Cullen Henderson
Powder Springs,United States
Summary
Results-driven Cloud Engineer and cybersecurity professional with over 10 years of experience spanning Azure cloud infrastructure, DevOps automation, and IT security operations. Proven expertise in engineering STIG-compliant Azure Government environments, developing Infrastructure as Code solutions, and automating enterprise workflows with PowerShell, Python, and Ansible. Currently serving as a Flight Chief and Information Awareness Officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, bringing leadership of 90+ personnel alongside hands-on technical experience in security compliance and classified systems. Passionate about leveraging emerging technologies to drive mission-critical modernization, with a strong foundation in CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes (AKS), Active Directory, and cross-platform systems administration. CompTIA Security+ certified with a BBA in Information Systems.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Azure Cloud Engineer
SAIC
11.2024 - Current
- Engineered and sustained Azure Government cloud environments by building landing zones and subscription hierarchies, enforcing governance/compliance with Azure Policy and RBAC, implementing identity/access controls (Entra ID), deploying and automating workloads via IaC (ARM/Terraform) across compute/network/storage (VMs/AKS/App Services, VNets/NSGs/Azure Firewall, Storage), and operationalizing monitoring/IR with Azure Monitor + Log Analytics.
- Designed Azure modernization pipeline for 71 mission-critical DoD applications, achieving 60-80% parallelization efficiency and >98% deployment success across IL4/IL5/IL6 compliance levels using intelligent rolling batch execution.
- Implemented Azure Template Spec architecture for 270+ subscriptions, centralizing ARM template repository with cross-tenant authentication to enable reusable infrastructure-as-code patterns for VM provisioning.
- Developed 35+ production PowerShell automation runbooks managing Apache Guacamole, Barracuda firewall firmware, RHEL domain joining, Azure DevOps agent deployment, Artifactory onboarding, NSG flow log ingestion to Log Analytics, Active Directory management, STIG compliance scanning, and Trend Micro Updates.
- Deployed (AKS) clusters with Cilium network policy, workload identity (OIDC), private cluster configuration, auto-scaling node pools, Microsoft Defender integration, Azure Monitor metrics, and custom maintenance windows supporting containerized applications including Apache Guacamole remote access solution and IPAM network management.
- Engineered STIG-compliant Windows infrastructure deployment using custom Packer images and integrated PowerSTIG DSC configurations for automated enforcement of DoD security baselines.
- Automated Azure Policy governance migrations using Python and Azure REST APIs, via a CI/CD pipeline that deploys 300+ compliance policies across multiple subscriptions with batch processing and validation.
Research Assistant
Georgia Tech Research Inst
Atlanta, GA
09.2019 - 12.2023
- Troubleshot workstation images, applying IT systems security methods and implementing necessary changes for systems and services.
- Deployed security infrastructure and automated operations in accordance with NIST 800 series and Risk Management Framework.
- Automated processes using Ansible playbooks, PowerShell, and Python scripts to enhance efficiency.
- Designed Active Directory structures to streamline group policy management for desktop systems.
- Implemented secure Windows and RHEL environments via PXE boot utilizing SCCM and bootable drives.
- Resolved hardware and software issues related to Microsoft Office Suite and network connectivity.
- Modernized legacy code bases through GitHub and Microsoft Azure, updating webpages with HTML, C#, JavaScript, and CSS.
- Delivered Secret network system upgrades in airgapped spaces, achieving over 97% STIG compliance.
Flight Chief/ Additional First Sergeant
United States Air Force Reserve
02.2019 - Current
- Served as primary point of contact for over 90 personnel, promoting supportive work environment.
- Administered performance management processes, including reviews and development plans, to enhance retention.
- Designed and delivered comprehensive training programs to improve team members' professional capabilities.
Information Awareness Officer
United States Air Force Reserve
02.2015 - Current
- Reported cybersecurity incidents and vulnerabilities to WCSO and CFP.
- Verified user security clearances and completion of cybersecurity training before access.
- Ensured compliance with countermeasures for classified information systems.
- Validated network access requirements for users to enhance AFNET performance.
- Created organizational accounts and managed server access, including provisioning and deprovisioning.
- Conducted annual inventory of all equipment assigned to the account.
- Installed, maintained, and repaired desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, printers, and peripherals.
Education
BBA - Information Systems
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GASkills
- Infrastructure as Code / Automation
- DevOps / CI/CD
- Security Engineering
- Networking (Cisco IOS, PAN OS)
- Application/Information Security
- VM Migration & Azure VM Operations
- STIG Compliance
- Linux/Windows Administration
- Business Administration
- Technical writing and documentation
- Active Directory
Certification
CompTIA Security+
11 June 2022 - 11 June 2028
11 June 2022 - 11 June 2028
Timeline
Azure Cloud Engineer
SAIC
11.2024 - Current
Research Assistant
Georgia Tech Research Inst
09.2019 - 12.2023
Flight Chief/ Additional First Sergeant
United States Air Force Reserve
02.2019 - Current
Information Awareness Officer
United States Air Force Reserve
02.2015 - Current
BBA - Information Systems
Kennesaw State University