Arya Vahanian

I was head of corporate IT, managed and organized servers and network,all soft wares and computer hard wares supervised help desk support team to address all IT related requests.

Cost Management & Saving : Took the lead on IT purchasing and also could save over $100k by repurposing existing physical servers as Microsoft Hypervisors and utilizing Microsoft Azure cloud services.

Servers : Upgraded all 15 windows physical and bare metal servers from 2008 to 2012R2,2016 and 2019. maintained 2 Vmware hosts and 6 Ubuntu virtual machines.
Virtualization : Upgraded existing physical servers to virtual machines in order to preserve against H/W failure and to add more flexibility.

Networking : Administered all networking gears from SonicWall firewall to switches. redesigned the network topology and replaced old switches with new ones, added Wi-Fi hotspots to cover the entire HQ building.

Cloud Computing : designed and deployed company's first Azure infra and connected it to the local infra using IPsec tunnel.

Microsoft 365 : Migrated existing office 2010 to M365 business premium and administered the portal. deployed MS Teams as the primary collaboration tool to the company and set it up for the main conferencing platform of the company.

Documentation & Training : Created technical docs and step-by-step guide for both IT and non-IT colleagues and trained them to utilize modern tools as needed.

Backup & Disaster Recovery : Designed a new procedure for an affordable backup policy, added new Synology Nas boxes equipped with SSDs and deployed Veeam backup & replication software to create local and cloud backups of server infrastructure.

Cyber Security : Worked with a third-party "CyberSheath" to compliance with the Department of Defense (DoD) mandated requirements for DoD contractors, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement : NIST Special Publication 800-171 Rev. 2 (NIST SP 800-171) & Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Version 1.02 (CMMC) Maturity Level 3 . deployed Cisco DUO as the virtual MFA to the entire domain to add another layer of security to user sign-ins for both local and remote desktop sessions.

In Xbox Game Studio I administered and maintained the IT infrastructure following Microsoft CSE (Core Service Engineering) rules and standards as well as working closely with the local IT team and Microsoft XGS Team.

System Administration : Managed & maintained all IT & Gaming platforms including Perforce & Unreal Game Engine, used Windows Powershell, Bash & Python to automate tasks executions within the environment & Designed proactive preventive maintenance schedules to prevent unnecessary downtime and hardware faults.

Network Administration : Administered all network equipment, including Cisco & Arista switches, Palo Alto 5250 Firewall, Access points, and security appliances, utilized monitoring solutions like NewRelic, Nagios, Grafana to monitor the entire infrastructure and create and build customized graphs & reports as well as bigpanda for diagnostic purposes and IT operations support & Established network specifications and analyzed workflow, access, information and security requirements.

Server installation : Built & managed physical and virtual servers in a hybrid infrastructure utilizing Dell & HP servers, Installed Windows Server 2016 & 2019 both on premises servers and servers in our Azure.

Office365 Administration : Managed, troubleshot and customized Office Suite applications including Word, Excel, One Note, Skype for business, Outlook, Share point, Power Point, Managed all aspects of Office 365, including setup, configuration, users, groups, and licenses.

Microsoft Azure : Managed & administered studio's Azure services like AAD, Virtual machines, Virtual network & Databases as well as Azure Key Vault, provided technical guidance on building solutions using Azure PaaS and other services.

Documentation : Created and managed technical documentations using Atlassian Confluence for both IT team & End-users.

Inventory management : Collected , organized & documented all existing assets including software, hardware accounts and licenses using Snipe-IT & Securely saved and kept corporate passwords using Azure Key Vault. IT Purchasing : Estimating HW/SW needs and getting approval from Microsoft to submitting POs. working closely with Zones.com, Dell, HP and Lenovo to get RFI, RFP, RFQ for both new orders and renewals. Software licensing and maintenance.

End-User Support : Took the leadership of the End-User support using ServiceNow & Atlassian Jira, from building new workstations to providing technical Tier2-3 support to the people in person or remotely using Microsoft Teams and Remote desktop. Supported all employees with Covid-19 WFH situation to be able to work from home.

Network Administration: Administered all network equipment, including switches, router, firewalls, VPN, APs, VOIP phones, and security appliances. including DVRs & key fobs including FortiGate 200D Firewall, Cisco & Net gear multilayer switches, Aruba Access points, Hp Printers, Hikvision DVRs, Fonality Netfortris Cloud-based VoIP phone systems. Responsible for the installation, configuration of network equipment, supported and maintained LAN/WAN and related equipment DVR, IVR & S2 Access Control System. Diagnosed and resolved all network related issues, firmware backups/upgrades.

Server Administration : Domain Controller (Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, WINS), File Server (Shared drives), ESET internet security, acted as Server Administrator for Microsoft Servers running Windows Server 2012/2016, (Physical & Virtual Servers),Providing shared drive access to the employees, mapping shared drives as well as creating daily backups by Cloudberry (Cloud) and Synology NAS (Local). Administered ESET server protection for both Servers & Clients, taking care of all configurations and policies, Domain controller & Active Directory administration : Organized, managed, and maintained AD Servers 2016 (Main & Failover),Performed cross platform audits of AD objects and user permissions, Developed organizational units (OUs) in AD and managed user security with group policies. Configured Group Policy Objects to create a secure Windows Infrastructure. Desktop Administration : Dell OptiPlex Desktops, Latitude Laptops running on Windows 10 Pro: Installed and maintained desktop systems, solved system failures, providing support to end users, set user access rights, trained new employees, and making sure deadlines are met. Installed, set up & managed corporate software & accounts including Adobe, Salesforce, Instant messaging, Bria & Hud web softphone, made sure all stations are joined company's local domain, Bit locker is activated, ESET antivirus is up & running, etc. Asset management: Managed, organized & documented existing assets including software, hardware accounts and licenses using Asset panda & desktop central. Securely saved and kept corporate passwords by LastPass. Office365 Administration : Managed all the O365 apps including Word, Excel, One Note, skype for business, Outlook, Share point, Power Point, Trained and assisted clients with configurations, continuously monitored Office 365 and view detailed reports to understand how people are using it in admin center. Project management & Ticketing system: Wrike, Took care of approximately 5-10+ incoming tier 2-3 tickets, monitored team progress, ensured projects are implemented in due time, and solved technical issues of both internal and remote users, proactively built and maintained strong user relationships, maintained consistent communication and managed user needs and expectations by meeting project timelines.Cyber Security : LMNTRIX & Mimecast : worked closely with LMNTRIX to deploy and install their proprietary VM and associated sensors on all local clients to run 24x7 continuous monitoring, and Investigation tool, looking for signs of compromise inside corporate LAN, as well as responding all incidents submitted as verified breaches, deployed, managed and monitored Mimecast email protection for corporate Email, including security, archiving, and continuity services to protect business Emails from phishing and spoofing attacks.

Performed daily computer systems operational procedures including monitoring performance, platform backups, and preventive maintenance. Installed client provided Devices with the base installation of the Operating System and core office products including unpacking, commissioning, and testing of the new equipment and handover to the end-user, responded promptly 100+ tier 2-3 tickets using Service Now ticketing system. Managed and prepared detailed documentation about client/server installation, software/hardware deployment & any IT related purchases, Maintained a safe, secure, and legal work environment. Responsible for software maintenance and support for staff of 10+. Tracked all issues and ensured timely resolution of problems, reducing response time from 24 hours to immediate, maintained a robust Microsoft based network running Windows 8 & Lotus notes, extended technical support to users of Windows and Macintosh users after deployment.

Managed all aspects of WAN and LAN functionality, including physical and virtual environments, tested and maintained wireless networking equipment, AP's, WS5000, T2, T3 and CF cards functionality using open, 40, 128-bit encryption, WPA, WPA-PSK, and TKIP within an isolated environment, created various test plans for Wi-Fi and cellular radios. Configured network security using WPA-2, MAC Filtering and updating Local Security Policy for all workstations, performed administrative network operations including establishing and maintaining user accounts, data paths, passwords, e-mail accounts, Internet connectivity, reported directly to senior leadership on overall NOC performance. Recommended and implemented process improvements, Installed and configured access control, DVR/CCTV, and similar systems.

Installed Cisco ISR Routers, switches & firewalls,Installed Juniper, Palo Alto, Fortinet, responsible for the support of critical mechanical, and electrical systems of the Data Centers & reporting of the core infrastructure facilities. Interconnected subsystems/connected systems to the LAN. (mainframe, SAN, blade server, LAN switches, WAN routers, VoIP servers and gateways, Firewalls and T1/PRI circuits), Ensured Data Center uptime 24X7X365, Organized, scheduled and performed equipment maintenance routines and operational tests, to ensure server up-time, Built Cabinet/Relay Rack systems with supporting power systems and custom ladder tray.Troubleshot, swapped, and repaired hardware including Power supplies, CPU's, Hard disks etc, worked closely with data center management to determine workload and resource commitments within Co location Data centers.

Resolved network related issues like local area connection problem, network access, mails, internet, dial-ins, etc.Provided Tier2-3 support as needed according to support volumes and escalation processes. Trained customers on how to effectively use satellite and wireless devices Provided one on one assistance to the end user regarding the technical flaw, either by phone, mails, or in person. Identified, diagnosed, and resolved the level one issues in computer hardware and software in mainframe systems such as laptops and PCs. Provided exceptional customer service daily, including taking extra steps towards ensuring the end user is 100% satisfied, Installed and upgraded hardware and software and providing complete assistance while configuring hardware, software, and peripherals of the end user systems. Supported and assisted colleagues and worked with other support groups and vendors for solving level two issues.