Director, Systems Platform Engineering

2020 – 2021

As the leader of a 25-member Enterprise Distributed Storage Group, my responsibilities were both broad and varied. I was entrusted with managing and maintaining storage area network (SAN) environments and backup services for an array of server platforms, including UNIX/Linux, Windows, and virtual servers.

My role was not just about overseeing systems but also about overseeing people. I was responsible for coaching and mentoring IT contributors, engineers, and leaders, with the goal of delivering a world-class catalog of services in engineering, design, and compliance. This involved operational administration, support, troubleshooting, and maintenance for SAN-related devices and processes, which formed a significant part of our day-to-day operations.

Beyond the daily tasks, my role was also strategic. I was tasked with analyzing the current state of the company and setting a strategic direction that would support the achievement of our company goals. This strategic direction was not just about big-picture thinking, but also about the details, such as determining our annual forecast and budget requirements and ensuring their alignment throughout the year.

A key part of my role was communication. I was responsible for creating and communicating departmental roadmaps, which meant bringing everyone together around a shared vision for the future. But it wasn’t just about looking ahead; I also had to ensure we were meeting our current obligations, particularly in regard to security and privacy.

As a champion of the company’s security and privacy missions, I worked to obtain, maintain, and adhere to PCI certifications and compliance audits. This was a critical part of our commitment to our customers and to the integrity of our systems. To further enhance our security measures, I also took responsibility for resolving distributed storage vulnerabilities and findings. This was a role I took seriously, knowing that the security of our systems was integral to the trust our customers placed in us.

Key Accomplishments

• Established a modern approach to storage monitoring, providing visibility into metrics, capacity planning, alerting, reporting, and CMDB integration. This initiative increased transparency into the health of storage infrastructure and respective applications, improving the customer service experience.
• Spearheaded the discovery and implementation of an elastic software-defined storage solution (IBM Red Hat Ceph), upgrading storage solutions. This initiative reduced annual CapEx and OpEx storage spend by over 30%, consolidated the sprawl of storage platforms, and decreased technical debt.
• Led software negotiations with Dell EMC, aligning storage infrastructure strategy with financial benefits. This alignment resulted in a decrease in reliance on business partner maintenance costs, saving over $11M in a span of 3 years.
• Championed the implementation of a new global data protection, backup, and recovery solution, Commvault, replacing the IBM Tivoli Service Manager (TSM) infrastructure. This initiative decreased application data backup and recovery times, identified upgrade opportunities for network segments, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

My Website

Beyond my full-time professional role, I harbor a passion for exploring the dynamic intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and Operations. This passion has manifested in the creation of my website, www.AIOpsSRE.com, a treasure trove of insightful articles and engaging content that delve deep into these fascinating domains.

This platform serves as a space where I share my knowledge, insights, and thought leadership on the transformative power of AI in SRE and Operations. Whether you’re an industry veteran, a curious newcomer, or somewhere in between, you’ll find a wealth of information tailored to your interests and level of expertise.

Here are just a couple of previews of the articles you’ll find on my site. Each one is a labor of love, written and curated in my spare time to feed your curiosity and fuel your passion for AI, SRE, and Operations. So why wait? Dive in and discover a world of knowledge waiting at your fingertips!