dafydd
Career Summary
I have been doing system administration and technical support at various levels for almost 20 years. I specialize in Unix and Linux servers and workstations.
I have administered 100 Sun workstations laid out on wire shelves. I have administered 200 Linux enterprise server hosts that fit into 7 19" racks. I've built enterprise-level DHCP and DNS networks that reduce the amount of administration an individual host needs. That saves time and money.
My professional goals are on two parallel tracks, right now. I am looking to move into true Enterprise System Administration. I've also been exposed to many Project Management techniques, recently. I'm coming to the opinion that I could do Technical Project Management. I've learned a little about a qualification called Project Management Professional that seems like a good thing to shoot for.
Technical Skills
- Good Customer Service, first, last, and always, for internal or external customers.
- Red Hat Certified Engineer 120-100-698
- Red Hat Network Satellite
- Red Hat Cluster Suite
- DHCP, DNS, LDAP (Red Hat Directory Server and OpenLDAP), and Kerberos
- Oracle 11gR2 GRID/RDBMS installations in a Dev/Test environment.
- LAMP installation and configuration
History
Robert Half Government
contracted to MorphoTrak, Inc., biometric solutions developer.
- Senior Integration Engineer, Feb 15, 2010, to present
-
My first duties were supporting the installation and configuration of MorphoTrak software for Federal customers.
-
As MorphoTrak's test and development hardware resources grew, I moved into specializing in system administration, network adminstration, and Enterprise-level configuration management.
-
I manage hardware, DNS, DHCP, and LDAP resources for a 200 host Dev/Test network running Red Hat Enterprise Linux. MorphoTrak Hardware is centered on Dell PowerEdge & Precision systems and IBM Blade Centers. Management includes hardware health monitoring and BIOS/UEFI.
-
As an OS and base-application specialist, I'm managing much of the software prerequisites for our products. This includes several versions of the JBoss Enterprise Applications Platform, Oracle Grid and RDBMS, Red Hat Cluster Suite, Red Hat Network Satellite, and VMWare ESXi.
-
The MorphoTrak Federal Business Unit has participated in four defined major projects while I've worked here, supporting specific customer deliveries. This has given me a good, introductory look-from-below at the benefits and pitfalls of Technical Project Management. I can see myself moving into that realm.
-
To meet customer requirements, I have passed an FBI Single-Source Background Investigation (SSBI), granting me Secret/Unescorted clearance. I also have Top Secret/SCI clearance for the Department of Homeland Security.
South Kitsap Fire & Rescue
Fire District
- Volunteer Lieutenant, April 15, 2010, to present
- Volunteer Firefighter, November, 2006, to present
-
Everyone needs hobbies. Mine include running towards burning buildings...
Attachmate Corp., Seattle, WA
Emulation and mainframe integration software manufacturer.
- Technical Support Engineer, March 18, 2007, to April 16, 2009
- Supported legacy and current Integration software products.
-
Built relationships with customers, referring opportunities back to the Sales organization.
-
Documented software bugs based on field issues, and advocated for fixes on behalf of customers and field engineers. Development used these bugs to improve product quality, resulting in a better product for the customers.
-
Acted as the Product Advisor for the mainframe integration line of products, which required me to be a subject matter expert and evangelist.
-
Maintained 24-hour availability by pager for Elite customers, ensuring they maintained maximum application uptime.
-
Assisted with the development of a new technical research database, speeding TSE research into technical problems.
-
Wrote the disaster recovery plan for the Attachmate support team in Seattle, identifying areas of risk and associated remediation paths.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI), Mountain View, CA
Computer hardware and software manufacturer.
- Technical Support Engineer III, November, 2001, to April, 2003
- Technical Support Engineer II, June, 1998, to November, 2001 (Robert Half, Inc.)
-
Resolved customer hardware and software problems, ensuring maximum uptime of customer systems.
-
Helped customers resolve system crashes, configure system and network services, and install SGI software products, speeding their time to operation.
-
Helped build the initial data set in a new Primus database, allowing Technical Support Engineerss to more quickly respond to customer issues.
-
Documented software bugs based on situations brought by customers.
Black Rock City, LLC, dba Burning Man, San Francisco, CA
Very large scale annual event/art festival near Gerlach, NV
- Planning Section Chief, Emergency Services Department, 2005 - Present
- Fire Branch Deputy Chief, Emergency Services Department, 2002 - 2004
- Ranger Captain, Black Rock Rangers, 1999 - 2001
- Ranger, Black Rock Rangers, 1998
- Year-round volunteer, and paid staff during the event.
-
Promoted to Captain my first year at the event, allowing other Ranger Captains to spread their workload.
-
Moved to a leadership role in Emergency Services when those functions were split off from the Rangers. The split allowed the two skill and talent sets to do what they do best, without getting in each others' way.
-
Wrote the original policies and procedures for fire prevention and mitigation at the event. This worked to minimize the risk of unintended fire damaging structures or vehicles.
-
Took on volunteer HR and check-in, volunteer outfitting, document preparation, and document management functions as Planning Section Chief in 2005. As with any volunteer organization, the workers must be well taken care of. As with any emergency services organization, if it wasn't documented, it didn't happen.
-
Created a 250-line Excel spreadsheet for volunteer management in 2005. In 2007, I taught myself LAMP, and turned that spreadsheet into the year-round personnel database for Emergency Services.
Education
- University of California, Davis
- BA, Economics
- Mission College, Santa Clara, CA
- AS, Fire Science