IT Systems Administrator and Project Lead

Contact

*****.********@*****.***

www.linkedin.com/in/

charliebrownlunchbox (LinkedIn)

Top Skills

Project Management

Problem Solving

Interpersonal Skills

Brian Hotaling

IT Systems Administrator (Available)

Austin, Texas, United States

Summary

I excel at tackling complex IT projects by breaking them down into manageable bits, streamlining processes, writing detailed reports, managing stakeholder expectations, and training others to do the same. I enjoy taking a buggy mess and turning it into something beautiful.

Experience

Bentley Systems

Senior Help Desk Technician (layoff due to RiF)

May 2019 - January 2025 (5 years 9 months)

I provided comprehensive IT support for Bentley employees. Specifically: Win10/Win11 & macOS computers, Microsoft Entra ID, Jamf Pro, Windows Server 2016/2019, Hyper-V, Microsoft 365, Citrix Sharefile, iOS/Android support, Apple Business Manager, and Microsoft Teams. I helped with complex technical issues, questions, and requests submitted via their ticketing system (ServiceNow). I typically resolved the more complex issues and coached the junior staff on industry best practices. Twin Liquors

IT Support/Helpdesk

September 2018 - May 2019 (9 months)

Austin, Texas Area

I worked the help desk at Twin Liquors, answering phone calls and trouble- tickets (Zoho) from stores that needed technical assistance with their POS software (ECRS Catapult), computers (Dell OptiPlex), credit card readers

(Equinox) or printers (Xerox). It was really challenging to provide support for nearly a hundred stores spread out across Texas, especially when they’re operating 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Caringo

Systems Administrator (layoff due to RiF)

February 2015 - October 2016 (1 year 9 months)

Austin, Texas Area

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Caringo was the industry leader in object based storage solutions and as the Systems Administrator I assisted internal customers (co-workers) by providing expert level IT support. Whether it was racking servers or fixing a broken MacBook, I did a little of everything:

• Provisioned operating systems (RHEL, CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, etc) on both physical and virtual servers using kickstart.

• Created, cloned, migrated, and configured virtual servers using VMware vSphere.

• Configured hardware RAID arrays and non-RAID Caringo Swarm storage clusters.

• Performed routine OS upgrades and applied security patches when needed.

• Installed firmware upgrades to resolve technical issues (iDRAC and Dell Lifecycle Controller).

• Performed hardware refreshes such as the $250,000 Supermicro project

(2015).

• Monitored and maintained file system space (Nagios).

• Created and maintained documentation (SOPs) related to system administration functions and procedures.

• Experience repairing Lenovo (laptops) and Dell hardware (all).

• Experience supporting Windows 7, Windows 10, Skype, G Suite, and macOS.

• Strong interpersonal and customer relationship skills.

• Ability to communicate a technical message to a non-technical audience, focusing on managing customer expectations.

• Excellent problem solving & trouble-shooting skills.

• Experience in technical training of IT peers.

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.

• Onboarded new hires with user/network accounts (Gmail, AD, LDAP) and equipment.

Everi Holdings (Multimedia Games)

Network & Systems Specialist II

November 2013 - March 2014 (5 months)

Multimedia Games makes touch-screen controlled slot machine games for casinos. As a Network & Systems Specialist, I provided phone and email support to customers (casinos) and field service technicians, escalating per documented procedures when necessary. I ensured new game installations were in accordance with standard procedures and Service Level Agreements. I also monitored custom applications and operational architecture of 100+ Page 2 of 4

casinos through both closed and open network environments. My team

& I maintained detailed logs regarding custom applications, security, and operational readiness. Occasionally, I also provided high-level technical support & problem determination/resolution.

Dell

Server Validation Technician

April 2011 - April 2012 (1 year 1 month)

As a Server Validation Technician, I performed validation and debug testing of Dell’s 12th generation server platform (PowerEdge R720). This testing included:

Windows Server 2008 & 2008 R2

SUSE Enterprise Linux 10 & 11

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 & 6

Dell Lifecycle Controller

Dell iDRAC 7

Dell Unified Server Configurator (USC)

Dell Systems Build and Update Utility (SUU)

Microsoft Hyper-V

VMware ESX

Enterprise Storage: SAS, RAID, iSCSI, FCoE, FC, etc TPM chip provisioning and security testing

Windows Server 2012 (Beta) compatibility testing

Microsoft Windows certification (WHQL)

I quickly gained a reputation as the "go-to guy" for the most complicated test cases, which I completed with minimal assistance. My manager was so impressed with my attention-to-detail and strong work ethic that my 9 month contract was extended three times.

AMD

Silicon Validation Technician

March 2010 - September 2010 (7 months)

Austin, Texas, United States

As a Silicon Validation Technician my role was to run various test cases on pre-production AMD processors and motherboards. These were both manual and automated test cases; usually network stress and "4 corners" testing. I primarily tested AMD's new generation of Fusion brand processors: codenamed Llano (desktops) and Brazos (netbooks & portables). These chips Page 3 of 4

were AMD's first attempt at low-power processors which featured both a GPU

(video processor) and CPU (primary processor) on a single die. This was also my first opportunity to learn and use virtualization technology. In an effort to produce higher quality network stress testing, I acquired 20 surplus servers

(liberated from a junk pile) to create a mini virtual datacenter using VMware ESXi 4.1. This upgrade facilitated the creation of 80 virtual machines which generated significantly more network load than the previous configuration and also made stress testing much easier to monitor and execute. The best part of all this was the cost: $0.

Dell

OS Certification Senior Analyst (layoff due to RiF) April 1999 - January 2010 (10 years 10 months)

Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area

As a OS Certification Senior Analyst, I was tasked with executing Microsoft's HCT & DTM testing on pre-production Dell computers. This software suite included 39 individual tests designed to ensure complete hardware compatibility with the various Microsoft Windows operating systems. The goal was a 100% test pass to secure a system level WHQL certification on all new Dell computers. Testing would include everything from keyboards (do all the keys work?) to advanced ACPI stress testing (does the computer continue to function correctly after it sleeps & wakes repeatedly for 10 hours?). If a test failed, I'd analyze the test logs, trouble-shoot the issue, verify the failure, and report it to the appropriate engineering team. My job was to find all the OS flaws during the system engineering phase and make sure they got fixed quickly. I would also train others on how to use this software, such as when I traveled to Shanghai China in 2002 to set up a WHQL test lab there. Education

United States Army Armor School

19K Armor Crewman, M1 Abrams Tank Driving

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