debugging & Development (Rust/C++), Systems Security, Reverse Engineering - **Frameworks & Networking:** Tokio, Actix, gRPC, REST, TCP/IP, TLS, AWS, Cloudflare - **Tooling:** x64dbg, IDA Pro, Ghidra, WinDbg, WDK, CMake, Visual Studio, Docker, CI/CD # Professional Experience *Stuttgart, Germany*\ *Independent Consultant & Technical Trainer* /2026 -- Present - **Systems Engineering Consultancy:** Provide freelance research, architectural auditing, and development services specializing in backend scalability, high-concurrency tooling, and security hardening. - **Infrastructure Hosting:** Provision and manage secure, high-availability web hosting environments and custom deployment pipelines for local small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) on an ongoing basis. *Stuttgart, Germany*\ *Backend Engineer* /2025 -- 06/2026 - **Decentralized PAM Architecture:** Pioneered a novel Privileged Access Management (PAM) infrastructure by conceptualising a peer-to-peer trust model that completely eliminated architectural Single Points of Failure (SPOFs). - **Cryptographic Protocol Engineering:** Designed and implemented the cryptographic backbone for the decentralized PAM ecosystem; developed a custom asymmetric key-based configuration protocol and a decentralized PKI-service to enforce end-to-end integrity and tamper-proof state synchronization. - **System Modernization & Stability:** Contributed to the migration of legacy C++, Erlang, and TypeScript services to a high-performance Rust-based microservice architecture, optimizing for high-concurrency environments (\>200K RPS) and strict sub-100ms latency guarantees. - **Enterprise Product Leadership:** Acted as a technical lead for complex enterprise requirements, managing the full lifecycle from requirement engineering and protocol specification to the delivery of scalable IAM and fraud mitigation services. *Stuttgart, Germany*\ *Systems & Security Engineer* -- 2025 - **Low-Level Kernel Engineering:** Developed system-level drivers and modules interacting with the Windows kernel using Rust and C++. Performed deep-dive binary analysis and low-level debugging of core operating system architectures. - **Enterprise Platforms:** Architected a highly scalable sales, user, and license management infrastructure with integrated international payment gateways and automated client software lifecycle deployment. *Global*\ *Founder & Lead of Research and Development* /2024 -- Present - **Open-Source R&D Leadership:** Established an open-source research group focusing on low-level systems programming, secure system design, and advanced architectural analysis. - **Threat Emulation Framework:** Architected and engineered an advanced network resilience and threat emulation platform (\"[Actrax](https://github.com/Arteiii/Actrax)\") in Rust and C++ to evaluate detection engineering capabilities and endpoint defense mechanisms. - **Security Research & Publication:** Oversee the lifecycle of open-source security tools and publish in-depth technical documentation covering kernel-level security and hardware-assisted mitigations. *Remote*\ *Offensive Tooling & Compatibility Engineering* -- 2023 - **Reverse Engineering & Integrity Bypasses:** Analyzed complex security mechanisms and runtime protections using IDA Pro and WinDbg to evaluate functional software integrity and binary execution flows. - **Aviation Infrastructure Utilities:** Engineered a custom suite of infrastructure utilities and configuration verification tools (including [uptimeMon](https://github.com/Arteiii/uptimeMon)) designed to validate environment states and ensure high availability. - **Mass Deployment & Compatibility:** Deployed and maintained custom software for a global user base, ensuring continuous runtime stability across hundreds of volatile Windows OS builds and custom hardware environments. # Side Projects & Community *Stuttgart, Germany*\ *Co-Organizer & Creative Coordinator* -- Present - **Talent Booking & Management:** Handled independent artist management, contractual bookings, and oversaw compliance with complex technical and hospitality riders. - **Event Safety & Awareness:** Managed active awareness team operations during cultural club events, focusing on guest well-being, safe environments, and proactive conflict de-escalation. - **Creative Production & Hospitality:** Planned and executed promotional photoshoots for artists, coordinated private post-event networking hospitality, and executed independent editorial modeling assignments. # Research & Open Source Projects *[arteii.net](https://arteii.net)*\ *Technical Author* Ongoing - **Windows Kernel Security Research:** Published low-level technical documentation and analysis covering Ring-0 driver architecture, exception handling routines, and hardware-assisted mitigations (IOMMU, Virtualization-Based Security). - **Low-Level Systems Analysis:** Authored mathematical and technical references targeting x86-64 assembly conventions and machine-level instruction sets. **GitHub Ecosystem** *Core Contributor & Maintainer* - [**lychee:**](https://github.com/lycheeverse/lychee) Optimized engine performance and connection handling for the widely used asynchronous link-checking engine written in Rust. - [**zenity:**](https://github.com/arteiii/zenity) Maintained and scaled a CLI UI framework in Rust, backed by JetBrains OSS sponsoring. - [**RegistryHelper**](https://github.com/Arteiii/RegistryHelper) / [**RegistryGuard**:](https://github.com/Arteiii/RegistryGuard) Authored a C++ helper tool designed for Windows registry configuration access and real-time modification tracking via thread-based background callbacks. - [**limitr:**](https://github.com/Arteiii/limitr) Built a high-throughput rate-limiting and resource management utility for concurrent systems. - [**web_client_lib:**](https://github.com/Arteiii/web_client_lib) Implemented a modular network library for streamlined, secure HTTP communications.