PERSONAL STATEMENT

I’ve been working in the IT industry for 20 years, as a systems and network engineer for the past 17 years.

I’m currently part of the Projects Team at Calibre One where I'm responsible for all aspects of technical project design and implementation, supporting customers, monitoring and maintaining IT systems, and providing guidance for the other technicians.

As a result I tend to be given some of the bigger, more complex projects, and continue to grow as an engineer and enjoy my work every day.

PROFICIENCIES & STRENGTHS

  • Very good research skills and the proven ability to become proficient with new technologies as required. "I’ve never done it before" has never stopped me from figuring out how
  • Strong written communication and documentation skills
  • Detail oriented
  • Ability to see alternative solutions / thinking outside of the box
  • Networking; design & support (including FortiNet, Cisco routers & switches, Mikrotik)
  • FortiManager
  • Familiar with Mac & Linux
  • PowerShell (not at a programmer level but frequently use scripting as a part of my solutions)
  • Wireless networking (proficient with Ubiquiti / UniFi, some experience with Xirrus)
  • Window Server installation, migration and administration
  • Office 365 (Exchange Online and some SharePoint Online)
  • Virtualisation and clustering (proficient with Hyper-V, previous experience with Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX / vSphere)
  • Backup solutions: (proficient with Veeam and Altaro, previous experience with ShadowProtect, Acronis, Windows Server Backup)
  • Planning and implementing Disaster Recovery solution using Veeam Replication
  • Microsoft Remote Desktop Server (including farms / collections)

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY

9
From Dec 2013 to Now
Systems / Network Engineer
Calibre One
3
From Feb 2011 to Dec 2013
Systems / Network Engineer
Caramel
4
From Jul 2007 to Feb 2011
Senior Engineer
KPTech
4
From Sep 2003 to Jul 2007
Engineer
KAZ Group
1
From Oct 2002 to Aug 2003
Trainee
Linux Terminal

CALIBRE ONE

6 YEARS, DEC 2013 - PRESENT

SENIOR ENGINEER, PROJECTS TEAM

Responsibilities:

  1. Involved the design and implementation of projects to deliver technical solutions for clients
  2. Liaise with clients and form close working ties with key personnel to identify and assist with the resolution of issues and improvements to their business IT
  3. Provide mentoring for support engineers and act as technical escalation as required
  4. Provide technical support for business clients
  5. Devise and implement proactive and preventative measures to contribute to clients business efficiency
  6. Proactively identify and resolve issues

Projects I've been responsible for have included:

  1. Design, testing and and implementation of a number of FortiManager deployments, including some as large as 40 x managed FortiGates in regional areas, connected to a VPN topology with the hub being a virtual FortiGate installed in Azure
  2. Wireless network design for an aged care facility with several homes and over 50 access points. Wireless site survey of existing system, planning of new system, and another survey afterward as proof of improvement.
  3. Build new Hyper-V cluster and migrate VMs from ageing VMware cluster
  4. Planning and implementation of network redesign for large security-conscious customer with 6 physical locations, including several phases:
    1. Replacing unmanaged routers with FortiGate firewalls and centralised monitoring / logging with FortiAnalyzer, implementing VLANs and ACLs where before there were none
    2. Isolation of SCADA production networks from internet and admin networks
    3. Replacing a large ageing switched network with Mikrotik switches (due to customer preference, me having to learn Mikrotik to complete the project)
    4. Identifying and troubleshooting switching issues across a large complex network, identifying poor design, proposing and implementing solution to properly separate parts for better performance
    5. Plan and Implement Duo multifactor authentication system to protect Office 365 (including federation between Azure AD and on premise AD), FortiGate SSL VPN, and Remote Desktop Server Collection (RDWeb and RDGateway)
  5. Various smaller Windows Server migrations
  6. Several migrations from on premise Exchange to Office 365 Exchange Online
  7. Several migrations from local file servers to Sharepoint Online
  8. Responsible for design and implementation of several projects while seconded to St Patrick’s Technical College, including:
    1. Design, build and implement a deployment. Includes research, installation and configuration of Microsoft System Centre Configuration Manager
    2. Windows 8.1 image creation, testing and deployment
    3. Migrate email from Microsoft Exchange On Premise to Office 365 Exchange Online
    4. Windows 10 image creation, testing and deployment for St Patrick’s Technical College

Before the Projects Team was formed, I was also part of the Direct Support Team, where responsibilities included:

  1. Implement programs of scheduled maintenance for client servers
  2. Participate in the on call technician program
  3. For 3 days a week I was seconded to St Patrick's Technical College as their primary IT engineer, where responsibilities included: Customer liaison, project planning and execution, responsible for IT systems including 15 virtual servers running on Hyper-V, general IT support for staff and students

Training:

  1. Xirrus Certified Wireless Technician (obtained 19/2/2014)
  2. Project Management (training completed but certification not pursued)
  3. Currently studying for FortiNet NSE4

CARAMEL

3 YEARS, JAN 2011 - DEC 2013

SYSTEMS ENGINEER

One of 8 technical engineers in a team of 22. We were the outsourced IT department for a large number of customers right across SA. I was responsible for several projects, and providing guidance and advice for the other technicians. I was a key driver in getting a documentation system up and running, and improving our technical systems and processes for proactive support.

I also stepped in as the primary Cisco engineer when the person originally hired for this work moved on. I self-taught myself by reading several CCNA study books and set up a test lab at home. I have a working knowledge of the CCNA material, Cisco routers and switches, and some basic VPN and other knowledge learned as required.

In addition to being the primary technical resource for the following projects, I was also responsible for scoping the requirements, providing advice to clients and our own sales staff, and following the projects through to completion.

Successful Projects:

  1. Complete IT infrastructure replacement for a large council involving migration of 7 Windows servers, implementation of a Citrix XenServer pool on HP hardware and a load-balanced terminal server farm, including AD and Exchange migration
  2. Replacement of several servers at another council, including AD and Exchange migration
  3. Replacement of several servers for a real estate company across two offices, including network redesign, AD and Exchange migration
  4. Complete infrastructure upgrade for an engineering company, including migration of AD, Exchange, and Terminal Server, on Citrix XenServer
  5. VMware storage upgrade using a Dell NAS and iSCSI
  6. Migration to terminal services and consolidation of servers at another council

Responsibilities:

  1. Cisco resource
  2. Escalation point and mentor for the other technicians
  3. Maintain the day-to-day operations of Remote Monitoring & Management software
  4. Maintain good working relationships with many clients
  5. Support many varied IT environments
  6. Research and learn new technologies as required
  7. Offer advice for remediation of current issues, prevention of future issues, and improvement to business process using new technologies as they become available
  8. Manage my own time and priorities
  9. Work independently and follow tasks through to completion and customer satisfaction
  10. Record all time spent into a ticketing system for billing and documentation purposes

Technologies:

  1. Cisco routers and switches
  2. Windows Server 2003 & 2008
  3. Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007 & 2010
  4. Active Directory, DNS, etc.
  5. Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX
  6. Kaspersky antivirus
  7. ShadowProtect
  8. Kaseya
  9. Windows Mobile and iPhone connectivity with Exchange

KPTECH

4 YEARS, JAN 2007 - JAN 2011

LEAD ENGINEER

In this role I was the senior technical engineer responsible for many projects, and providing guidance and advice for the other technicians.

I was also responsible for getting our Managed Services offering off the ground. This included research into Managed Services methodologies, the sales process, developing marketing materials and building interest within our client base. I drafted our agreement template, pitched the solution and signed most of the clients we now have on Managed Services. I also installed, implemented and maintained the Kaseya software to manage about 100 endpoints.

I researched and recommended the AutoTask PSA platform and was tasked with its entire implementation. I customized the system to our business and set up policies and workflow rules. The hardest part was user training; it was met with a lot of resistance but was eventually accepted. In a short time everyone was sold on the benefits and we never looked back to our “Outlook Calendar and Tasks” method of tracking jobs and billable time.

In addition to being the primary technical resource for the following projects, I was also responsible for scoping the requirements, providing advice to clients and our own sales staff, and following the projects through to completion.

Successful Projects:

  1. Research and implementation of Managed Services core systems: Kaseya, AutoTask and GFI MAX
  2. 11 SBS installation / migrations in the 2nd half of 2007, the majority were migrations from SBS 2003 to SBS 2003 on new hardware using the Microsoft migration method
  3. 7 SBS installations and 1 terminal server installation in 2008, about half were migrations from SBS 2003 to SBS 2003 on new hardware using the Swing Migration method, the other half migrations from a workgroup environment
  4. 6 SBS installations in 2009, migrating from SBS 2003 to SBS 2003 on new hardware using the Swing Migration method
  5. 5 SBS installations in 2010, half migrating from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008, the other half migrations from a workgroup environment
  6. 2 terminal server installations in 2007 and 1 in 2008, on Server 2003
  7. Co-ordinated several office relocations

Responsibilities:

  1. Escalation point and mentor for the other technicians
  2. Maintain the day-to-day operations of our Remote Monitoring & Management software
  3. Generate and send monthly reports to managed clients
  4. Pre-sales, sales, and signing clients to Managed Services
  5. Maintain good working relationships with many clients
  6. Support many varied IT environments
  7. Research and learn new technologies as required
  8. Offer advice for remediation of current issues, prevention of future issues, and improvement to business process using new technologies as they become available
  9. Manage my own time
  10. Work independently and follow tasks through to completion and customer satisfaction
  11. Record all time spent into a ticketing system for billing and documentation purposes

Technologies:

  1. Windows Server 2000, 2003 & 2008 including SBS, also specializing in SBS migrations
  2. Hyper-V and Hyper-V Server
  3. Microsoft Exchange 2000, 2003 & 2007
  4. Active Directory, DNS, etc.
  5. Trend Micro CSM for SMB
  6. McAfee Total Protection Service
  7. Symantec managed antivirus products (incl. SAV and SHMS)
  8. ShadowProtect
  9. Backup Exec
  10. BackupAssist
  11. Kaseya and GFI MAX
  12. Windows Mobile and iPhone connectivity with Exchange

KAZ GROUP

1 YEAR, APR 2006 - MAY 2007

SUPPORT ENGINEER

This was a challenging and very rewarding role that required me to manage the IT requirements of about 70 support clients. I built strong relationships with my clients as their primary point of contact for any IT requirements and was trusted to make recommendations regarding their infrastructure and future direction.

Responsibilities:

  1. Maintain good working relationships with many clients
  2. Support many varied IT environments
  3. Learn new technologies as required
  4. Offer advice for remediation of current issues, prevention of future issues, and improvement to business process using new technologies as they become available
  5. Manage my own time
  6. Provide reports on work done and time spent
  7. Work independently and follow tasks through to completion and customer satisfaction
  8. Work with other technicians on projects such as server migrations

Technologies:

  1. Windows Server 2000 & 2003 including SBS
  2. Active Directory
  3. Microsoft Exchange 2000 & 2003
  4. Symantec managed antivirus products (incl. SAV, SHMS, MSE)
  5. Backup Exec
  6. Server Installation
  7. DNS

10 MONTHS, MAR 2005 - JAN 2006

DESKTOP SUPPORT, CITY OF MARION

(while employed by KAZ GROUP)

Responsibilities:

  1. Monitoring of help desk email address
  2. Windows 2000 and XP desktop support
  3. Novell server administration
  4. Lotus Notes administration and support
  5. Installation and rebuilding of PCs
  6. Creation and development of Standard Operating Environment
  7. Implement security policy for public PCs using local policy and ‘Deep Freeze’ software
  8. Development of managed applications using Novell ZenWorks
  9. Created scripts integrated with ZenWorks to reduce workload for IT staff
  10. Responsible for management of help desk database
  11. Managed priorities for resolution of help desk jobs
  12. Provide phone and email support for medium sized network
  13. Build working relationships with management, end users and software vendors

1.5 YEARS, SEP 2003 - MAR 2005

DESKTOP SUPPORT, CITY OF WEST TORRENS

(while employed by KAZ GROUP)

  1. Responsibilities:
  2. Daily monitoring of security and event logs
  3. Monitoring of help desk email address
  4. Installation and rebuilding of PCs
  5. Windows 2000 and XP desktop support
  6. Active Directory and Exchange 2000 administration
  7. Windows Server 2000 administration
  8. Support for purpose-built software eg. Library and finance

1 YEAR, SEP 2003 - AUG 2004

INTERNAL SUPPORT, HELPDESK

Responsibilities:

  1. Windows NT and 2000 Server administration
  2. Exchange 5.5 administration
  3. Windows 2000 and XP desktop support
  4. Installation and rebuilds of PCs
  5. Creation and development of Standard Operating Environment
  6. Communicate with staff regarding PC issues
  7. Phone and email support for remote users
  8. Help with any UNIX related issues and questions
  9. Seconded to:
  10. Jobs Statewide - built several custom FreeBSD firewalls with proxy and reporting
  11. Nestle - assisted with server relocation
  12. Aussie Home Loans - assisted with server relocation

LINUX TERMINAL SERVICES AUSTRALIA

OCT 2002 - AUG 2003

LINUX SUPPORT AND R&D

(traineeship)

Responsibilities:

  1. Building UNIX servers including hardware, operating system install, configuration of software and network services and migration from old servers and networks
  2. Writing custom shell scripts
  3. Research new Open Source technologies for possible implementation and client benefit
  4. System troubleshooting
  5. Desktop support