John Hurst

linkedin: linkedin.com/in/johnfhurst
email: trexl@gwu.edu
github: gwutrexl

Summary

I am currently employed as a systems engineer leading a small team of Unix/Linux system administrators to provide 24x7 support for enterprise services hosted on approximately 500 servers for The George Washington University. In my current role I have taken responsibility for maturing our operational processes and integration between support groups to allow for a more full adoption of common DevOps processes and reduce the time needed to build solutions both on premises and as the organization begins to move services into AWS.

In my 22 years of full time employment at the George Washington University I have been asked to fill the roles of programmer, manager, application administrator, trainer, and team lead in addition to my functions as a systems engineer. These roles have provided me with a wealth of experience and ability to perform a large number of roles that I believe make me an asset to any organization.

Skills

• Platforms/Applications: Linux, Puppet, Terraform, Jenkins, GitLab with CI/CD, GitHub, Packer, Git, AWS, VMware, Nagios XI, Spacewalk/RedHat Satellite, Confluence
• Programming Languages: Puppet, Bash, php, some Perl, some Python. Ada, Java, C, C++ used while seeking undergraduate degree

Employment

Manager of Server Administration October 2020 - Present

Platform and Cloud Computing, GWIT The George Washington University

Systems Engineer February 2016 - September 2020

Senior Information Systems Coordinator April 2013 - February 2016

Analyst, User Technical Support February 2012 – April 2013

Systems Engineering Services, GWIT The George Washington University

• Initiated the expanded use of Puppet to support applications administered by the mail, desktop support, web services, and the research computer teams
• Created automation/DevOps pipelines with Jenkins and Gitlab CI/CD to support Puppet and AWS deployments
• Regularly mentor and coach staff on DevOps tools, such Git, Puppet, scripting, and CI/CD pipelines
• Created and updated system deployment standards to improve the efficiency of the process and expediency of delivery
• Led the search for and subsequent usage meetings for a cloud deployment tool, working around budgetary restrictions to deploy the group’s first cloud service (Confluence)
• Authored Puppet Modules to support AWS deployments, including patching, user management, mail, and network component management
• Hosted bi-weekly automation meeting to support the effort to integrate upgraded versions of hypervisor, network management, and system configuration (VMware, Ipam, Puppet)
• Documented and provided training materials for new workflows and to allow application owners insight into processes to improve integration and eliminate bottlenecks in current workflows

Analyst, User Technical Support July 2006 - Feb 2012

Customer Support Services, Division of IT The George Washington University

• Lead engineer for team supporting 75 Linux servers running Apache, MySQL, DHCP, and system monitoring services
• Successfully created and implemented standards for deployment, monitoring, and reporting to assist the team in server administration (VMware and Linux)
• Supported Apple servers used in creating, maintaining, and deploying workstation images on Apple Computers.
• Created and maintained the standard Apple workstation image for Staff and Faculty
• Maintained documentation platform (MediaWiki)

Systems Specialist November 1999 – September 2006

Student Academic Support Services (SASS) The George Washington University

• Linux server administration including for divisional websites and custom application development.
• Assisted with maturing the development process for web application developers, introducing test and development environments
• Created and coded internal ticketing system for desktop support group with PHP and MySQL for desktop support group
• Primary support for mail, dns, version control, monitoring, and system backups for the division
• Supervised student workers and managed day-to-day technical support operations
• Mentored student supervisor’s in IT processes and procedures

Student Computer Technician September 1995 - November 1999

Student Academic Support Services (SASS) The George Washington University

• Provided field and phone support of Windows as well as user management in eDirectory/LDAP.
• Support of student computers for newly wired residence halls on campus, including creation of technical documentation for use by residents and other support staff
• As a senior student employee I began to manage Linux web servers(apache) that provided a platform for the division’s web developers

Professional Certifications

• HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (Jul 2020 - current)
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (Nov 2019 - current)
• Red Hat Certified Engineer training(May 2016 - May 2019)
• Red Hat Certified System Administrator (May 2012 - May 2019)
• ITIL v3 Foundations Certified
• MCITP and MCTS Windows7 Certified (Aug 2011 - Aug 2014)

Education

The George Washington University Washington, D.C.

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science May, 2001