Summary

Systems Administrator with an active Top Secret clearance and 9+ years experience supporting DoD and FBI projects. Holds a B.S. in IT and certifications in CompTIA Security+, LPI Linux Essentials, and AWS Cloud Practitioner. Skilled in deploying, maintaining, and troubleshooting diverse systems ensuring a robust IT infrastructure. Developing expertise in RHEL administration and automation.

Work Experience

Systems Administrator II

Insight Global

September 2023 - Present

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Systems Administrator for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) maintaining the information systems needed to achieve missile defense objectives for combatant commanders.

Developed an Ansible playbook to automate domain user creation, disabling, and deletion across a multi-domain enterprise, with Jira integration for task tracking, reducing manual efforts and ensuring consistency.
Designed a real-time NFS monitoring tool using GitLab CI/CD pipelines, automating storage tracking across multiple hosts and updating a website, providing end users with up-to-date visibility.
Enhanced existing Ansible playbooks by resolving bugs, improving functionality, and optimizing performance.
Resolve user issues daily related to a wide range of hardware, software, and connectivity issues, ensuring minimal disruption.
Executed Ansible playbooks for creating Linux and Windows VMs in Nutanix, contributing to streamlined VM buildouts.

Systems Administrator I

September 2023 - April 2024

Proactively manage RHEL servers to ensure the continuous availability of critical services and applications.
Ensure access to archived data, providing cross-functional teams with insights to develop innovative applications and intelligence to external agencies.
Utilize Confluence as a knowledge base, regularly updating system configuration, procedures, and best practices.
Diagnose and resolve system issues, ensuring minimal downtime and optimizing performance.

System Administrator

Ideal Innovations, Inc.

April 2023 - September 2023

Clarksburg, West Virginia

IT support for the US Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) Biometrics Operations Directorate (BOD) ensuring 24/7 operations enabling users with near real time biometric information.

Implement Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) to ensure DoD infrastructure compliance.
Remediate Tenable Nessus vulnerabilities ensuring a secure IT environment and maintaining compliance.
Configure and maintain a MECM server ensuring timely updates for clients and improving security.
Create and manage Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to enforce security settings and access controls.
Effectively manage Virtual Machine technologies (ESXi, VCenter, VSphere) to optimize resource utilization and ensure high availability.

Desktop Support

June 2022 - April 2023

Promptly resolve requests for assistance for Windows 10, Office 365, VPN, and hardware issues.
Deploy updates and applications to users through Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (MECM).
Manage and maintain Active Directory user accounts, groups, and computers for an organization that includes 400 workstations and 150 local end users.
Execute PowerShell scripts to automate routine troubleshooting fixes and apply updates as necessary.

Program Analyst

6K Systems, Inc.

December 2019 - June 2022

Clarksburg, West Virginia

Examiner for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations Unit (NOU). Performed accurate research and analysis to determine a person’s eligibility to possess firearms per state and federal law.

Outperform production standards at 2.25 transactions per hour – expectations are 1.5 per hour.
Manage significant caseloads, totaling between 75-100 active cases.
Review incident reports and court documentation and evaluate if contents would prohibit firearms possession.

Radio Engineer

United States Air Force

August 2015 - August 2019

Joint Base Andrews, MD / Yokota Air Base, Japan

Install and maintain a variety of communications equipment to support base command and control (C2). HFGCS radio engineer supporting military operations of 13 global stations.

Led 10 airmen in installing 29 vehicle radios which generated mobile C2 for Yokota aircraft refueling unit.
Awarded Cyber Airman of the Month for leading 2 team members and installing 4 LMR packages supporting C3 for 23,000 aircraft missions.
Assited execution of a $2.4 million LMR technical refresh by upgrading 2,500 radios and eliminating 1,000 obsolete devices which boosted radio coverage by 30%.
Performed preventative maintenance and troubleshooting for 42 HF radios and supporting equipment providing 24/7 nuclear communication, command, and control (C3) for WHCA, US Navy 7th Fleet, and 31 DoD agencies.

Jace Hickman