SUMMARY:

• 14+ years experience as an IT professional. Extensive familiarity administering and maintaining everything from 100+ domain controller global infrastructures to small - business LANs. Intimate experience with planning, configuration, monitoring and troubleshooting both hardware, virtualized, and cloud environments.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills. Ability and willingness to adapt to any environment and work with minimal supervision when necessary. Enthusiastic and energetic attitude with regard to tackling challenges head-on and morphing them into learning experiences. Client-focused approach no matter the position or problem being solved.

TECHNICAL SKILLS:

Software: MicrosoftOver a decade of Active Directory & Group Policy experience, Windows Server through 2016, Office including 2016 and Office 365, PowerShell through 5.0, Azure Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, SSO via ADFS 2.0, SQL Server through 2012 R2, DirSync/MIIS and Forefront Identity Manager (FIM), Remote Server Administration Tools, all versions of Exchange Server, Lync 2010/2013, SCCM, WSUS, SMS, Terminal Server.

Other: TCP/IP and Netware, VMWare vCenter & vSphere, ESX/ESXi 5.x/6.x, Cisco ASDM, Cisco AnyConnect VPN client, EMC Unisphere, NetApp, HP Openview/iLO, BMC Remedy, Intuit and BMC TrackIt, Symantec/Veritas BackupExec 8.x through 16.x, Confidential, LANSweeper, Ghost/GhostCast Server, Blackberry Enterprise Server, SimpleHelp Technician Console, Telnet, PuTTY.

Hardware: Dell, HP, and IBM servers, EMC and NetApp hardware, Dell NAS backup vaults, Quantum and IBM robotic tape libraries, Cisco routers/switches/access points, Cisco ASA devices, network testing tools, numerous smartphones of all major mobile operating systems.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Confidential, Oak Brook, IL

Systems Consultant/IT Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Worked hand-in-hand with technical and executive resources to meet project deadlines related to a global datacenter migration of all corporate resources.
• Ascertained inconsistencies in specific existing traffic patterns via Splunk in order to look for edge cases of servers/hosts that had not been picked up in network scans.
• Identified vulnerabilities on servers prior to them being moved to the new corporate domain and patched them to meet stricter security requirements.

Confidential, Sycamore, IL

Systems Administrator/IT Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Assumed ownership of multiple existing infrastructure responsibilities for maintenance, updates, security, and performance. Spearheaded projects for new client needs as they were discovered and followed them from inception to completion.
• Worked with our other administrator to ensure 24/7 smooth functioning of all production VMs via tweaks in configuration as necessary for our VMWare hosts, NetApp storage, and Cisco networking/traffic filtering.
• Monitored and worked within the entire Active Directory/Group Policy infrastructure in a multi-domain, multi-forest environment. Suggested and implemented changes that resulted in better efficiency and security as the opportunities were discovered.
• Completed scheduled periodic checks of mission-critical Windows/Exchange/SQL servers and broached ideas for added efficiency, performance, and fault-redundant solutions in weekly team meetings.
• Created and modified existing documentation for the client site's individual pieces of infrastructure. Took the lead on the projects assigned to me in terms of creating /installation documentation as well.
• Completed daily backup tape rotations and physical moves in order to maintain hypothetical DR redundancy standards at all times. Maintained and modified Backup Exec's configuration as necessary to keep things running seamlessly.

Confidential, Mount Prospect, IL

Senior Systems Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Supported end-line technicians and other technical department staff through an imaging technology transition between HPCA/SCCM 2007 to SCCM 2012/NOMAD.
• Facilitated and coordinated resources to aid in the successful replacement and reimaging of hardware for 40+ worldwide sites. Said project was finally run to completion - with this being its fourth iteration.
• Correct inconsistencies on the back-end through the SCCM console and through Active Directory Sites & Services to aid in software distribution to hundreds of remote sites.
• Traversed numerous deep dive troubleshooting paths for myriad proprietary airline software and hardware related to ticket and bag tag printing.

Confidential

Office 365 Ambassador

Responsibilities:

• Handled issues throughout the entire range of Office 365 and Confidential Online products, including Exchange Online and Azure Active Directory, both in online-only and hybrid installations.
• Utilized the Parature ticketing system to keep detailed case notes and contact information, and to update users as necessary while limiting their exposure to internal methods of contact as per Confidential regulations.
• Worked out problems in Exchange migration projects leveraging hybrid setups as well as IMAP and staged migration techniques to offset legacy Exchange limitations.
• Walked business owners through DNS changes as necessary to forward mail, migrate mailboxes, and verify domain ownership, and troubleshot related DNS issues, often related to MX and SPF records.
• Utilized PowerShell on a regular basis to securely connect onsite resources to online O365 tenants, gather information for in-depth problem resolution, and save time by partially automating certain server tasks needing manual execution. AptarGroup (through Addison Group) ( )Systems Administrator | Crystal Lake, IL
• Served as the sole North American member of a global team dedicated to the health of ~65 virtualized domain controllers and over 100 member servers, hosting everything from DirSync, to production SQL databases, to forest-wide DNS and Exchange servers.
• Took care of scheduled and individually-needed maintenance on domain controllers and Exchange servers on a daily basis or as needed.
• Spearheaded a last-minute operation with a VAR to migrate ~4800 users into Azure AD for use in Office 365 in order to secure $160,000 of free services.
• Headed up the AD/domain controller aspects of a weekend-long project virtualizing 50+ production SAP hosts with high executive visibility.
• Remotely assisted with changing over our full contingent of DCs and checking their health during a forklift move from one datacenter to another.

Confidential, Abbott Park, IL

Network Analyst

Responsibilities:

• Monitored and managed 100+ domain controllers globally for issues with AD replication, DNS propagation, and DHCP scopes.
• Troubleshot and solved a widespread issue with Kerberos token bloat that was affecting users from multiple domains and organizations. Co-created a simple web-based tool for direct support technicians to use in order to fix the issue.
• Interfaced directly with development teams and project managers to issue guidance in the use of our multi-forest LDAP authentication.
• Kept watch over MIIS/Forefront Identity Manager servers to ensure maximum uptime of global, high visibility and mission critical web-based applications. Was entrusted with 24/7 manipulation of all resources and re-creating entire VMs utilizing Avamar backups in critical situations.

Confidential, Lake Zurich, IL

Network Administrator

Responsibilities:

• Managed 25+ virtual servers running the company's entire IT software infrastructure. Decommissioned antiquated servers and re-allocated limited resources to prioritize highly used SQL servers and, hardware-wise, the ESX hosts.
• Optimized Insight’s backup solution through Backup Exec in a robotic tape library and sent tapes to Iron Mountain in accordance with our backup schedule.
• Diagnosed and remedied issues ranging from localized hardware failures to those with enterprise-wide impacts such as Exchange and production ERP server outages.
• Redesigned and reorganized the Active Directory infrastructure to allow for more efficient management of user and computer objects as needed, as well as more streamlined and accurate application of Group Policy.

Confidential, Vernon Hills and Chicago, IL

Desktop Support

Responsibilities:

• Managed Exchange 2010 server maintenance and upkeep, alongside policing user mailbox and Online Archive size limitations.
• Designed, suggested and tailored Group Policy modifications for added efficiency, automation, and security.
• Utilized remote connections, Confidential, Confidential, and in-house proprietary software for delving into significant-impact VPN, Confidential Server 2003/2008, and network issues.
• Utilized numerous Confidential and 3rd party tools to oversee, modify, create and test settings and Group Policies existing in a number of existing IT infrastructures.
• Planned for and guided large-scale hardware updates, smartphone rollouts, and software/patch pushes through System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).
• Analyzed overall performance trends and metrics via Confidential IPMonitor and performed server hardware upgrades as needed to improve operating efficiency.

Confidential, Confidential, IL

Senior Support Engineer

Responsibilities:

• Employed VMWare Infrastructure Client (VIC) to narrow down root causes of new or recurring issues with Confidential products in corporate customer environments.
• Created documentation in the Confidential Salesforce.com portal (utilized as incident management) pertaining to new problems, and updated existing documentation and procedures. Consistently followed up on solved cases for continuity and converted cases to bug reports when necessary.

Confidential, Confidential /Schaumburg, IL

Network Administrator

Responsibilities:

• Traveled to Canadian headquarters to collaborate with management and corporate IT in order to test and evaluate a comprehensive plan for a complete office move and technology revamp. Provided valuable input to the design of a ground-up Active Directory forest and its trust with an incumbent remote forest.
• Successfully upgraded and transplanted a Windows 2000, Netware, and Domino infrastructure in Confidential to Windows Server 2003, TCP/IP, Active Directory, and Exchange in Schaumburg