Summary
Business professional with extensive experience in designing, implementing and supporting complex communication networks that provide maximum benefit to business operations. Range of experience has covered global service providers, large multi-national enterprise environments, as well as, small to mid-sized companies, providing a broad range of experience in leveraging IT to provide business value.
Professional Experience
Builder’s First Source/ Probuild, Feb 8, 2016 – Current
Senior Network Engineer
Builder’s First Source (approx. 1B in revenue) had just completed the purchase of Probuild (approx. 4-5B in revenue), two building materials supply companies working on consolidating the industry. I was brought on as a Senior Network Engineer to focus on network integration activities, the primary focus of which included:
Relocating the primary DC (ProBuild data center) in Denver, CO to Dallas, TX (BFS data center).
Design and build a DR DC in Austin, TX to replace Sungard managed colocation DR
The following is a list of accomplishments and improvements related to the above activities:
Discovered and documented the existing DC network environments to a level that previously did not exist
Consolidation and upgrade of access layer hardware N5Ks (5510s/5548s to 5572UPs, N2Ks (2148Ts/ 2248Ts to 2348TQs).
Installed new modular, scalable, fast switching/ routing Nexus 9504 elements in the core.
Upgrade from ten to forty gigabit backbone.
Remove ASAs from the Enterprise leg of the network. They were unnecessary and created more complexity and administrative burden than they provided benefit.
Collapse all Enterprise VPN functions (S2S, RAVPN, WAN Backup) from three sets of ASAs to one, reducing network complexity and enabling easier troubleshooting/ daily administration.
Auditing of all INET ASA rule sets, cleanup of unused NetObjects, ACLs, etc.
Existing INET environment had two sets of ASAs, 5585s stacked on top of 5550s. Previous engineers had planned on replacing the 5550s with the 5585s; however, in view of the DC move the 5550s were replaced with 5555s and the DMZ environment existing on the 5585s collapsed down to one set of ASAs
Develop and implement new IP and VLAN schemas across the Enterprise, reducing network complexity, enabling more efficient routing, traffic flow, etc. Also, enabling easier and faster troubleshooting by lower skilled administrators.
Reduce the number of IP/ VLAN segments in the network, thereby reducing complexity providing for easier and faster troubleshooting.
Re-design/ integrate layer three routing domains across the Enterprise.
Design and build out an Enterprise DR Data Center using Nexus 9372TQs, 5572UPs, 2348TQ, ASR1002s, ASA5555s, F5s, Riverbed Steelheads
Created and published numerous network diagrams of existing networks, new designs, etc
Design and publish new Enterprise Network Device Naming Standard
In addition to the above responsibilities activities also included level 3/4 troubleshooting and mentoring/ training junior level engineers. Other platforms included in the above architecture included F5s, Riverbed Steelheads, Inteceptors, and Bluecoat Proxies.
Network Data Systems, March ’09 – December 31, ‘15
Senior Network Engineer (AT&T Mobility)
Provided expertise and support as a Senior Network Engineer in building out AT&Ts Mobility Network Infrastructure. Activities included the build out of additional zones (COR, DMZ, Service, Support, etc.) across all North American NTCs (National Technology Center, aka Data Centers) to support capacity and growth in its Mobility network. Played a key role in the implementation of new initiatives such as Calico, NEO, etc. to upgrade the network to support customer growth. The infrastructure components included Juniper MX960s (SDG – Service Delivery Gateways), SRX5800, 5600 and 3400 firewalls, Cisco ASR5500s (Aggregated Services Router), Nexus platforms 7010s, 5500s (COR and DMZ distribution routers), STRM5000s, JSA7500s, Cisco 7600s, 3900s, 3660s, Anue switches, Tektronics probes. The Network Integration team served as the bridge between Engineering and Operations to bring new service platforms into production. This role often brought the need to function as troubleshooter, identifying errors and inconsistencies in configurations and process, as well as, facilitator bringing about corrective measures within responsible groups to fix the issues identified. The build out performed left the client with a network infrastructure projected to support customer growth through 2017.
TechAlliance, October ’08 – March ‘09
Senior Consultant (Dairy Management Inc.)
Provided consulting services as a SME (Subject Matter Expert) in the areas of Network Design, Implementation and Support; Infrastructure and Server Virtualization; Disaster Recovery/ Business Continuity solution design and implementation to TechAlliance’s major customer Dairy Management Inc..
Conducted detailed audit of customers network and server infrastructure identifying significant and numerous opportunities for improvement in such areas as network redundancy, security, and scalability. As a result a detailed road map was created to bring the networked systems, i.e. routers, switches, firewalls, servers, storage, etc. to an industry standard level of design, configuration, reliability and improved uptime.
Company was out of contract with its largest client relative to its disaster recovery capabilities. Redesigned and expanded an existing, non-operational DR solution using imaging and replication of significant amounts of data across a WAN site-to-site VPN to a remote co-location data center, failing over from a physical to a virtual environment.
Key objectives met included:
Expanded RPO (Recovery Point Objective) by an additional 50% with additional applications and data
Reduced RTO (Recovery Time Objective) for failover to backup data center by 34%
Produced documentation of both production network and disaster recovery solutions, previously non-existent
Virtualized Co-location environment leveraging existing hardware to create a multi-client DR platform
Identified key design and security flaws within the network infrastructure and provided a roadmap to implement best practice improvements for redundancy, scalability, and security.
OTA Training LLC, January ’07 – January ’08
Senior Technical Trainer/ Systems Engineer
P & L responsibility for global development of RFID training across several modalities i.e. ILT (Instructor Led Training) and WBT (Web Based Training). Activities included content development, training and certification,
instruction and delivery for RFID training. Additional activities included the development of new product collateral and go to market strategies for consulting business within these international markets, which included the generation of proposals for RFID pilot implementations and execution of those engagements. Highlighted achievements include:
Planned, developed, and delivered world class ILT training classes in five countries (Mexico, China, India, Turkey, Argentina)
Revenue from international operations represented approx. 50% of total revenue for the year offsetting a drop in demand in domestic markets
Expanded the OTA name into a globally recognized brand for top quality RFID training
Developed channel partners in multiple countries to help support and market RFID training and consulting operations
Performed a re-fresh of all course content resulting in over 40% of course material being updated or changed to reflect current industry standards, engineering, and applications for RFID
Instructed and certified hundreds of students worldwide in the design, operation, application, and support of RFID intelligent networks across numerous industries
American RFID Solutions LLC, January ’06 – January ’07
Executive VP/ Senior Systems Engineer/ Lead Instructor
Responsible for the development, implementation, and management of a professional services consulting business centered on RFID system design, implementation, and support. Additional responsibilities included leading and managing RFID training and product development operations.
Developed supporting collateral material and go to market strategies for RFID consulting services
Secured multiple RFID pilot engagements within the following industries:
oFinished Vehicle Logistics
oMedia equipment rentals
oGas Cylinders
Developed course content and lab exercises for RFID training classes
Developed key strategies and business plans to support the addition of new product lines
Led the development and production of industries first hardware/ software based tool for optimizing RF coverage in a read zone
HSBC, May ’00 – January ’06
Senior Network Engineer
Responsibilities included functioning as lead network engineer and project manager for large infrastructure projects; providing level 3/4 troubleshooting support for network related issues; mentoring level 1 and 2 engineers
Re-designed network topologies across entire North American network; campus, branch, and data center, building in redundancy, fault tolerance, high availability, and scalability using Cisco Systems platforms (Catalyst 6509s, 7206VXRs, 3600s) increasing monthly uptime in North American operations by an initial 15%
Created and published documented standards and procedures for network operation, support, and troubleshooting
Led numerous cross functional teams in the execution of integration projects resulting from company M&A activity
One of two key network engineers responsible for the design and build-out of $20 million dollar redundant data center for Disaster Recovery/ Business Continuity
Led the design and build-out of secure Extranet environments for B2B eCommerce resulting in the acquisition of $25M in new business in the first quarter of operation
Designed and built the companies first iterations of WLANs in Data Centers and Campus locations
American Bottling Company, January ’99 – May ’00
Senior Network Engineer
Served as the lead network engineer and architect for the company’s entire network - LAN, WAN, Data Center, and Internet. Responsible for the reliability, security, performance and improvement of all networked systems.
Redesigned network topologies to support platform and route redundancy reducing downtime related to system failures.
Created DMZ with Cisco PIX firewalls securing the company’s Internet connection.
Created documentation of network designs, standards and procedures which previously did not exist.
Led cross functional teams in the deployment of new systems and applications.
Tenneco Corp., July ’97 – January ’99
Network Engineer
Served as a network engineer building, supporting, and maintaining company’s network infrastructure throughout North America. Responsibilities expanded to include the implementation and development of network management systems and processes.
Implemented a network management framework to handle critical issues through to problem resolution
Implemented network management software (HP Openview, Tivoli, BMC Performance Management)
Led project to perform Y2K upgrades on all routers and switches throughout the enterprise
Education
Education received from Trinity College in Deerfield, IL. and Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. where major subjects of study focused on antiquities, language, theology and philosophy. Subsequent to completion at Moody Bible Institute and transitioning into information technology, increased responsibility and excellence have been pursued in both technical engineering and management roles.
The above experience has enabled me to develop knowledge and expertise across a comprehensive range of IT operations, e.g. network infrastructure (Data Center, Campus, WAN, etc.), server infrastructure, application development and support, desktop, etc. Well versed in emerging technologies involving SDN, e.g. Cisco ACI. Corresponding to the range of IT operations I have been involved with comes experience and expertise across a range of hardware/ software platforms e.g. Juniper MX960, SRX5800, 5600, 3400 series firewalls, Secure Analytics platforms: STRM5000, JSA7500. Cisco routing and switching platforms (2600s, 2800s, 3600s, 3800s, 7200s, 7500s, 7600s; Catalyst 6500s, 5500s, 4500s, 3700s, 3500s), ASR5500s, 1002s, Nexus 9500s, 9300s, 7010s, 5572s, 5548s, 5510s, 2248Ts, 2348TQs; security appliances (PIX, ASA5585s, 5555, 5550s, 5540s, 5512s, etc) and VPN concentrators; Nortel routing and switching platforms; HP servers and storage devices (Proliant servers, Blade Servers, EVA 4400 SANs, etc) and numerous software applications, e.g. SolarWinds, Remedy, HP Openview, Netcool, etc.
This experience also includes knowledge and use of networking protocols such as STP, PVSTP+, RSTP, MST, VLAN, VXLANs, vPCs, TCP/IP, DHCP, DNS; transport protocols such as ATM, Frame Relay, MPLS VPN; routing protocols such as RIP, EIGRP, OSPF, BGP; security protocols such as 3DES, AES, 802.1X, WPA, Radius and others. In the course of gaining the above knowledge and experience numerous industry certifications and credentials have been acquired such as RFID+, RFIDSCM (RFID Supply Chain Manager), CCNA, MCP to name a few.
References available upon request