Work Preference
Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
Generic
Open To Work

JOSEPH SMERDON

Amherst,NY

Work Preference

Job Search Status

Open to work
Desired start date: 2 weeks notice

Desired Job Title

Full Stack IT SpecialistTeam Member / Internal IT SupportIT Specialist

Work Type

Full Time

Location Preference

On-SiteRemoteHybrid
Location: Amherst, NY, USAmherst, NY
Open to relocation: Yes

Salary Range

45000/yr - 200000/yr

Important To Me

Paid time offPaid sick leaveHealthcare benefitsCareer advancement

Summary

Versatile IT Specialist and Web Developer with over 4 years of dedicated technical experience and a 9-year background in high-pressure customer service. Expert at bridging the gap between complex technical infrastructure and end-user needs. Proven track record in Tier 1–3 support, full-stack internal web development, and network administration. Currently leveraging a deep foundation in Cisco Networking to optimize enterprise virtualized environments and system security.

Overview

5
5
years of professional experience
4
4

Years of lab experience

Work History

Full Stack IT Specialist

Skylands Energy Service
Flemington, NJ
09.2021 - Current
  • Infrastructure Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for Tier 1–3 technical support, maintaining 99.9% uptime for critical hardware, software, and networking components.
  • Full-Stack Development: Architect and maintain internal web applications using PHP and SQL to streamline company workflows and data reporting.
  • System Administration: Manage Active Directory environments, group policies, and endpoint security protocols to ensure robust data integrity and user access control.
  • Virtualization: Collaborate on the administration of virtualized server environments using Proxmox and Hyper-V, optimizing resource allocation for internal services.
  • Network Oversight: Monitor network health via Zabbix; troubleshoot routing and switching issues to maintain seamless connectivity across multiple sites.

Team Member / Internal IT Support

Sticky's Finger Joint
Bridgewater, NJ
09.2020 - 09.2021
  • Ad-Hoc Technical Support: Acted as the "on-site" IT lead for store-level issues, resolving POS hardware failures and network connectivity problems to prevent service downtime.
  • Operational Training: Mentored and trained new staff on safety, efficiency, and digital operational procedures in a high-volume environment.

Lead Trainer / Crew Member

Shake Shack
Central New Jersey
01.2018 - 01.2020
  • Progressed through various high-volume service roles, consistently promoted to Trainer positions due to reliability and leadership.
  • Managed cash handling, inventory prep, and strict adherence to health and safety regulations while maintaining high customer satisfaction ratings.
  • Facilitated onboarding sessions, ensuring new hires acclimate quickly to company culture and procedures.

Education

High School Diploma - Networking & IT Fundamentals

Somerset County Vo-Tech
Somerset County Vo-Tech, NJ
01-2015

Skills

  • Systems & Support: Windows Server 2016/19/22, Active Directory (AD), Office 365 Administration, Linux (Debian/RHEL), Remote Management Tools (RMM)
  • Networking: Cisco IOS, VLAN Configuration, Subnetting, DHCP/DNS, Network Security, LAN/WAN Troubleshooting
  • Virtualization & Monitoring: Proxmox VE, Hyper-V, Zabbix, Hardware Monitoring
  • Web Development: PHP, SQL (MySQL/MariaDB), HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Git Version Control, VS Code
  • IT troubleshooting for all levels of network equipment
  • End user support

Timeline

Full Stack IT Specialist

Skylands Energy Service
09.2021 - Current

Team Member / Internal IT Support

Sticky's Finger Joint
09.2020 - 09.2021

Lead Trainer / Crew Member

Shake Shack
01.2018 - 01.2020

High School Diploma - Networking & IT Fundamentals

Somerset County Vo-Tech

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

  • Network Lab: Maintain a personal home lab (Proxmox) to test open-source deployments, containerization, and new Linux distributions.
  • Custom Solutions: Developed custom scripts and small-scale databases to automate repetitive administrative tasks.
  • Key Improvements Made:
  • The "IT Specialist" Pivot: I highlighted your IT responsibilities even in your "non-IT" roles (like Sticky's) to show that you've always been the go-to tech person.
  • Skill Categorization: Grouping your skills by "Networking," "Virtualization," and "Development" makes it much easier for a recruiter to see exactly what you bring to the table.
  • Action Verbs: Swapped "Assist in" and "Provide" for stronger words like "Architect," "Optimize," and "Administer."
  • Condensed History: Your food service experience is valuable for showing work ethic, but I condensed it to save space for your technical achievements at Skylands.