Desired Job Title
CYBERSECURITY ANALYSTCybersecurity EngineerCybersecurity SpecialistWork Type
Full TimeLocation Preference
On-SiteHybridRemoteLocation: Chicago, IL
Open to relocation: Yes
Open To Work
ANTHONY SMITH
Calumet City,IL
Work Preference
Summary
Cybersecurity Engineer on a CISO trajectory seeking to design, harden, and govern secure enterprise environments while reducing organizational risk and enabling compliant, resilient operations. Cybersecurity engineer and security operations professional with progressive experience securing mission-critical environments across federal healthcare, higher education, and enterprise organizations. Brings deep hands-on expertise in vulnerability management, incident response, endpoint security, identity and access management, and compliance alignment, with a clear career trajectory toward senior security leadership and CISO-level responsibility. Adept at translating technical security findings into actionable remediation strategies aligned to NIST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and RMF frameworks, while partnering effectively with engineering, operations, and compliance stakeholders.
Overview
8
8
Years of Professional Experience
7
7
Certifications
Work History
CYBERSECURITY ANALYST
LOG(N) PACIFIC
LYNNWOOD, WA
01.2025 - Current
- Assume full ownership of the enterprise vulnerability management lifecycle across Windows and Linux environments, transitioning the program from periodic scanning to continuous, risk-based vulnerability assessment aligned to asset criticality, exploit intelligence, and business impact.
- Engineer and enforce secure configuration baselines using DISA STIGs by converting inconsistent hardening practices into standardized, auditable security controls aligned with NIST RMF, ISO 27001, and defense-in-depth principles.
- Design and automate remediation workflows using PowerShell and Python, reducing manual intervention to improve remediation consistency and shortening exposure windows for critical and high-risk vulnerabilities.
- Establish repeatable vulnerability reporting processes that communicate risk severity, exploitability, and remediation priority in language accessible to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Lead proactive threat hunting initiatives using EDR telemetry, identifying indicators of compromise associated with bruteforce attacks, ransomware behaviors, credential abuse, and data exfiltration techniques.
- Develop custom Microsoft Defender for Endpoint detection logic across Windows 11 and macOS, enabling automated isolation, evidence collection, and investigative workflows for suspected compromise events.
- Devise, test, and facilitate incident response tabletop exercises aligned with NIST 800-53 and NIST 800-61, strengthening organizational preparedness and cross-functional response coordination.
- Eliminated all critical vulnerabilities and significantly reduced high- and medium-severity findings across server environments through coordinated remediation and automation.
- Established hardened ingress controls that fully removed externally exploitable access paths from exposed systems.
SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR
EDWARD HINES JR. VA HOSPITAL
HINES, IL
04.2024 - Current
- Responsible for administering and securing end-user computing environments supporting clinical and administrative operations within a high-compliance federal healthcare ecosystem, balancing availability, confidentiality, and regulatory adherence.
- Manage identity lifecycle operations in Active Directory while enforcing least-privilege access, separation of duties, and account hygiene in alignment with federal security standards.
- Liaise with cybersecurity and compliance teams to remediate vulnerabilities, deploy security patches, and support endpoint hardening initiatives across managed assets.
- Support audit readiness efforts through disciplined documentation, access reviews, and operational consistency, strengthening the organization's compliance posture.
- Troubleshoot complex hardware, OS, and application issues while maintaining stability for mission-critical healthcare workflows and systems.
HELP DESK ANALYST
IAA CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
CHICAGO, IL
01.2022 - 03.2024
- Delivered secure first-line IT support under strict SLA requirements while maintaining alignment with corporate security policies and operational standards.
- Provisioned and configured user workstations and software environments with an emphasis on secure baseline configurations and access control enforcement.
- Maintained accurate asset inventories to support lifecycle management, accountability, and audit traceability.
- Diagnosed and resolved endpoint, peripheral, and application issues across Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
- Performed routine system maintenance, updates, and endpoint hygiene tasks that reduced instability and security drift.
- Reinforced security awareness and best practices during user interactions, reducing risky behaviors at the endpoint level.
IT TECHNICIAN
GOVERNORS STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY PARK, IL
01.2018 - 01.2022
- Successfully delivered dedicated technical support across academic and administrative environments, supporting a diverse population of faculty, staff, and students.
- Played a key role in supporting instructional technology and AV systems critical to academic delivery and operational continuity.
- Assisted with deployment and maintenance of campus computer labs and shared workstations.
- Accountable for troubleshooting operating systems, applications, and connectivity issues while minimizing disruption to academic operations.
- Offered end-user guidance on secure technology usage and acceptable-use policies; ensured adherence to institutional IT and data protection standards.
Education
MASTER OF SCIENCE - CYBERSECURITY AND INFORMATION ASSURANCE
Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UTBACHELOR OF ARTS - MEDIA STUDIES
Governors State University
University Park, ILASSOCIATES OF ARTS - MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Prairie State College
Chicago Heights, ILSkills
- Security Operations Leadership
- Vulnerability Management
- Cybersecurity Engineering
- Cloud & Hybrid Security
- Digital Forensics & Investigation
- Endpoint Detection & Response
- Identity & Access Management
- Compliance & Governance
- SIEM & Log Analytics
- Security Architecture
- Incident Response
- Risk Mitigation
Certification
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
- CompTIA PenTest+
- CompTIA CySA+
- CompTIA Security+
- CompTIA A+
- ITILv4
Hobbies and Interests
- NIST CSF
- NIST 800-53 / RMF
- ISO 27001
- SOC 2
- PCI-DSS
- COBIT
- HIPPA
- Risk Assessment & Risk Register Management
- Policy Development & Enforcement
- API Integrations
- Azure Security
- Identity & Access Management (IAM)
- Entra ID
- Cloud Networking
Technical Proficiencies
- Microsoft Sentinel
- Splunk
- Defender for Endpoint
- CrowdStrike
- KQL
- Event Logs
- Entra ID
- Microsoft Intune Security
- Azure Defender
- AWS GuardDuty
- Palo Alto
- Python
- PowerShell
- Bash
- Automation
- Nessus
- OpenVAS
- Patch & Remediation
- AWS
Timeline
CYBERSECURITY ANALYST
LOG(N) PACIFIC
01.2025 - Current
SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR
EDWARD HINES JR. VA HOSPITAL
04.2024 - Current
HELP DESK ANALYST
IAA CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
01.2022 - 03.2024
IT TECHNICIAN
GOVERNORS STATE UNIVERSITY
01.2018 - 01.2022
MASTER OF SCIENCE - CYBERSECURITY AND INFORMATION ASSURANCE
Western Governors University
BACHELOR OF ARTS - MEDIA STUDIES
Governors State University
ASSOCIATES OF ARTS - MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Prairie State College