CV
I build and run the infrastructure, and look after the laptops, Wi-Fi and logins that people rely on every day.
About
I’m a junior system administrator based in the South West. My job runs from the bottom of the stack to the top — whether that’s building OpenStack clusters from scratch or making sure new starters can log in on their first morning without any hiccups.
The heavy lifting happens through CI/CD pipelines and our single sign-on service, which I set up and have gradually got every other system talking to. The day-to-day covers everything people actually use: MacBooks, Wi-Fi access, and the kit sitting on their desks. And yes, if someone needs hardware installed or a new account created, that’s usually me doing it.
Before this I spent six months on contract at Alliance Homes, getting their mobile estate through Cyber Essentials, and three years in support — a managed service provider, a university IT team, and an NHS service desk. That’s where I learned that a clear note saves the next person an hour, and I’ve kept the habit.
Outside work I run a home lab. For a while it was the only place I got to touch infrastructure directly: Docker containers behind an NGINX reverse proxy, and Tailscale so I can reach them from anywhere. For monitoring I just use Uptime Kuma with Discord notifications — simple and effective. I write about it all on The Adventuring Dev, including the bits that went wrong and how I worked around them.
Skills
- Ansible roles
- CI/CD pipelines
- GitLab
- Bash
- Python
- Git
- Configuration management
- OpenStack
- Linux
- Windows Server
- Server hardware
- Docker
- Kubernetes / K3s
- Proxmox & Ceph
- ESXi
- TrueNAS
- Oracle Cloud
- Firewall rules
- Wi-Fi
- Single sign-on
- Reverse proxy (NGINX)
- VPN (Tailscale)
- pfSense & OPNsense
- Cisco / CCNA-level
- DNS & DHCP
- Patching
- Cyber Essentials
- MacBooks & macOS
- User onboarding
- Active Directory
- Microsoft 365
- Azure fundamentals
- Mobile device management
- Desk hardware
- Grafana
- Prometheus
- Uptime Kuma
Experience
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Junior System Administrator
- Built a full OpenStack cluster from start to finish, and keep developing it
- Built a Proxmox cluster backed by Ceph storage
- Deploy services through CI/CD pipelines rather than by hand
- Set up our single sign-on service and connect each new service to it
- Look after GitLab, OpenStack and our Docker services, and keep them patched
- Install server hardware and the networking around it
- Look after the MacBooks, Wi-Fi and desk kit people use every day, and enrol new starters into the central user database
-
IT Engineer (contract)
- Six-month contract upgrading the mobile estate to be Cyber Essentials compliant
-
Technical Analyst
- End user support across a managed service provider's client base
- VPN and network configuration
- Hardware configuration and builds
-
IT Technician
- In-person support across campus
- Workstation setup and deployment
- Supporting a satellite campus
-
IT Service Desk Analyst
- IT support over phone, email and in person
- Writing documentation for staff and users
- Creating and editing accounts in Active Directory and other services
Education
-
BSc Computer Systems and Networks
Cisco networking, security, Python and C#, virtualisation and Docker.
-
BTEC Level 3 Computing
Active Directory and NAS administration, networking, game design.
Certifications
- Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals (MS-900) Microsoft · Jul 2023
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Microsoft · Oct 2020
- Linux: Bash Shell and Scripts LinkedIn Learning · Aug 2020
- Azure Active Directory Basics LinkedIn Learning · Jul 2020
- Windows Server 2019 Essential Training LinkedIn Learning · Jul 2020
Outside work
- 3D printing
- Game creation
- Home lab
- Cooking