Blake Harmon
Jonesboro,AR
Summary
Senior Solutions Architect with 10 years of experience designing, scaling, and supporting Service Provider networks. I am a expert in multi-vendor integration (Juniper, Nokia, Calix, Ciena) and long-term infrastructure strategy, with a proven track record of reducing downtime through rigorous interoperability testing.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Sr. Solutions Architect
Irby Utilities
Jonesboro, AR
02.2024 - Current
- Architected full-lifecycle vendor integration for Juniper, Calix, and Ciena, spanning hardware selection, automated provisioning, and ISP network design, enabling electrical utilities to successfully launch and operate greenfield broadband networks.
- Designed long-term technology roadmaps and complex Service Provider solutions for utility broadband clients, aligning 5-year infrastructure strategy with forecasted growth and capital budget constraints.
- · Researched, tested, and authored Equipment and Software Approval notices (EAP/SAP) for new vendor software releases, establishing rigorous interoperability standards to ensure compatibility across multi-vendor client environments.
- Design and deliver specialized training programs for internal teams and customers, including on site 'hands-on' training sessions and Maintenance Window shadowing.
- Conducted architectural reviews of existing customer networks, identifying modernization opportunities including leading GPON-to-XGS-PON migration paths and contributing to the development of a utility-focused ONT designed for Smart Grid integration.
- Designed next-generation network reference architectures using EVPN/VXLAN fabric and SRv6, establishing forward-looking infrastructure standards for utility broadband deployments.
- Acted as the final escalation point for a team of senior network engineers, resolving large (30,000+ customers), complex service provider outages that exceeded standard troubleshooting procedures.
- Led the emergency transition of PON architecture from a legacy vendor to the Calix platform, delivering a fully designed, tested, and documented solution for customer release in 9 months against an 18-month estimate.
Sr. Network Engineer
Empower, Delivered by Craighead Electric
Jonesboro, AR
01.2022 - 01.2024
- Authored Root Cause Analyses (RCA) and Reason for Outage (RFO) reports for internal engineering teams and external customers, driving post-incident reviews to identify systemic network vulnerabilities.
- Deployed, maintained, and supported Juniper MX10K3/MX204/QFX5120, MXK-F1419, and Mikrotik 1072 platforms.
- Designed and deployed an XGS-PON solution supporting 25,000+ customers, scaling existing network infrastructure to meet growing broadband demand.
- Developed and executed multi-phase infrastructure upgrade plans aligned to fiscal targets and operational priorities.
- Implemented and managed IP address management infrastructure using phpIPAM, maintaining address allocation and documentation integrity across a 25,000+ customer network.
- Designed and implemented the network architecture supporting a new wholesale partnership, including capacity planning, provisioning workflows, and technical SLA frameworks, enabling the organization to open new revenue streams with a partner organization.
Sr. Network Engineer
Ritter Communications
Jonesboro, AR
03.2019 - 01.2022
- Supported Nokia 7750s/7250s, Calix E7/E3s, Ciena 5142/5150/5160, Metaswitch CFS/EAS/ISC/MVS, and Cisco 4510/7600/ASR/CBR8 platforms.
- Contributed to the development and enforcement of network policies and protocol standards, ensuring consistent implementation across engineering and operations teams.
- Acted as the primary escalation point for the NOC while developing a technical training curriculum that reduced escalation from the NOC to Engineering.
- Supported network infrastructure operations including design, monitoring, and documentation, with a focus on network standardization and troubleshooting complex routing, hardware, and software issues.
- Planned, reviewed, and executed network maintenance windows for equipment troubleshooting and RMA processing, creating documentation to standardize procedures across engineering teams.
Network Analyst II
Windstream Communications
Little Rock, AR
07.2016 - 03.2019
- Responsible for receiving and working trouble incidents, correlating impact, prioritizing severity and engaging with multiple verticals to ensure a timely response and quick resolution.
- Managing and troubleshooting nationwide network spanning 40+ states. Troubleshooting included correcting routing protocols (EIGRP, OSPF, ISIS, BGP), verifying redundancy protocols (HSRP & VRRP), and networking hardware from multiple vendors to include Cisco, Juniper, and Nokia/ALU.
- Driving incidents to resolution with internal verticals or equipment vendors and ensuring follow-up of critical incidents to provide best mean time to resolution.
Education
Master of Science - Information Systems and Technology Management, Information Assurance and Security
Capella University
Minneapolis, MN05-2015
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science, Computer Systems
Arkansas State University
Jonesboro, AR05-2013
Skills
- BGP
- IS-IS
- OSPF
- RSVP-TE
- Multicast
- SRv6
- SR-MPLS
- SP-VPNs
- IPv4/IPv6
- Service provider solutions
- Equipment approval processes
- Vendor integration
- Training program development
- Customer implementation support
Certification
- Nokia NRS II – Routing and Switching
- Cisco CCNP – Routing and Switching
- Juniper JNCIP-SP – Service Provider Routing and Switching
- Juniper JNCIA-Design
- Juniper JNCIA-Security
- MEF (Metro Ethernet Forum)
- Juniper JNCIE-SP (In Progress)
- Nokia SRA (In Progress)
Timeline
Sr. Solutions Architect
Irby Utilities
02.2024 - Current
Sr. Network Engineer
Empower, Delivered by Craighead Electric
01.2022 - 01.2024
Sr. Network Engineer
Ritter Communications
03.2019 - 01.2022
Network Analyst II
Windstream Communications
07.2016 - 03.2019
Master of Science - Information Systems and Technology Management, Information Assurance and Security
Capella University
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science, Computer Systems
Arkansas State University