Showcasing key projects from my professional experience
Hillman RDS (Minute Key, The Hillman Group)
During my time at Hillman RDS, I spearheaded a comprehensive infrastructure and process enhancement initiative that fundamentally transformed the organization's cloud operations. Through meticulous analysis, I developed an extensive assessment document that identified critical gaps across management, governance, operations, and security practices within both the environment and team structure. This evaluation served as the foundation for implementing enterprise-grade improvements across multiple domains. I provided detailed strategic guidance on remediation paths for high-priority issues, spanning security posture enhancement, identity management modernization, cloud resource optimization, development workflow improvements, documentation standards, and process refinement. Working closely with team management and IT directorship, I focused on strengthening areas where the team needed additional development, particularly in cultivating a deeper understanding of enterprise IT best practices. This collaborative effort resulted in establishing a more robust technical foundation and fostering a culture of security-conscious, standardized operations that aligned with industry best practices.
Hillman RDS (Minute Key, The Hillman Group)
As part of a modernization initiative, I led the migration of a manually managed Grafana instance to a fully automated ECS deployment. The project began with a comprehensive audit of the existing Grafana infrastructure, meticulously documenting all deployed resources to ensure a complete and accurate replication. I then developed new infrastructure-as-code solutions using Terraform and Terragrunt, designing templates that would orchestrate the deployment of a modern Grafana stack running on ECS Fargate, complete with MySQL RDS backend, auto-scaling capabilities, load balancing, and the necessary networking components. To ensure reliability and validate the deployment process, I implemented the solution in a test environment, thoroughly verifying the infrastructure's deployment, scaling behaviors, and cleanup procedures. After establishing the new environment, I configured the necessary resource connections to facilitate a seamless migration of the existing user space and dashboards. The project culminated in the successful migration of team dashboards, with rigorous validation of data accuracy and completeness. To ensure adoption, I developed comprehensive documentation for internal users, providing step-by-step guidance on accessing their new accounts and migrating their existing dashboards to the new platform.
Hillman RDS (Minute Key, The Hillman Group)
In a comprehensive AWS backup infrastructure project, I developed and implemented a standardized backup solution across multiple AWS environments, including production, development, QA, and testing accounts. After conducting a thorough audit that revealed inconsistent and failing backup processes, I architected a uniform backup strategy using Terraform and Terragrunt for infrastructure-as-code deployment. The solution leveraged AWS Backup for EC2 resources while incorporating native RDS backup capabilities for database preservation. To validate the solution's effectiveness, I implemented testing that included controlled restore operations and integration testing across both production and non-production environments. The project included a robust monitoring framework with automated alerting systems, which I validated through deliberate failure testing scenarios. To ensure long-term sustainability, I developed comprehensive documentation detailing the backup infrastructure's functionality and template usage, enabling team members to maintain and expand the backup strategy independently. This initiative significantly improved the organization's disaster recovery capabilities and established a consistent, reliable backup framework across all AWS accounts.
TE Connectivity
At TE Connectivity, I led the development of a sophisticated Infrastructure-as-code (IaC) pipeline designed to manage multiple AWS accounts through a centralized system. This enterprise-scale solution leveraged Terragrunt as a wrapper for Terraform, enabling standardized and efficient infrastructure deployment across the organization. The architecture was established through carefully crafted CloudFormation templates that defined essential infrastructure components, including granular role-based access controls, pipeline resources in the source account, and state management resources in target accounts. To enhance automation capabilities, I implemented seamless integration with GitHub Enterprise, allowing the pipeline to retrieve and process infrastructure changes from committed code. This integration streamlined the deployment process and improved operational efficiency. Beyond the initial implementation, I maintained ongoing responsibility for the pipeline's reliability, developing and deploying updates as needed, while also taking an active role in knowledge transfer by training team members on the pipeline's architecture and operational procedures.
TE Connectivity
For the Your-TE Web Application In-Source Project, I led the infrastructure design and implementation efforts, collaborating with stakeholders to determine optimal AWS resource configurations across compute, storage, database, and networking components. I developed a comprehensive CloudFormation template to automate the infrastructure deployment, creating a highly available and cost-effective environment capable of scaling to meet demand fluctuations. Working closely with networking teams, I ensured proper security measures for client-facing endpoints while maintaining necessary accessibility. After successful deployment, I continued to provide ongoing operational support and optimization for the application infrastructure.
TE Connectivity
During the JCA Application Infrastructure Deployment project at TE Connectivity, I led a cross-functional initiative to design and implement a robust, multi-environment AWS infrastructure. Working closely with KYG executives and development teams, I conducted thorough assessments to determine optimal resource requirements and infrastructure specifications. Using CloudFormation as the infrastructure-as-code solution, I developed and implemented templates that successfully deployed five distinct environments: training, development, QA, production, and disaster recovery. Throughout the implementation, I collaborated extensively with networking and security teams to ensure all application resources and exposed endpoints met enterprise security standards and compliance requirements. A significant portion of my role involved ongoing optimization efforts, where I continuously monitored and adjusted compute, storage, and database resources to maintain optimal performance while managing costs. This comprehensive approach resulted in a scalable, secure infrastructure that effectively supported the JCA application across its entire development and deployment lifecycle.
TE Connectivity
During my time at TE Connectivity, I led the enhancement of our organizational KPI monitoring capabilities by developing a comprehensive dashboard solution using Amazon QuickSight. The project began with implementing AWS-provided dashboard templates, which I then customized to display mission-critical KPI metrics tailored to our business needs. To automate data collection and processing, I developed a custom Python package that established an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) pipeline, specifically designed to retrieve metrics from Check Point CloudGuard CSPM. This data was then seamlessly integrated into our QuickSight dashboards for real-time visualization. To ensure secure and efficient operation of this system, I architected a serverless solution using AWS Lambda to host the Python package, implementing robust security measures through AWS Secrets Manager for credential management and configuring precise IAM roles and permissions that aligned with our compliance requirements. This automation significantly reduced manual reporting efforts while providing stakeholders with more timely and accurate access to critical performance metrics.
Geneia
I led a comprehensive AWS cost optimization initiative that resulted in a significant $500,000 reduction in annual infrastructure costs. Working closely with the interim CTO, I conducted thorough analyses of resource utilization patterns to identify inefficiencies and waste across the AWS environment. I implemented a multi- faceted optimization strategy that included right-sizing computing resources for both monolithic and microservice workloads, while also mentoring teams on EBS storage optimization and implementing more efficient snapshot lifecycle policies. A key component of the cost reduction came from strategically transitioning suitable applications from EBS to S3 storage backends, complemented by the implementation of reserved instances and savings plans for commonly used EC2 instance types. To further optimize costs, I designed and deployed automated scaling solutions that adjusted resource allocation during low-traffic periods and implemented automated start/stop procedures for on-demand EC2 instances, ensuring resources were only active when needed. This comprehensive approach not only achieved substantial cost savings but also established more efficient operational practices across the organization.
Geneia
I played a key role in a complex database migration project that transformed our Vertica database cluster from Enterprise to Eon Mode architecture. This strategic initiative required developing comprehensive automation solutions using AWS CloudFormation and Ansible to streamline both the initial deployment and subsequent infrastructure configuration processes. To ensure business continuity and strengthen our disaster recovery capabilities, I implemented custom S3 bucket replication scripts utilizing AWS Lambda functions. A particularly challenging aspect of the project involved creating sophisticated integration scripts that enabled our proprietary job scheduler to efficiently manage compute resources. These scripts automated the power cycling of instances and, importantly, optimized cost efficiency by intelligently integrating on-demand instances with our existing reserved instance infrastructure. This automation not only improved operational reliability but also significantly reduced manual intervention in our database management processes, leading to more predictable performance and reduced operational costs.
Geneia
The Sitefinity Web Server Migration project encompassed the comprehensive deployment and configuration of cloud infrastructure to support a mission-critical web platform. The initiative began with thorough requirements gathering, followed by the successful deployment of both Windows Server and CentOS environments on Amazon EC2 instances. To ensure business continuity and meet disaster recovery objectives, I implemented a robust infrastructure solution utilizing AWS resources, incorporating Veeam backup systems and S3 storage for secure data retention and disaster recovery capabilities. The project's final phase involved the precise configuration of Internet Information Services (IIS) and MariaDB database resources, with particular attention given to maintaining compliance with both vendor specifications and SOC2 security requirements. This infrastructure modernization effort resulted in a scalable, highly available, and secure hosting environment for the Sitefinity platform.
Geneia
For the BI-Clinical Analytics Deployment project, I led a comprehensive infrastructure automation initiative that streamlined the deployment of critical healthcare analytics systems. Using CloudFormation as the primary Infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tool, I orchestrated the automated provisioning of a complex AWS environment that included EC2 compute instances, carefully configured Security Groups for access control, IAM roles for permission management, and both SQS queues and SNS topics for reliable message handling and notifications. When faced with significant deployment challenges stemming from inaccuracies in the vendor's documentation, I worked directly with their technical team to troubleshoot and resolve these issues, ensuring minimal project delays while documenting the correct procedures for future reference. The final phase of the project involved implementing sophisticated Windows Server and SQL Server configurations through PowerShell scripts and Desired State Configuration (DSC), which ensured consistent, maintainable, and compliant server environments across all deployments. This automation-first approach significantly reduced deployment time and human error potential while establishing a repeatable and reliable process for future analytics platform deployments.
Central Dauphin School District
I participated in a comprehensive Mac deployment initiative for faculty at Central Dauphin School District, focusing on modernizing device management and streamlining the deployment process. The project centered on implementing FileWave Mobile Device Management (MDM) to establish centralized control over the district's Mac ecosystem. I developed customized software deployment packages and policy filesets tailored to different faculty roles and departments, ensuring that each user group had access to the specific applications and settings required for their educational responsibilities. To facilitate a smooth transition and maintain operational continuity, I created detailed documentation covering device setup procedures, troubleshooting guidelines, and best practices for ongoing device management. This documentation proved invaluable during the handoff phase, enabling faculty members to quickly adapt to their new devices while minimizing disruption to their teaching activities. The project successfully modernized the district's device management approach, improving both security and user experience for the faculty.
Central Dauphin School District
During the district-wide OS upgrades project at Central Dauphin School District, I played a key role in orchestrating and executing a comprehensive Windows 10 deployment initiative across the district's computing infrastructure. Leveraging Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), I provided essential field support for imaging operations on a diverse range of user computing resources throughout multiple campus locations. The project required careful scheduling and coordination to minimize disruption to academic operations, particularly when handling faculty laptop upgrades. I developed and implemented a systematic approach for scheduling faculty device imaging, ensuring each department maintained operational continuity throughout the transition. Upon completing each device upgrade, I created and distributed tailored instructional resources to help faculty members acclimate to their newly configured systems, facilitating a smooth transition to the updated operating system. This project demonstrated my ability to execute large-scale system upgrades while maintaining clear communication and providing effective end-user support in an educational environment.
Central Dauphin School District
As part of a major technology modernization initiative, I led simultaneous server, network, and workstation upgrade projects that transformed the organization's IT infrastructure while maintaining strict budget constraints. The server and network improvements included replacing legacy networking equipment with modern Linksys and Ubiquiti devices, as well as implementing a new Windows Server 2016 environment that hosted a Debian virtual machine to consolidate file sharing, DNS adblocking, and intranet hosting services. On the workstation side, I conducted a thorough needs assessment across all departments to identify specific user requirements, which informed the strategic acquisition and configuration of new workstations tailored to each department's workflow. Throughout the implementation, I prioritized secure and user-friendly access to networked resources while ensuring compliance through a combination of open-source and proprietary tools. The entire infrastructure modernization project was completed on schedule and within budget, resulting in a more efficient, secure, and user-centric IT environment.
Central Dauphin School District
During my tenure as IT Systems Administrator at Schuylkill Women in Crisis, I led a significant website enhancement initiative that modernized the organization's digital presence. The project involved maintaining and updating the main website using PHP, HTML, and Bootstrap to ensure a responsive and user-friendly interface. A key component was the development of a secure staff portal that centralized access to deployed applications, improving internal workflow efficiency. To enhance community engagement, I engineered multiple anonymous message submission boards utilizing MariaDB and SQL, which allowed users to submit messages through an email form interface and displayed approved content chronologically. The system's functionality was further expanded through the implementation of a basic ticketing system built on phpMyAdmin and MariaDB, enabling better tracking and management of internal requests. To ensure stability and security during development, I established a local test environment using a WIMP (Windows, IIS, MariaDB, PHP) stack, effectively separating development activities from the production environment and minimizing potential disruptions to the live website.