About
I'm a passionate advocate for serverless architectures and cloud-native solutions, specializing in building scalable, event-driven systems on AWS. As an AWS Serverless Hero, I focus on helping teams leverage the power of serverless technologies to build better applications faster.
My work centers around AWS Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, EventBridge, and the broader serverless ecosystem. I'm also deeply involved in Agentic AI and leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to build intelligent, autonomous systems that enhance application capabilities and user experiences.
I maintain the Serverless DNA GitHub organization, where I share open-source projects, patterns, and resources for building serverless applications. I believe in sharing knowledge through blog posts, workshops, and conference talks to help the community embrace modern cloud architectures and AI-driven solutions.
Blogs
Serverless DNA
Deep dives into serverless architecture patterns and best practices
Personal Blog
Technical articles and insights on cloud-native development
DEV Community
Community posts and tutorials on serverless technologies
AWS Community Builder
AWS community contributions and serverless insights
Projects
Serverless DNA
Open-source organization sharing serverless patterns, constructs, and tools for AWS
Python Tank Game
My first project built entirely with Kiro! A Python tank game with AI-controlled enemies, destructible elements, and progressive difficulty. Built to explore Kiro's capabilities - all code, tests, and documentation generated by AI.
walmsles.dev
My personal portfolio site built with Astro, Tailwind CSS v4, and deployed on AWS Amplify. Features content collections for workshops, dynamic routing, and responsive design. Built to showcase my work and share knowledge with the community.
Mkdocs Material MCP Server
An MCP Server connecting AI to your MkDocs Material live document site. Provides the same search experience to AI as web users. Zero configuration setup and works for all types of sites - versioned and non-versioned.
Wide Logger
Canonical wide logging library for serverless applications. Gather key-value pairs throughout your function execution and flush them as a single, searchable log entry. Includes Middy middleware support, custom formatters (JSON/KeyValue), and optional Lambda context injection. Perfect for tracking business metrics and correlation IDs in distributed systems.
Offical Powertools MCP Server
The Powertools for AWS Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an MCP implementation that provides search functionality for the Powertools for AWS Lambda documentation across multiple runtimes. It allows your AI agents to search for documentation and examples related to the toolkit, helping you to quickly find the information you need to use Powertools for AWS Lambda effectively.
Accenture Technical Bootcamp Serverless Enablement
Comprehensive serverless training materials for Accenture bootcamps across multiple regions (2023-2024). Includes starter projects, demos, and hands-on exercises covering AWS Lambda, API Gateway, and serverless patterns. Bootcamps delivered in: • New Zealand (2023, 2024) • Sydney, Australia (2024) • Canberra, Australia (2024) Repositories: bootcamp-nz-api-2023, bootcamp_demo, bootcamp-demo-app, bootcamp-sydney-2024, can-bootcamp-2024, nz-bootcamp-2024
azure2aws
CLI tool for authenticating to AWS using Azure AD SAML via Chrome automation. Automates the browser-based SAML flow, captures credentials, and saves them to AWS CLI profiles. Built with Go and available via Homebrew.
Socket LLM Connector
WebSocket-driven task system for long-running communications with AWS Bedrock LLM models. Implements both standard API responses and streaming responses using FIFO SQS queues. Built with Serverless DNA Socket Tasks construct to enable interactive AI conversations over WebSockets.
CDK CodeArtifact Construct
AWS CDK L2 construct for CodeArtifact - filling the gap where AWS provides no official L2 constructs. Simplifies creating domains and repositories with built-in validations, external connection support for NPM, PyPI, Maven, and NuGet, and proper naming conventions.
Serverless Observability Demo
Performance testing project demonstrating what happens when serverless systems fail - and how retries can mask problems. Features two branches: one with uncontrolled scaling causing boundary clashes, and one with SQS-based flow control. Used for my 'Unlocking Serverless Observability' talk to show real-world failure scenarios.
URL Shortener (walms.es)
My personal URL shortener running at walms.es! Built with serverless architecture using API Gateway, Lambda, and DynamoDB. Features custom domain with Route53, automatic redirects, and error handling. A practical tool I use daily for sharing links.
Zero Code API to SQS
Exploring the lambda-less, code-less serverless world! Direct API Gateway to SQS integration using only configuration - no Lambda functions required. A demonstration of AWS native service integrations and how far you can go without writing code.
Bing Images Downloader
A fun automation that downloads daily Bing desktop wallpapers from multiple markets. Built as a learning project for TDD and API integration - runs on my laptop to keep a collection of beautiful Bing images. Never downloads the same image twice!
Serverless DNA Constructs
A library of reusable CDK constructs for common use-cases
Workshops
Spirit of Kiro: Learn Through Playing
Hands-on beginner workshop introducing Kiro - the Amazon Agentic AI IDE for all developers.
Melbourne AWS Programming and Tools Meetup
November 19, 2025
Moving Faster with Powertools for AWS Lambda
Come and learn about how you can build Serverless Applications faster by progressively adopting Powertools for Lambda. This is a developer focused workshop that will require you to have a laptop, an AWS Account, and IDE.
Melbourne AWS Programming and Tools Meetup
June 12, 2024
AWS Lambda Powertools for Python
Michael Walmsley, a Serverless Architect from MyWizard AiOps at Accenture, will present a workshop introducing the AWS Lambda Powertools for Python.
Melbourne AWS Programming and Tools Meetup
February 9, 2022
Talks
Serverless Scalability Unleashed (DEV319)
AWS re:Invent 2024
You've built your application, deployed it with ease, and it's humming along. As your user base grows and event volumes soar, soon you see performance bottlenecks, throttling, and chaos. This session prepares you for those invisible barriers. Drawing from our experience using AWS Lambda to build high-scale, event-driven systems, explore a real system failure and hear practical strategies and patterns to help you overcome scalability challenges. Whether you're building greenfield applications or optimizing existing systems, leave this session with the knowledge and confidence to unleash your serverless scalability.
Las Vegas, USA
December 3, 2024
Eliminating AI Adoption Barriers: Moving from Hype to Empirical Success (AIM234)
AWS re:Invent 2024
Real-world customer showcase following a blueprint for AI success developed by Qlik and Accenture. Learn about building real-time AI data pipelines, creating trusted data foundations with continuous verification, and defining data architecture strategies that optimize compute spend. Explore creating data products for centralized enterprise data access and delivering reliable, explainable results from generative AI.
Las Vegas, USA
December 4, 2024
Maximise your VIBE with Powertools and Amazon Q Developer
AWS Community Day Aotearoa 2025
"The hottest new programming language is English" - but what happens when AI gives you code that works but isn't what you'd actually write? I started frustrated with generic AI-generated serverless code and ended up discovering something that completely changed how I work with AI assistants. Through live demos, you'll see why "vibe coding" might be holding back your projects - and what comes next. Walk away with a new perspective on AI pair programming and practical tools to level up your development workflow immediately.
Wellington, New Zealand
September 18, 2025
Forget the Vibes, Enter the Flow
AWS Community Day Australia 2025
AI coding tools are fundamentally changing how we build software. But the dominant approach - "vibe coding", where developers make broad, hopeful requests to AI - is creating a new kind of technical debt. You receive code that works, but it's generic, hard to maintain, and lacks your context and standards. Is there a better way?
Brisbane, Australia
August 15, 2025
Maximise your VIBE with Powertools and Amazon Q Developer
AWS Summit 2025
"The hottest new programming language is English" - but what happens when AI gives you code that works but isn't what you'd actually write? I started frustrated with generic AI-generated serverless code and ended up discovering something that completely changed how I work with AI assistants. Through live demos, you'll see why "vibe coding" might be holding back your projects - and what comes next. Walk away with a new perspective on AI pair programming and practical tools to level up your development workflow immediately.
Sydney, Australia
June 4, 2025
Unleashing Serverless Scalability on AWS: Practical Strategies and Proven Patterns
ServerlessDays ANZ
You've built your serverless application, deployed it with ease, and it's humming along smoothly. But as your user base grows and event volumes soar, you encounter scalability boundaries - performance bottlenecks, throttling, and chaos. Serverless may seem boundless, but those invisible barriers bite hard when you are least prepared!
Auckland, New Zealand
May 24, 2024
Unlocking Serverless Observability
Serverless Melbourne Meetup
Come on a Journey to Event Driven data integration. Learn how to unlock Serverless Observability and fast-track your team to Well Architected using solid open-source foundations. Follow the story of Alice from Widget’s Inc. as she learns how to build a Serverless Event Broker for data integration. We will deep dive into a commonly published event driven pattern and discuss the additional considerations required to make the solution more resilient and observable.
Melbourne, Australia
April 20, 2023
Serverless, Not Just for Startups? (ft. E Shea, M Walmsley, P Hanssens & M Gillard)
Serverless ANZ 2023
Serverless technology is often associated with cloud-native startups, but in this leadership panel discussion, some of the most experienced minds in the industry talk about the business value of serverless technology for enterprises. Our panelists will discuss the benefits of serverless technology, including how it can help your organisation become more agile, reduce costs, and improve scalability. They'll also share their experiences with implementing serverless technology in their own organisations, including any challenges they faced and how they overcame them; the type of knowledge and skillsets needed for serverless-first technologists; and the mindset enterprises need to adopt in order to fully benefit from the serverless paradigm.
Melbourne, Australia
March 10, 2023
What I love about AWS Lambda Powertools for Python
Serverless Melbourne Meetup
A deep dive into AWS Lambda Powertools for Python and how it simplifies building production-ready serverless applications with built-in best practices.
Melbourne, Australia
July 1, 2022