Linux Engineer II - AWS, VMware, Automation
Resume:
Muhammad Uzair Ahmad
Linux Engineer II
*.**************@*****.***
SUMMARY:
Linux Engineer II with more than seven (7) years of experience shaping and supporting Linux-centric environments across on-premises, virtualized, and cloud platforms. Proven ability to build and sustain reliable Linux systems through thoughtful configuration, performance optimization, and disciplined operational practices. Experienced in resolving complex system-level issues, improving availability, and maintaining stability in high-demand environments. Strong hands-on exposure to VMware virtualization, AWS cloud services, and container technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes, supporting modern application deployment models. Applies automation and scripting techniques using Ansible, GIT and Bash Scripting to reduce manual effort and increase operational consistency. Recognized for collaborative problem-solving, adaptability, and contributing effectively within cross-functional engineering teams.
CORE SKILLS:
Operating Systems: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7,8,9; CentOS 7,8,9
Configuration & Automation: Ansible, Python, Bash Scripting, YAML, Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
CI/CD & Version Control: GitHub Actions, Git, GitHub, CI/CD Pipelines, Automated Testing
Container Orchestration: Kubernetes (K8s), OpenShift, Docker, Service Mesh
Cloud Platforms: AWS (EC2, S3, EBS, EFS, VPC, IAM, CloudWatch, RDS, Auto Scaling, Load Balancers)
Virtualization: VMware vSphere, vCenter, ESXi, VM Templates, Cloning
Monitoring & Observability: Splunk, AppDynamics, ThousandEyes, AWS CloudWatch, Proactive Alerting, Dashboards
Networking & Security: Reverse Proxy (Nginx/HAProxy), Load Balancing, firewalld, SELinux, SSH, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, NFS, HTTP/HTTPS
Storage Management: LVM, RAID, SAN, Object Storage (S3)
Performance & Troubleshooting: CPU, Memory, Disk, I/O Analysis, Top, vmstat, iostat, sar, Deep-Dive Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
ITSM & Documentation: ServiceNow, Incident Management, Change Management
JOB EXPERIENCE:
Linux Engineer II April 2024 – Present
Citizens Bank, New York, NY
Delivered reliable Linux platforms by overseeing system behavior across multiple environments, ensuring consistent performance from development through production.
Built virtualized Linux workloads on diverse hypervisor technologies, implementing automated provisioning pipelines that reduced manual setup and improved deployment speed.
Designed and maintained VMware-based infrastructures, coordinating host configuration, virtual networking, storage integration, and resource governance through centralized management tools.
Established internal package distribution mechanisms to support controlled software delivery in restricted environments, improving consistency and reducing external dependencies.
Led operating system modernization efforts, upgrading legacy Linux releases to newer versions while preserving application compatibility and minimizing service disruption.
Implemented and optimized web-facing Linux services, configuring reverse proxies and load-balancing mechanisms to support high-traffic and highly available applications.
Strengthened system resilience by applying security hardening measures, patch governance, and policy enforcement across Linux hosts.
Reduced operational overhead by 35% by implementing Ansible-based automation workflows for system setup, maintenance, and updates.
Managed and optimized mission-critical Linux (RHEL) infrastructure within high-availability production environments, ensuring 99.9% uptime for enterprise applications.
Led Incident Management and problem resolution efforts for complex production issues, conducting deep-dive root cause analysis (RCA) to prevent recurrence and improve system stability.
Automated routine system administration tasks and configuration management using Ansible, reducing manual effort and ensuring environment consistency across large-scale server fleets.
Developed robust automation scripts in Python and Bash to streamline operational workflows, including automated health checks and self-healing system triggers.
Implemented SRE principles to bridge the gap between development and operations, focusing on error budgets, toil reduction, and improving service level objectives (SLOs).
Leveraged monitoring and observability tools such as Splunk and AppDynamics to build proactive dashboards and alerting, reducing Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) by identifying bottlenecks in real-time.
Orchestrated containerized application deployments on Kubernetes and OpenShift, managing pod scaling, service meshes, and persistent storage in production.
Supported high-traffic Java web applications, troubleshooting.
GitHub Actions Workflows: Designed and automated CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, integrating automated testing and security scans to "shift left" on code quality.
Automated Deployments: Streamlined the software delivery lifecycle by creating reusable CI/CD templates, reducing deployment cycles from days to minutes.
Engineered Linux workloads on AWS infrastructure, integrating compute, storage, and scaling mechanisms to support elastic application behavior.
Implemented infrastructure monitoring strategies in cloud environments, defining performance thresholds and alerts to maintain system health.
Automated cloud infrastructure creation using declarative templates, enabling repeatable and auditable deployment of networking and storage resources.
Designed data retention strategies using object storage, balancing accessibility, cost optimization, and long-term archival requirements.
Operated container orchestration platforms, managing isolation boundaries, scaling behavior, and resource allocation for distributed workloads.
Built container-based delivery pipelines, enabling automated build and deployment flows for microservice-based applications across environments.
Linux Systems Administrator April 2021 – March 2024
Verizon Communications, Dallas TX
Standardized Linux server builds by implementing network-based installation workflows, enabling unattended system deployments and reducing manual provisioning effort.
Maintained and supported network file and transfer services, ensuring reliable data exchange and resolving access or performance-related issues.
Oversaw scheduled backup operations, validating job execution and monitoring completion to ensure consistent data protection.
Administered local user access controls, maintaining account records, group memberships, and privilege escalation rules in alignment with security requirements.
Tracked system availability and performance trends through infrastructure monitoring platforms, responding to alerts and mitigating issues before service impact.
Designed and maintained redundant storage configurations, implementing RAID strategies to improve data durability and system reliability.
Prepared Linux systems for application workloads by configuring network interfaces, disk layouts, and kernel behavior, aligning system resources with application needs.
Strengthened server security by applying system hardening practices, reducing attack surfaces and enforcing mandatory access controls.
Supported secure administrative access by maintaining SSH-based connectivity, enabling controlled remote management and file transfer operations.
Improved network resilience by implementing interface aggregation techniques, providing failover capability and balanced traffic handling.
Supported dynamic network configuration services, ensuring systems received consistent and accurate network settings across environments.
Authored and maintained technical documentation, capturing configuration standards, procedures, and troubleshooting guidance to support operational continuity.
Enforced host-level firewall policies, defining traffic control rules to protect Linux systems from unauthorized access.
Investigated and resolved name resolution and connectivity issues, ensuring stable communication across internal networks and services.
Performed scheduled system backups, monitored system logs, performance monitoring and capacity planning in anticipation of system resource usage and needs.
Skilled in Incident Management, Change Management, Red Hat Linux, VMware, and Cloud Infrastructure. Expert in troubleshooting and problem-solving.
Handled multiple users using scripts such as creating and deleting users. Migrated local users and groups from one system to another using RSYNC.
Jr. Linux Administrator Nov 2018 - Feb 2021
Xandr, NYC, NY
Supported Linux environments by preparing virtual and physical systems for use, assisting with operating system setup and validating system readiness for development and production workloads.
Assisted with data center operations, including server placement, cabling verification, and connectivity checks to ensure orderly and functional infrastructure layouts.
Performed initial investigation of network connectivity issues, verifying reachability between systems and escalating complex routing or firewall problems as needed.
Assisted in maintaining file and directory access controls, verifying permissions and ownership settings to support secure system usage.
Supported storage setup by assisting with disk partitioning and layout configuration, helping ensure efficient utilization of available storage resources.
Implemented secure remote access configurations, assisting with SSH key-based authentication to enable safe administrative connectivity.
Monitoring on servers using conventional tools such as TOP, SAR, IOSTAT, VMSTAT and NETSTAT.
Responded to hardware-related support requests, identifying faulty components, opening vendor cases, and coordinating replacements to minimize service disruption.
Monitored system resource trends and assisted with capacity-related observations, reporting performance concerns and supporting tuning activities under senior guidance.
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION:
Bachelor’s of Science - 2017
University of The Punjab
Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA)
Certification ID: 260-011-408
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