John Otalvaro
Cape Coral,FL
Summary
Dynamic cybersecurity engineer committed to staying at the forefront of industry trends. Demonstrated expertise in architecting and designing seamless environment migrations that prioritize minimal disruption and maximum security. Comprehensive understanding of infrastructure enables proactive prediction, planning, and prevention of potential attacks. Proficient in threat analysis and mitigation, consistently delivering robust solutions that safeguard organizational assets while emphasizing the critical importance of governance, risk management, and compliance as the foundation of effective enterprise security.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Security Engineer
Cyber Guard Pro
09.2025 - Current
- Developed and implemented security protocols safeguarding sensitive data, reducing unauthorized access incidents by 40%.
- Led incident response activities, coordinating cross-functional teams to contain and remediate threats, reducing average response time by 30%.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to design and enforce security policies aligned with organizational objectives.
- Managed security incidents end-to-end, documenting root cause and remediation steps to support continuous improvement efforts.
- Reviewed and analyzed high-volume system and security logs to detect suspicious activity patterns and enable early threat detection.
- Developed and implemented GRC frameworks, improving compliance posture and reducing audit preparation time by 30%.
- Conducted regular security audits to identify control gaps and strengthen governance practices.
- Analyzed security incidents to identify underlying vulnerabilities and improve defensive controls.
- Monitored and triaged security alerts, ensuring timely escalation and resolution in line with response SLAs.
Information Security Intern
Mass General Brigham
06.2023 - 09.2025
- Monitored vulnerabilities across 700,000+ enterprise assets, driving timely remediation efforts and strengthening overall security posture.
- Remediated 300+ actively exploited CVEs, directly reducing high-risk exposures and supporting enterprise-wide compliance goals.
- Partnered with asset owners and technical teams to improve remediation tracking efficiency by 25% through structured outreach and documentation.
- Authored remediation reports and supported GRC policy updates in Archer, ensuring accurate governance records.
- Built and deployed an AI-powered chat-bot for internal document retrieval and policy support, reducing manual search time by 40%.
- Resolved Tier 3 ServiceNow tickets involving device encryption, secure offboarding, and system transfers, ensuring compliance and data integrity.
- Supported secure operations across Windows, Linux, macOS, Cisco AnyConnect, and M365 environments.
IT Support and Front Desk Admin
AFC Urgent Care
07.2024 - 08.2025
- Delivered front-line technical support for 20+ staff across two locations, ensuring consistent uptime for desktops, laptops, printers, and scanners.
- Maintained confidentiality of 7,000+ patient records by strictly enforcing HIPAA compliance in all IT processes.
- Implemented secure registration service with Solv Health that streamlined patient registration and EMR integration by efficiently reducing the time to process records.
- Processed dozens of daily patient payments securely in alignment with PCI-DSS, mitigating risk of data exposure.
- Coordinated IT solutions with clinic leadership to streamline workflows and reduce downtime by 15%.
Maintenance Project Manager
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
03.2019 - 07.2024
- Directed a team of 26+ staff to set up and break down events serving up to 40,000 attendees, ensuring seamless execution of high-profile functions.
- Oversaw logistics for 100+ large-scale events, consistently meeting safety and quality standards under tight deadlines.
- Resolved operational issues in real time, improving event satisfaction scores and maintaining a 98% on-time completion rate.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Cybersecurity
Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH12-2025
Skills
- Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC):
- HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR, SOC 2, SOX ITGC, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HITRUST, NIST 800-53, CIS Controls, Identity & Access Management (IAM), OSI Model, Vanta
- Security & IT Tools:
- CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Bitdefender GravityZone, Wazuh, SuperOps, Axonius, Archer, Splunk, ServiceNow, Jamf, Intune, Guardz, Entra ID
- Operating Systems & Platforms:
- Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux
- Scripting & Automation:
- Python, PowerShell, Bash, Agentic AI Agent Development
Accomplishments
- Achieved SOC 2 compliance by introducing endpoint protection and device management for enterprise assets for multiple clients
- Achieved standardized and normalized data hygiene through leveraging scripting and automation to reduce manual workload by 30% and streamline several workflows
- Designed and built a SIEM solution from the ground up with custom rulesets for accurate alerting.
Certification
- CompTIA A+
- Wazuh Certificate for Security Engineers
LANGUAGES
English and Spanish
Timeline
Security Engineer
Cyber Guard Pro
09.2025 - Current
IT Support and Front Desk Admin
AFC Urgent Care
07.2024 - 08.2025
Information Security Intern
Mass General Brigham
06.2023 - 09.2025
Maintenance Project Manager
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
03.2019 - 07.2024
Bachelor of Science - Cybersecurity
Southern New Hampshire University