cat about.md
About Brian
IT Systems Engineer
I'm an IT systems engineer who builds and automates the infrastructure that organizations run on. I care about systems that are repeatable, reliable, and boring in the best possible way — the kind that quietly do their job so the people relying on them never have to think about them.
the longer version
My day-to-day lives at the intersection of Windows and Linux, spanning on-prem, hybrid, and cloud. I spend my time planning and deploying enterprise applications, turning manual processes into automation, and owning services end-to-end — from Azure PaaS and IaaS to Windows Server, VMware, storage, networking, and disaster recovery. The throughline is always the same: make it repeatable, make it observable, and make it something the next person can understand.
What I'm proudest of is the range. I've deployed and supported applications across some of the most tightly regulated and high-stakes environments there are — from HIPAA-governed healthcare systems to nuclear technology. Different industries, wildly different compliance and reliability bars, but the same discipline underneath: understand the requirements, build it right, document it, and make sure it keeps running.
I got into infrastructure because I like understanding how the whole machine fits together — not just one app or one server, but the platform underneath all of it. That curiosity is also why I write: this site is where I document the things I figure out so they're useful to someone else (often future me).
the journey
IT Systems Engineer · TerraPower
The primary administrative owner for the enterprise applications behind plant operations — and the breadth is the point. A single week spans application administration, scripting, integration work, and regulatory compliance.
- Application ownership — administer the big, business-critical applications behind plant operations: an enterprise EDMS, the Corrective Actions platform, nuclear medicine application support, and cloud application integration (SAML/SSO for cloud apps, and more).
- Deploy & maintain — plan, deploy, configure, patch, and maintain complex, multi-dependency applications across Windows and Linux — from the SQL Server databases underneath to the Node.js, Java, and Apache Tomcat services on top. I also support hardware and core-systems deployments and provide cross-functional coverage for infrastructure platforms including vSphere, HPE OneView, enterprise monitoring and alerting, and Cohesity backups.
- Automation & scripting — automate deployment, configuration, and monitoring with Ansible Automation Platform, PowerShell, Python, and Bash to improve reliability and cut manual toil.
- Digital work execution — lead the conversion of paper procedures into computer-guided digital instructions (HyperService/DWEP), then author, test, and optimize them alongside planners and field crews.
- Integration — connect enterprise platforms with systems like IoT, GIS, SCADA, financial, and HR through APIs, ETL, and middleware.
- Support & mentoring — tier 2/3 escalation resource, and mentor my peers through scripting, systems knowledge across Linux, Windows, and applications, and general troubleshooting.
- Compliance & continuity — disaster-recovery testing and audit-ready application controls against frameworks like NQA-1, FERC, NERC, and SOX.
IT Systems Administrator · Invitae
Systems engineering across Windows, VMware, and Active Directory; managed virtual servers within a large enterprise network and administered a variety of medical equipment software. Facilitated patching and vulnerability remediation on HIPAA-compliant systems, designed and helped implement enterprise alerting, and served as an escalation point for advanced hardware and software troubleshooting.
Signal Support Systems Specialist · US Army
Planned, supervised, and integrated the installation, operation, and maintenance of signal support systems — automations, wire, and radio. Performed system administration across the computing and network environments, managed an Active Directory of 1,000+ users on government intranet and WAN platforms, trained personnel, and supervised the operation and upkeep of roughly $2M in equipment.
education
M.S., Information Technology Management
The bridge between technology and the business it serves — IT strategy, governance, and running technology as a function rather than just a stack.
B.A., Business Administration
The business foundation underneath the tech — how organizations operate, plan, and make decisions.
off the clock
When I'm not in a terminal for work, I'm usually still in one at home. I run a homelab that doubles as my playground for everything I can't break at the office — routing and firewalling with pfSense and Aruba, virtualization on Proxmox, storage on TrueNAS, and a self-hosted GitLab driving the whole thing. It's where I keep my Linux, Kubernetes, Docker, and Podman skills sharp by actually living with them.