IT Director & Security & Ops Leader

Irving Vargas

IT Director Security Engineer Business Operations Leader

San Diego, CA 619-***-**** ******-***@*******.*** linkedin.com/in/irving-v PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

IT Director and Security Engineer who builds technology departments from the ground up and drives operational efficiency through data analysis and process optimization. Delivered an 8-month infrastructure project in 2.5 months, then expanded into business operations - analyzing production data to develop a $100K/month revenue growth roadmap and designing enterprise-wide QC systems. Four years of SOC experience driving $600K+ in consulting revenue, 50% faster analyst onboarding, and 60% reduction in incident response time. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

CORE COMPETENCIES

IT Infrastructure: Ground-Up Department Builds Cloud Migration (M365/Entra ID) System Integration Vendor Management

Security Operations: SIEM/EDR/XDR Implementation Threat Detection & Incident Response Zero Trust Architecture

Leadership: Business Operations Strategy Data-Driven Decision Making Team Development Process Optimization Change Management

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Director of IT & Business Operations

CV Auto Body Chula Vista, CA September 2025 – Present Hired to build IT infrastructure for $2.8M/year collision repair shop with 16 employees. Delivered project 5.5 months early; role expanded to direct IT, production operations, and cybersecurity - owning technology strategy, operational efficiency, and business process optimization.

Built IT Department from Zero

• Brought on to establish IT infrastructure for a 16-person organization operating without centralized technology systems.

• Designed and executed phased migration to Microsoft 365 (Entra ID, SharePoint, OneDrive) while maintaining business continuity.

• Engineered custom symbolic link solution for CCC ONE estimating software cloud integration where no documented path existed.

• Implemented zero-trust security architecture: conditional access policies, MFA enforcement, and DLP.

• Delivered 8-month project in 2.5 months with zero disruptions; saved $15K+ annually by maximizing existing licenses. Developed $100K/Month Revenue Growth Strategy

• Asked to analyze operations after IT project success revealed opportunities for broader business improvement.

• Conducted comprehensive review of 24 months of production data to identify capacity optimization opportunities.

• Built revenue growth blueprint targeting cycle time reduction, DRP optimization, and OEM certification pathways.

• Roadmap targets $100K/month revenue increase through operational efficiency and expanded capacity. Designed Enterprise Quality Control System

• Tasked with creating standardized quality processes to support consistent operations across 10 departments.

• Developed comprehensive QC system with 200+ checkpoint items and accountability workflows.

• Built multilingual documentation to support diverse workforce.

• Result: objective performance standards now drive quality decisions across all departments. Led Organization-Wide Technology Adoption

• Needed to bring 16-person staff with varying technical backgrounds and multiple languages onto entirely new systems.

• Designed and delivered role-specific training programs with comprehensive SOPs and troubleshooting guides.

• 100% adoption achieved. The organization runs independently on the new systems today.

• Hired and trained incoming IT team before contract completion so the infrastructure wouldn’t depend on a single person long-term.

Operational Efficiency via Technology Integration

• Identified opportunity to streamline communication and reduce time spent searching for information.

• Implemented Microsoft Teams for centralized communication (group chats, task boards, real-time status updates) and SharePoint for document collaboration.

• Standardized workflows increased staff capacity for customer communication, accurate estimates, and faster repairs.

• Achieved 10% cycle time improvement through combined process standardization and technology integration. Security Engineer

Meriplex Communications Houston, TX (Remote) September 2022 – September 2025 Primary incident responder in 24x7 SOC protecting on-premises and cloud infrastructures. Dual role combining security operations with revenue-generating consulting and team development. Generated $600K+ Consulting Revenue

• Led penetration tests and vulnerability assessments across client environments.

• Translated technical findings into executive-level recommendations; conducted quarterly business reviews.

• Increased customer retention 15% by building trusted advisor relationships. Reduced Incident Response Time by 60%

• Inherited process averaging 3+ hours MTTR due to manual enrichment and repetitive tasks.

• Implemented SOAR automation for data enrichment and standardized investigation procedures.

• Reduced MTTR to under 1 hour without additional headcount. Cut False Positives by 35%

• Developed custom detection rules combining threat intelligence with behavioral analytics.

• Built Sigma rules for ES QL, KQL, and S1QL across SIEM and XDR platforms.

• Identified 25+ early-stage threats through proactive threat hunting, enabling response before escalation. Accelerated Analyst Onboarding by 50%

• Identified that standard onboarding process required 6 months for junior analysts to reach full productivity.

• Designed interactive training program using NIST, MITRE ATT&CK, and CIS frameworks.

• Authored 15+ incident response playbooks; mentored 9 analysts to full productivity within 2 months. Playbooks became company-wide standard.

Security Analyst

CPI Solutions San Diego, CA (Remote) January 2022 – September 2022 Improved Client Security Posture by 45%

• Conducted vulnerability assessments for new clients, many with critical unpatched systems and misconfigurations.

• Built prioritized remediation plans based on CVSS scores and business risk exposure.

• Achieved 45% average reduction in critical/high vulnerabilities within first 90 days of engagement.

• Maintained zero-trust architecture (IAM, MFA, email security) and supported SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA compliance.

IT Field Engineer

CPI Solutions San Diego, CA October 2021 – January 2022

• Deployed enterprise security infrastructure (firewalls, IDS, endpoint protection) across Windows/Linux/macOS environments.

• Automated patching, compliance, and configuration management using PowerShell, Python, and Bash. TECHNICAL SKILLS

Cloud & Infrastructure: Microsoft 365, Entra ID, SharePoint, OneDrive, Azure, AWS, GCP, Power Platform (Automate, BI)

Security Platforms: Elastic SIEM, Microsoft Sentinel/Defender, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Fortinet, SonicWall, Proofpoint, Cisco Umbrella

Automation: PowerShell, Python, Bash, SOAR, ES QL, KQL, Sigma Rules Frameworks: NIST, MITRE ATT&CK, CIS Controls, SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA CERTIFICATIONS

CompTIA CySA+ Security+ Network+ A+ Security Analytics Professional (CSAP) Secure Infrastructure Specialist (CSIS)

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