Project Management
Resume:
Jason (Yassen) Kantchev, MEng, ALM
*** *. ******* ****., ***. 1033, Houston, TX 77007
******.********@*****.***
Proactive, passionate and highly-strategic technology leader and systems architect with over 16 years of
experience designing, developing and maintaining enterprise IT systems and solutions. Expertise in the
broad spectrum of IT skill sets, backed by a Master’s in IT Management from Harvard University. Advises
and collaborates closely with key clients to develop infrastructures that transform and simplify processes.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to concisely define problems, visualize and model solutions, and
educate clients on the best technological roadmap to support their long-term business goals. Recognized as
an exceptional manager who communicates well at all levels and mentors his team in best practices. Proven
success in delivering high-impact strategic technology solutions. Fluent in English, Russian, and Bulgarian;
international: has worked on nearly every continent and in most major and minor countries.
Professional Skills
• Project/Program Management • Infrastructure planning and management
• Budgeting and Strategic Planning • Negotiation
• Client/Vendor/Service provider management • Strategic Leadership
• Business Strategy and Optimization • ITIL v3
Technology Skills
• Microsoft Server/User OS, software and cloud, AD • LAN/WAN/WAP (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP), VPN
• VMware vSphere 4/5 data center virtualization • HP/DELL/Lenovo personal computing
• HP/Compaq Proliant ML/DL/BL and Storage • McAfee, Symantec Endpoint Protection/Encryption
• Databases, datacenters and cloud platforms • APC Data Center Solutions
Accomplishments
• Implemented key technology equipment and infrastructure, which helped monitor and increase
medical response time to pregnant women in rural villages in Nigeria, a five-year jointly-sponsored
USAID and UKAID health reform project (www.paths2.org) aimed at reducing pre- and post-natal
Yassen Kantchev
mortality rate in areas with limited access to medical facilities. Designed, built and maintained their
infrastructure which consisted of a central office in the capital city of Abudja and 5 provincial
offices housing some 250 users.
• Conceptualized and built the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND) project, an enterprise
IT solution for the United States Social Security Administration.
• Designed and built over 50 Enterprise level Infrastructure solutions enabling US Government
sponsored projects in Asia, Africa, The Americas as well as for domestic clients. Projects ranged
from $50M to $400M and aimed developing healthcare system, health sector reform, small business
initiatives, etc. in countries in Africa, Asia, and South America.
• Created a virtualized Office-In-a-Box solution for fast deployment in small-to-medium sized
business enterprises, enabling junior IT engineers to deploy and administer fully-functional office
capabilities on both the server and end-user sides. This solution is currently a baseline product for
all Abt Associates’ international site startups and has been in use since 2012, resulting in a 30% cost
savings on infrastructure and a 75% savings on maintenance and administration. The solution is also
in use as a backbone infrastructure in the Africa IRS President’s Malaria Initiative Project
(www.africairs.net)
• Designed the syntax and worked closely with the development team to implement a mobile solution
interfacing the ORACLE E-Business suite application for timecard tracking based on SS7
technology
• Devised the concept for consolidating over 50 unique domains hosting over 1500 users as a
prerequisite for a hosted enterprise IAM project. Built a test environment for “proof of concept” and
drafted the process run-book, Q&A procedures and post-migration validation
• Technology lead for Abt Associates’ companywide infrastructure upgrade, including the migration
of all global employees to Windows 7, followed by the email migration of 3,000 users from Novell
Lotus Notes to Microsoft BPOS and, subsequently, to Microsoft Office 365. Designed a process
workflow and built a simulation lab to test each component, resulting in a seamless migration effort
• Designed and delivered a turnkey VMWare VDI solutions for key clients at Abt Associates that
reduced the burden of managing, maintaining and administering physical machines and allowed for
significant cost and time savings
Professional Experience
Abt Associates Inc. 2006 – 2013
One of the largest for-profit government and business research and consulting firms in the world, Abt
Associates delivers practical, measurable, high-value-added results. The staff of more than 1,000
employee-owners includes national and international experts who are recognized for their knowledge,
innovative research techniques, and insightful analyses and recommendations
Yassen Kantchev
Senior Systems Architect 2006 – 2013
• Consult on the design and management of creative, cost-effective, high-performance technology
solutions that support business goals for both internal and external clients.
• Lead global IT project design, execution, tasks, budget and internal client management
• Develop long-term relationships with domestic and international IT vendors and actively ensure that
all international site offices, vendors and suppliers continue to comply with corporate guidelines,
policies and procedures
• Design and implement enterprise architecture for domestic operations, including VMware, SAN,
NAS, AD, coordination with the Security team, encryption, FISMA, FIPS and HIPAA compliance
• Liaise with International IT operations team and coach them through implementation and roll-out of
enterprise architecture for international site offices that integrate fully with corporate infrastructure
and systems
• Develop and implement ITIL v3-compatible policies and procedures designed to ensure that
systems support the organization's business requirements and meet the needs of end users
• Define system requirements based on user/client needs, cost and required integration with existing
applications, systems or platforms. Define technical standards or functionality tests. Develop
specifications, prototypes, or initial-user education guides
• Oversee and mentor International IT support resources on project sites in Africa, Asia, the Middle
East and South America
• Create test and maintenance plans and procedures, quality assurance and risk management
• Provide Tier 3 support to 50+ international projects, encompassing 1500+ end users and 100+
servers
International IT Support Specialist 2006 – 2009
• Oversaw and managed 30 IT support engineers in multiple project sites across the globe
• Conducted the design of MOSS 2007 based on collaborative environment
• Supported International IT operations team by managing centralized IT processes including system
backups, disaster recovery, antivirus protection, off-site data storage, and project close-down
activities
• Applied continuous improvement to IT programs, initiatives and services. Provided clarity and
guidance regarding information technology best practices both at the system-design and the
Yassen Kantchev
operational levels
• Provided Tier 2 and Tier 3 support to 35+ international projects, encompassing 1200+ end users and
100 servers
Compucom Systems, Inc. 2004 – 2006
Compucom Systems is a global IT consulting, integration and managed services firm offering an integrated
infrastructure management framework that provides cost-effective one-stop technology services.
Consultant (Contracting roles)
• Systems Engineer at Staples Inc. for a data center consolidation project and an end user OS migration
project (nine-month assignment)
• Systems Administrator at Boston Culinary Group providing server management and help desk services
(seven-month assignment)
• Systems Engineer at Fidelity Investments for an end user OS migration project (three-month assignment)
Eurosystems, Ltd. 1998 – 2004
Eurosystems is a one-stop IT consulting firm based in Sofia, Bulgaria and offering design, implementation,
administration and management services to businesses.
Founder & CTO
• Built and maintained technology infrastructure environments for clients, offering both remote and
on-site services
Education
Masters of Liberal Arts, IT Management, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 2010
Masters of Engineering, Electronics & Automatics, Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria 1996
Professional Development & Certifications
• Microsoft Certified Professional – ID: 3209659
• ITIL v3 Foundation – ID 00043075 (Loyalist)
HP: VMware vSphere5 VCAP5-DCD - Design Workshop
Yassen Kantchev
HP: VMware vSphere What's New [V5.1]
MicroTek Boston: VMware vSphere Install, Configure, Manage [V4.1]
American Management Associate: Communication and Interpersonal Skills
CorasWorks Workplace Suit: Building Collaborative Workplace Solutions on SharePoint
Microsoft 2400B: Implementing & Managing MS Exchange Server 2003
Microsoft 2282A: Design a MS Win Server 2003 AD & Network Infrastructure
Yassen Kantchev
Philanthropic Projects
Agatha Parish School
Technology migration project
Sunrise Senior Living
Technology migration project
Other Professional Projects
April 2012 – May 2013 Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan
June 2012 – May 2013 Enterprise Single Sign-On Pilot and Implementation
October 2012 – May 2013 Enterprise migration to Microsoft Office 365
April 2012 – May 2013 Virtual Office-In-a-Box - Designed, prototyped and implemented a Virtualized Office-In-a-
Box (VM host, VM OS, VDI, CISCO UCM Express, Backup, Security, network, customized
end-user OS & apps).
Sep. 2011 – May 2013 Africa IRS President’s Malaria Initiative Project - Phase I & II - Designed the IT
Infrastructure, Speced out the BOM, developed the "Build and Support documentation"
March 2011 – June 2012 Enterprise migration to Microsoft BPOS - In collaboration with the Team developed test and
production scripts
June 2011 – Dec. 2011 SS7 (SMS) Interface to Oracle Business Suite
June 2010 – May 2011 SSA BOND - Conceptualized, designed and built the Enterprise IT solution
October 2010 – June 2011 Abt Associates Inc. – Technology transformation project – migrating the enterprise from
Novel/Notes to Microsoft platforms (Windows 2008R2/Windows 7/Office 2010, VMWare), OS
customization, datacenter optimization
Aug 2008 – July 2009 Abt Associates Inc., client - ODS - Design of MOSS 2007 based collaboration environment
Feb 2008 – July 2009 Abt Associates Inc., client - OMHA - Design of MOSS 2007 based collaboration environment
Miscellaneous Professional Experience
Initiated, designed and started the first Internet/Game café clubs in Bulgaria: "GAMESTATION" – 1998
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