Open To Work
ALLEN EFIENOKWU
Plantation,FL
Summary
I'm a Senior Systems Engineer with over seven years of experience architecting and automating secure, scalable infrastructure across enterprise and federal environments. I specialize in cloud-native platforms—AWS, and Kubernetes—and have a proven track record deploying COTS solutions like Portainer into compliance-driven ecosystems. My strength lies in building maintainable systems from the ground up: I design infrastructure as code using Ansible, Packer, and CloudFormation; implement CI/CD pipelines with GitHub; and integrate persistent storage and observability tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and Splunk to ensure performance and uptime. Beyond the enterprise, I've built a five-node Kubernetes cluster in my homelab using Raspberry Pi devices, integrated with Argon NAS storage and Portainer for container lifecycle management—demonstrating my commitment to hands-on innovation and scalable design. Whether leading automation initiatives, troubleshooting complex deployments, or mentoring teams in Agile/SAFe environments, I bring a strategic mindset, modular thinking, and a relentless drive for operational excellence.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Systems / DevOps Engineer
Booz Allen Hamilton
12.2021 - Current
- Cloud Security Engineer: Designed and implemented secure, scalable cloud environments using AWS GovCloud (US), following AWS best practices and Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) for enhanced security posture.
- Build and configure Linux Server using Ansible
- Engineer and support secure Linux systems in an enterprise environment (e.g., Red Hat, CentOS, Rocky Linux)
- Automated CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins and GitHub/GitLab to deploy RHEL images with Terraform, Packer, and Ansible. Built and deployed AMIs incorporating security and compliance requirements.
- Familiarity with database systems and concepts, with a preference for MySQL
- Knowledge of basic networking and troubleshooting skills
- Expertise in Linux systems administration and low-level troubleshooting.
- Observability & Monitoring: Implemented monitoring solutions using Prometheus, Grafana, and Kiali for real-time system insights and automated alerts to detect anomalies in infrastructure and applications.
- Perform O&M tasks including OS patching, upgrades, and security updates.
- Drove adoption of definition of done and definition of ready across teams to enhance agile sprints and ensure proper project readiness.
- Agile DevOps: Integrated agile practices into project workflows, optimizing CI/CD pipelines and supporting rapid iteration through feedback loops.
- Understand container orchestration; building, deploying of images
- Basic knowledge of Helm and Helm Charts; Structure, Customization, Managing Dependencies, Testing and Validation, Packaging & Distribution etc.
- Provisioned AWS resources with using Jenkins and Terraform, and automated security compliance with AWS IAM, enforcing role-based access controls.
- Conducted application security assessments including threat modeling, penetration testing, and architecture reviews to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.
- Led discussions with teams on improving data security best practices and implementing robust monitoring for critical infrastructure.
- Led automation initiatives to enhance CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins and GitLab.
- Developed infrastructure as code solutions with Terraform, improving deployment efficiency.
Senior Linux Admin/Engineer / DevOps Consultant
Ace Info Solutions / Dovel Technologies
08.2019 - 12.2021
- Cloud Security Engineer: Secured AWS environments using STIGs, IAM policies, and multi-layered security controls to ensure compliance with federal regulations.
- Engineer and support secure Linux systems in an enterprise environment (e.g., Red Hat, CentOS, Rocky Linux)
- Managed and provisioned AWS resources (EC2, PVC, SG, ASG, EKS, ECS) with Ansible and Terraform, ensuring optimal security and performance.
- Build and configure Linux Server using Ansible
- Perform O&M tasks including OS patching, upgrades, and security updates.
- Monitoring & Observability: Set up Prometheus, Grafana, and Kiali for infrastructure monitoring and alerting, improving system reliability and reducing downtime.
- Implemented definition of done and definition of ready to improve sprint efficiency and ensure teams adhered to best practices in agile development.
- Automated the build of secure AMIs for Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon Linux 2023 using hardening playbooks integrated into CI/CD pipelines.
- Traffic Routing & API Management: Managed ingress routing with Nginx and Istio for dynamic API traffic control between services.
- Deployed and monitored security for containerized applications using Kubernetes, ensuring reliable scaling and orchestration.
- Designed and implemented engineering solutions to enhance system performance and reliability.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline project workflows and improve communication.
Senior Linux Admin/Engineer Consultant
Cyberdata Technologies
05.2019 - 08.2019
- Cloud Security Engineer: Developed and deployed hardened cloud environments using Ansible, Packer, and Terraform.
- Managed compliance monitoring with AWS CloudWatch and Splunk.
- Drove definition of done and definition of ready practices in agile teams, ensuring consistent delivery standards across DevOps projects.
- Engineer and support secure Linux systems in an enterprise environment (e.g., Red Hat, CentOS, Rocky Linux)
- Perform O&M tasks including OS patching, upgrades, and security updates.
- Built comprehensive monitoring solutions for Kubernetes clusters using Prometheus and Kiali, significantly improving system observability.
- Automated the provisioning and management of Jenkins CI/CD pipelines, enabling secure, repeatable deployments across multiple projects.
- Led cross-functional teams to develop innovative software solutions enhancing system performance and user experience.
- Implemented advanced machine learning algorithms to improve data processing efficiency and accuracy.
Systems Engineer
3C Interactive
02.2018 - 12.2018
- Cloud Security Engineer: Managed security monitoring with Icinga and integrated threat detection mechanisms to maintain compliance with industry security standards.
- Monitoring & Observability: Led the setup of Icinga2 and Grafana for real-time infrastructure monitoring, ensuring optimal system performance and uptime.
- Perform O&M tasks including OS patching, upgrades, and security updates.
- Acted as a leader in agile teams, implementing definition of done and definition of ready for smoother, more efficient workflows.
- Led system architecture design for scalable applications, enhancing operational efficiency and performance.
- Implemented automation tools to streamline deployment processes, reducing downtime and improving reliability.
Systems Engineer Consultant
Take2 Consulting LLC
05.2017 - 02.2018
- Cloud Security Engineer: Implemented cloud resource security policies on AWS, including IAM roles and real-time log monitoring via Splunk.
- Engineer and support secure Linux systems in an enterprise environment (e.g., Red Hat, CentOS, Rocky Linux)
- Deployed and maintained hybrid cloud infrastructures, ensuring security compliance and operational resilience.
- Automated system patching and configuration using Ansible, improving system performance and uptime in both test and production environments.
Linux Systems Administrator Consultant
Evolver Inc.
05.2014 - 05.2017
- Managed Red Hat Linux, computing infrastructure and security of large Linux clustered systems.
- Configured and administered loggers, loaded balancers, servers, and maintained database systems.
- Engineer and support secure Linux systems in an enterprise environment (e.g., Red Hat, CentOS, Rocky Linux)
- Troubleshot real-time data transport systems and data feeds, scripted automated operations, recommended appropriate actions to improve performance, scheduled installations and upgrades across high-availability systems.
- Maintained Linux systems in accordance with DoD policies and procedures, monitored and tuned systems to achieve optimum multi-user performance and loaded balancing, and designed disaster recovery strategies and failed over operations for remote COOP sites.
- Developed and implemented backup strategies, enhancing data recovery processes.
- Managed system configurations and updates to ensure optimal performance and security.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Health Systems Management
University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD12-2013
Associate of Science - Health Information Technology
Montgomery College
Silver Spring, MD12-2008
Skills
- IAM
- STIGs
- Prometheus
- CloudWatch
- Kiali
- Jenkins
- Puppet
- Packer
- GitHub
- Azure
- Oracle Cloud
- Definition of Ready
- Sprints
- Role-based Access Control
- Security Audits
- Grafana
- Splunk
- Icinga2
- Ansible
- Terraform
- GitLab
- AWS
- GCP
- Definition of Done
- Agile Methodologies
- CI/CD Pipelines
- Infrastructure automation
- Linux operating system
- Monitoring and logging
- Containerization technologies
Accomplishments
- Resolved product issue through consumer testing.
- Supervised team of 4 staff members.
Certification
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
- CompTIA Security+
- Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate
- AWS Certified Security Specialty
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)
- ITIL v3 Foundation Certified
Languages
English
Full Professional
Timeline
Systems / DevOps Engineer
Booz Allen Hamilton
12.2021 - Current
Senior Linux Admin/Engineer / DevOps Consultant
Ace Info Solutions / Dovel Technologies
08.2019 - 12.2021
Senior Linux Admin/Engineer Consultant
Cyberdata Technologies
05.2019 - 08.2019
Systems Engineer
3C Interactive
02.2018 - 12.2018
Systems Engineer Consultant
Take2 Consulting LLC
05.2017 - 02.2018
Linux Systems Administrator Consultant
Evolver Inc.
05.2014 - 05.2017
Bachelor of Science - Health Systems Management
University of Baltimore
Associate of Science - Health Information Technology
Montgomery College
AWARDS
Star Award - Dovel Technologies (2021), Star Award - Booz Allen Hamilton (2023)
Work Preference
Work Type
Full TimeGig WorkLocation Preference
RemoteHybridOn-SiteCLEARANCE
DHS Public Trust Clearance