Work Experience#

Context:#

I am a solutions architect and sales engineer in the security space, holding a CISSP, an AWS Certified Solutions Architect, and a Red Hat Certified Engineer. Ten years in IT, the last six of them in security.

I spent three years running the technical side of security software sales: proofs of concept, RFI and RFP responses, architecture sessions, and webinar and event delivery. As one of three sales engineers at Syxsense, I was the presales support on deals representing 50% of the company’s total revenue in my first year; over the next two that share moved to 40% and then 30% as I hired and trained the sales engineering team. More than 100 new logos came through that work, and I provided primary presales support on deals north of $1 million. I finished there as Lead Solutions Architect. Since March 2024 I have been in-house at AvatarFleet, where I built the security program from nothing, led it through SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 with zero adverse findings, and wrote the Terraform and Ansible that enforce the controls.

In a pre-sales conversation that means I can scope the deployment, write the integration myself, and answer the customer’s security and compliance people without escalating. I have done this across SaaS, critical infrastructure, government, education, and banking.

I am moving back toward presales deliberately. I want technical work that is attached to organizational growth and revenue rather than one step removed from it, and sales engineering is one of the few seats where that comes without giving up hands-on project work.

I am currently looking for a Sales Engineering or Solutions Architecture role in platform security, blue-team tooling, or cloud infrastructure. I am based in Moscow, Idaho, and happy to relocate for the right role. Get in touch, or grab the one-page resume.

Experience:#

Senior Security & Systems Engineer, AvatarFleet#

Mar 2024 – Present · Full-time · Moscow, Idaho, United States · Remote

  • SOC 2 Type 2 accreditation: Led AvatarFleet through SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 accreditation by establishing comprehensive security policies and procedures, strengthening compliance, and building customer trust. Achieved SOC 2 Type 2 with no adverse findings.
  • Security program initiation: Developed and implemented AvatarFleet’s initial security program, including foundational policies, procedures, and a security-aware culture, in an early-stage startup environment.
  • Cloud security enforcement: Drove AWS security improvements through Terraform and Ansible, standardizing controls and automating compliance for a stronger security posture.
  • Enterprise infrastructure: Architected and built the organization’s enterprise infrastructure from the ground up, replacing legacy infrastructure with minimal downtime.

Lead Solutions Architect, Syxsense Inc.#

Mar 2023 – Mar 2024 · Full-time · Moscow, Idaho, United States · Remote

  • Team leadership: Hired, trained, and led the sales engineering team, with three direct reports.
  • Revenue contribution: Provided presales support on deals representing 30% of total company revenue, with the balance increasingly carried by the team I built rather than by me.
  • Hybrid and multi-cloud expertise: Led the design and implementation of security solutions across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, focusing on automation to streamline operations and enhance security.
  • Technical leadership and automation: Oversaw deployment of automated security solutions using Ansible and Python, reducing manual overhead and improving response times.
  • Strategic development contributions: Helped align product development with emerging cloud security trends and customer needs.
  • Industry advocacy: Presented to audiences in the hundreds from the company’s booth stage at Black Hat USA, led hands-on workshops with dozens of customers at a time, and taught a week-long seminar as a visiting industry partner at VIT-AP University in Vijayawada, India. Also worked large-format event booths and represented the technical side in critical-path negotiations.

Senior Security Solutions Architect, Syxsense Inc.#

Apr 2022 – Mar 2023 · Full-time · Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

  • Revenue contribution: Provided presales support on deals representing 40% of total company revenue.
  • Solutions engineering: Designed and implemented tailored security automation solutions in critical infrastructure, leveraging Ansible and Python for integration of AWS-hosted EC2 workloads into the platform.
  • Vulnerability management: Developed vulnerability management frameworks for Linux servers in regulated on-premises environments, supporting customers with tens of thousands of endpoints under management.
  • Product support: Contributed to the platform user guide and technical customer support.
  • Platform engineering: Committed code (mostly Bash and Python) to improve Linux endpoint availability and reliability.

Solutions Architect, Syxsense Inc.#

Apr 2021 – Apr 2022 · Full-time · Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

  • Revenue contribution: One of three sales engineers. Provided presales support on deals representing 50% of Syxsense’s total company revenue in my first year, including deals north of $1 million.
  • Sales engineering: Directly managed more than 100 new logos through proofs of concept and RFI/RFP responses, including primary presales support on deals north of $1 million.
  • Solutions architecture: Co-architected deployments to match customer environments.
  • Marketing initiatives: Developed and delivered educational webinars for the marketing team.

Associate Information Technology Analyst, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories#

Sep 2020 – Apr 2021 · Full-time · Pullman, Washington, United States

  • Operations support: Supported Linux users across the organization.
  • Platform development: Created a standardized, domain-integrated Ubuntu Linux distribution for the company.
  • Security operations: Partnered with Security Operations to apply CIS benchmarks to Linux endpoints using Chef.

Information Technology Technician, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories#

Aug 2018 – Sep 2020 · Full-time · Pullman, Washington, United States

  • Desktop support and migration: Provided desktop support and played a key role in the organization’s transition from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

IT Technician, Washington State University#

Nov 2016 – Aug 2018 · Part-time · Pullman, Washington, United States · On-site

  • Department IT support: Provided desktop and basic physical networking support in the Chemistry department while completing undergraduate studies.
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