Thought Leader Engineer
technical support Empathetic Problem Solver contributor
Technologist with a focus on team building, creativity and accountability.
Top performing, well-rounded technologist with 20+ years of proven individual contributor and team management experience. As an individual contributor, I consistently exceeded SLA requirements and customer expectations with high quality work and dependability. I consistently managed competing priorities without compromising long and short-term objectives and I have recently passed my Microsoft Azure Administration (Cloud) certification. I am looking forward to using my skills as an individual contributor or in a management/leadership role.
Certifications
Microsoft Azure Administration. AZ-104
Certification# H655-37113
Education & Professional Development
Master of Science - Technology Management, 1998 Southern Polytechnic State University
Bachelor of Science– Electronic Engineering Technology, 1987 DeVry Institute of Technology
Professional Experience
Aspect Software, Atlanta, GA 2002 - 2020
Principal Support Engineer, Tier 3 SUPPORT
Took escalated support cases from tier 2 and proactively maintained the operation of customer systems using various skills including log interpretation, SSMS, SQL, Windows error logging etc. Editing Python, Kornshell and PowerShell scripts to fit changing customer needs. Monitored and maintained underlying replication processes (SQL Server, Sybase). Created, tracked and prioritized defects after it wasn’t determined to be a configuration or user issue by either troubleshooting and/or attempting to recreate the issue in a lab.
Started and hosted a defect meeting with developers to help prioritize defects that dictated the timing of general release and hot-fixes.
Mentored several lower tiered engineers by way of hands-on labs, verbal and Knowledge Base articles in Sales Force. I achieved an award presented to the person who wrote the most articles 2 of the past 5 years.
Other responsibilities included installing, maintaining and being the System Admin to the lab environment that at various points that comprised of several Linux servers with Sybase DB, SAN, Fiber switch, Hyper-V terminals, report servers with Crystal reports, BOE, Azure VMs and predictive Dialers.
Glenayre Electronics, Atlanta, GA 1999 – 2001
Technical Operations Manager - Prepaid
Responsible for managing post-sale operations for this Prepaid card division. Managed 4 project managers, 4 Field engineers and 6 support engineers. Equipment included IBM AIX servers, among some telephony equipment.
Cut installation costs by 80%.
Decreased installation time down to 2 weeks from 3 months
Helped the company manage through the Y2K crisis
Aspect Software, Atlanta, GA 1993 - 1999
Strategic Support Manager 1998-1999
Created and managed this department to deliver unique support offerings to the company’s enterprise customers to address strict SLA requirements. Start up tasks included transferring 4 advanced engineers to the new group. Created roles, job descriptions and career paths. Worked closely with sales, management and developers.
Helped the company solidify deals with Citibank and other customers totaling over 50 million
CSR Manager 1996-1998
Started and managed a department of Customer Service Reps to take inbound calls, provide light technical assistance. Created roles, job descriptions and career paths. Created customer surveys, call and ticket metrics.
Customer Service Engineer 1993-1996
Took initial incoming customer problem cases. Used product knowledge, DOS Batch skills and computer hardware knowledge to solve issues. Occasionally traveled domestically and internationally to upgrade equipment, provide onsite support, onsite training, etc.
Core Competencies
Effective Problem Solving
Issue Tracking and Resolution
Empathetic
Guiding Resources and People
Troubleshooting
High Degree of Morale
Passion for Continuous Learning
Relationship Building
Team Culture & Development
Account Management
Tech Savvy
Crisis Prevention
Other Skills and Experience
Linux, SQL, Sybase and SQL Server Replication, Salesforce, Skype, teams, WebEx, viewing and editing Kornshell, Bash PowerShell and Python Scripts. Slack, Skype, Teams, Cloud Resource Management. Knowledge of Azure ARM Templates, Subscription and Governance Management, Azure AD, PIM, Conditional Access and MFA. Testing patches, Creating and managing Azure resources i.e, Virtual Machines. Experience in Microsoft Products, i.e., Office suite
Organizations and Affiliations
National MBA Association 2009-2016
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. 1992 - present
Other Interest
Coaching Youth Sports – Basketball, Football and Golf