Jacob Skolarus
Stone Ridge,VA
Summary
Skilled engineering manager that builds and motivates high-performing engineering teams. Over 20 years of experience in IT working with government and commercial projects. Committed to rapidly and efficiently completing projects by leveraging team-based frameworks to best leverage available engineering talent.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Service Engineering Manager
Microsoft
07.2021 - Current
- Created brand new Service Engineering team that is the front line for engineering triage
- The team is designed to enable maximum service uptimes for the M365 Office cloud services in classified environments
- Scaled the team from 0 to 46 engineers and went live with services, in just under 13 months
- The 24/7 operations team consists of 46 engineers and 3 managers across 6 geographic locations
- Manage day to day operations for critical cloud services for government customers, spearheading toil reduction projects for operations, engineer, and manager coaching
- Participate in multiple Employee Resource Groups, including the Military ERG
- Serve as a mentor for transitioning military members entering the civilian workforce post military careers.
Senior Program Manager
Microsoft
06.2020 - 07.2021
- Technical Program Manager (PM) for M365 products based in sovereign clouds, focusing on Security and Compliance features for Exchange Online services
- Created a work tracking program for newly created teams, following Agile/sprint disciplines to establish work breakdowns, and create velocity in task assignment completion
- Coordinate initial and follow up deployment schedules with commercial feature team counterparts and provide feedback on improving operational efficiencies in terms of eliminating technical debt and manual toil.
Manager
Deloitte & Touche, LLP
04.2019 - 05.2020
- Manager of 15 direct reports in the execution of day-to-day operational activities for both Networking and Infrastructure deliveries for multiple government clients
- Provided guidance to senior government staff on IT initiatives, including forming strategic roadmaps, budgets, and tactical implementation, including systems architecture design
- Key business development leader in the Department of Justice market
- Created opportunities and closed out over $100M in direct awards as part of the firm’s strategic initiative to expand the revenue pipeline within the DOJ and Intelligence Community markets
- Sought out by other Deloitte teams for subject matter expertise on cloud initiatives across markets
- Provided hands-on technical assistance, as needed, for client delivery, including network, cloud and other virtual systems.
Systems Development Manager, EC2
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
01.2017 - 03.2019
- Created and managed a team of 12 direct reports for AWS EC2 Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) Group
- The EC2 MVP group leads the deployment and operation of AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) in regions with specialized security needs
- This includes daily operations, feature launches, and development initiatives aimed at reducing ops burden and increasing overall efficiency, leading to overall business value to AWS’ government customers
- Responsibilities included reporting on the health of services at an executive level; driving root cause analyses; Collaboration across multiple software development teams; Leading local development to drive continual improvement in systems operations through tool building and automation; Scaled our services: led the planning, hardware selection, costing, and provisioning of new capacity, including involvement in the sales process; Defined the roadmap for services teams in collaboration with our product managers, other development and engineering managers, and engineers; Defined and drove projects and reported on their progress.
Senior Systems Integration Engineer
SeaChange International
11.2014 - 01.2017
- Managed solutions for cable industry customers’ integrated services for back-office Video on Demand Solutions
- Implemented systems that increased performance and streamlined resources to deliver content on multiple platforms (Set top boxes, mobile devices) to their users
- Designed and deployed systems (both physical and virtual) in support of customer activities, leveraging virtual and cloud platforms; worked in test and full-scale, live customer production environments
- Coordinated activities with a small team of resources to complete projects efficiently before or on target dates
- Managed training expectations with direct staff and leadership to ensure that skill gaps are closed or covered from other divisions
- Supported domestic and international sales and project management teams with critical information and updates
- Led efforts with multiple teams on technical project aspects, proposals, and data analysis to customer and management-level audience(s) as well as internal teams, including QA, Development Engineering, Solutions Architecture, and Management.
Director, Corporate IT
Ntrepid Corporation
05.2012 - 10.2014
- Led team of nine engineers to provide user support, secure the enterprise and enable business functions for a company of over 200 people spanning 6 offices globally
- Directly supported C-level leadership in all matters relating to business resource requests, reporting to the President of the company
- Directed the implementation of private and public AWS cloud deployments to support operations, testing and integration groups
- Created and implemented an IT roadmap that scaled out and secured the network while reducing operational spending by 30% and forecasted costs by $1M in 18 months
- Provided Information Assurance compliance support and served as designated Information Systems Security Manager / Officer for on-site facilities, in partnership with our government customers.
Lead Associate
Booz Allen Hamilton
10.2006 - 05.2012
- Created Rapid Secure IT Infrastructure client delivery capability, focusing on federal client IT deployments
- Other corporate duties included supporting overall management for a team of 60; coordinated and participated in new hire interviews; primary assessor for annual reviews; proposal and technical writing, including intellectual capital and marketing product development; supporting role on a $900M IDIQ win
- Network Operations Center Manager for new Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) facility and IT infrastructure valued at $65 million
- Led three teams totaling 14 engineers across multiple disciplines to include telecom, network and systems engineering
- Interacted with multiple government agencies to establish connectivity and secure multiple networks and systems
- Engineered and implemented an initial $22 million IT solution customized for government clients and incorporated virtualized and scalable systems environment as well as network layer transport.
Lead Network and Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman
07.2004 - 10.2006
- Sole developer of IT resources for Space Technology start-up office employing 25 people, including Director-level leadership
- Performed tool analysis and selection, processed license requirements, testing, implementation, user training and support, to include classified programs
- Engineered network solutions for continuous customer needs
- Additionally worked as the lead IT engineer for the Port and Coastal Surveillance System (PCSS) project
- PCSS was an integrated network, systems and software solution for the US Coast Guard, aimed at securing the nations’ ports.
Education
M.S. - Management of Information Technology
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VirginiaB.S. - Computer Information Systems
Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FloridaA.A.S. - Electronic Systems Technology
Community College of the Air Force
Skills
- Over 20 Years of IT Experience in both engineering delivery and business development
- Active TS/SCI Clearance with Polygraph
- Product and Program Management with Agile experience
- C-suite leadership support in multiple roles
- Juniper / Cisco Networking Experience
- Linux / Windows / Systems Engineering
- Software and Systems development
Websites
Technical Professional Competencies
- Team Management, Development
- Systems Design / Engineering
- Network Engineering (Cisco, Juniper, F5, PA)
- Product and Project Management
- Enterprise Cloud Architecture
- IT Governance / IA Compliance / Data Governance
- Linux (RHEL, CentOS, Kali) / Microsoft OS
- Cloud vendor knowledge (AWS, Azure)
- Configuration Management
- Information Systems Management
- Mobile Security / Management
- Customer Interaction / Presentations
Honors Professional Organizations
- Youth Group Leader and Mentor, Arcola United Methodist Church
- Football Coach, Aim High Youth Sports, Fairfax, VA
- John L. Levitow Award winner for recognition of leadership skills (via Airman Leadership School)
Professional Training Certifications
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), 07/2026
- ITIL Foundations Certification
- Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), 07/2013
- Computer Systems Control Apprentice Course
- Advanced Communications Manager Course
Languages
German
Limited Working
Spanish
Elementary
Timeline
Senior Service Engineering Manager
Microsoft
07.2021 - Current
Senior Program Manager
Microsoft
06.2020 - 07.2021
Manager
Deloitte & Touche, LLP
04.2019 - 05.2020
Systems Development Manager, EC2
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
01.2017 - 03.2019
Senior Systems Integration Engineer
SeaChange International
11.2014 - 01.2017
Director, Corporate IT
Ntrepid Corporation
05.2012 - 10.2014
Lead Associate
Booz Allen Hamilton
10.2006 - 05.2012
Lead Network and Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman
07.2004 - 10.2006
M.S. - Management of Information Technology
University of Virginia
B.S. - Computer Information Systems
Saint Leo University
A.A.S. - Electronic Systems Technology
Community College of the Air Force