Maxwell Taul
Alton,IL
Summary
As an Automation and Site Reliability Engineer Engineer, I've leveraged my expertise in cloud computing and automation to streamline operations and enhance efficiency. I administer and automate on technologies such as Hashicorp Vault, Jenkins, Sonatype Nexus, RedHat Openshift, GitHub, SonarQube, and DataDog. I also develop and maintain automation scripts and tools using Python, Jenkins DSL/Groovy, PowerShell, Bash, and Ansible. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Cloud Computing from Western Governors University. I have years of experience in this role, and previously worked as a System Administrator I am passionate about applying my skills and knowledge to solve complex problems and improve processes.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Lead Automation Engineer, Engineering Enablement
Reinsurance Group of America, RGA
11.2025 - Current
- Act as a technical leader and SME for a team of 5+ Automation and Site Reliability Engineers on a 24/5 basis.
- Interface with adjacent development teams to determine requirements, issues, and provide ongoing development support.
- Administer on-call rotation and paging strategy for the team.
- Administer, architect, and automate technologies such as Hashicorp Vault, Jenkins, Nexus, Kubernetes (OpenShift), GitHub, GitGuardian, SonarQube, self-hosted Smee.io server and clients, DataDog, SolarWinds, and Docker.
- Develop and maintain automation scripts and tools using Python, Jenkins DSL/Groovy, PowerShell, Bash, and Ansible, to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.
- Utilize strong knowledge of Linux and Windows operating systems to provide administration and troubleshooting support.
- Apply active directory and LDAP concepts to manage RBAC and authentication systems effectively.
- Work closely with the development teams to ensure smooth deployment and operation of APIs written in Python, following industry standards, and leveraging different frameworks.
- Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins, AAP, and GitHub Actions, ensuring seamless delivery of software and services.
- Enhance observability using DataDog to maintain reliable operations.
- Participate in an on-call rotation to provide support and troubleshoot operational issues when necessary.
- Demonstrate a self-starter attitude, effectively balancing priorities and managing time.
- Maintain a well-organized approach and display a customer service mindset in all interactions.
- Apply agile practices, working in two-week sprints, and gather requirements to design and implement solutions with a holistic view of the company's context.
- Contribute to documentation efforts, writing in Confluence and creating informative readme files.
Sr. Automation Engineer, Engineering Enablement
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
10.2022 - 11.2025
- Administer and automate technologies such as Hashicorp Vault, Jenkins, Nexus, Kubernetes (OpenShift), GitHub, GitGuardian, SonarQube, self-hosted Smee.io server and clients, DataDog, SolarWinds, and Docker.
- Develop and maintain automation scripts and tools using Python, Jenkins DSL/Groovy, PowerShell, Bash, and Ansible, to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.
- Utilize strong knowledge of Linux and Windows operating systems to provide administration and troubleshooting support.
- Apply active directory and LDAP concepts to manage RBAC and authentication systems effectively.
- Work closely with the development teams to ensure smooth deployment and operation of APIs written in Python, following industry standards, and leveraging different frameworks.
- Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins, AAP, and GitHub Actions, ensuring seamless delivery of software and services.
- Enhance observability using DataDog to maintain reliable operations.
- Participate in an on-call rotation to provide support and troubleshoot operational issues when necessary.
- Demonstrate a self-starter attitude, effectively balancing priorities and managing time.
- Maintain a well-organized approach and display a customer service mindset in all interactions.
- Apply agile practices, working in two-week sprints, and gather requirements to design and implement solutions with a holistic view of the company's context.
- Contribute to documentation efforts, writing in Confluence and creating informative readme files.
Sr. BizOps Engineer - External Cloud
MasterCard
01.2021 - 01.2022
- Implement solutions to manage Azure/AWS infrastructure via code.
- Engage and improve the lifecycle of the Azure/AWS platform and platform services - from design to deployment, operation, and refinement.
- Scale systems sustainably through mechanisms like automation and evolve systems by pushing for changes that improve reliability and velocity.
- Support production 24/7 environment as part of a global team. Practice sustainable incident response and blameless postmortems.
- Release deployments that have suitably passed quality and security gateways.
- Debug, optimize code, and automate routine tasks.
- Engage in and improve the whole lifecycle of services-from inception and design, through deployment, operations, and refinement.
- Analyze ITSM activities of the platform and provide feedback loop to development teams on operational gaps or resiliency concerns.
- Support services before they go live through activities such as system design consulting, capacity planning and launch reviews.
- Maintain services once they are live by measuring and monitoring availability, latency, and overall system health.
- Scale systems sustainably through mechanisms like automation and evolve systems by pushing for changes that improve reliability and velocity.
- Support the application CI/CD pipeline for promoting software into higher environments through validation and operational gating, and lead MasterCard in DevOps automation and best practices.
- Practice sustainable incident response and blameless postmortems.
- Take a holistic approach to problem solving, by connecting the dots during a production event thru the various technology stack that makes up the platform, to optimize mean time to recover.
- Work with a global team spread across tech hubs in multiple geographies and time zones.
- Share knowledge and mentor junior resources.
System Administrator, Workstation Engineering
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Manage the Global Fleet of Windows and Mac Workstations, Terminal Servers, and printing devices.
- Automate PC patching and Software deployment with SCCM.
- Assist in the setup and deployment of AWS Workspaces for the organization.
- Manage Windows Intune and Autopilot Devices.
- Package and customize software installers for various business units using InstallAware.
- Participate in the planning and execution of infrastructure upgrades pertaining to Global end-user devices.
- Identify and remediate security vulnerabilities within the organization.
- Participate in maintenance windows.
- Manage and resolve escalations from regional support teams.
- Create training documents and meetings for the regional support teams to work as efficiently as possible.
- Interface with executive management other teams to determine needs and requirements for their end-user devices.
- Manage and implement Group Policy.
- Manage AD Organization and OU's.
Desktop Support Engineer
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
01.2019 - 01.2020
- Support the 1500+ device USA Windows PC environment.
- Maintain Workstation Windows and 3rd Party patch compliance and remediate as necessary.
- Troubleshoot the VOIP Phone Clients.
- Maintain and monitor the fleet of enterprise MFP's.
- Provision and administer employee mobile phones with an enterprise-grade MDM.
- Maintain a good working relationship with other business units, and apply feedback to grow the team.
- Travel to remote locations as necessary to support mergers and acquisitions.
- Assist in the migration from on-premise Exchange to Office 365.
- Automate processes such as patch remediation and PC fixes with Powershell.
- Work with vendors to find resolutions to software bugs and defects.
- Managed team video conferencing needs at workstations, in conference rooms and remotely.
- Documented all support incidents in tracking system.
NOC Service Technician
Acropolis Technology Group
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Provide expertise and recommendations to solve complex technical issues in addition to making recommendations for client issue resolution.
- Participate in both Acropolis in-house and client projects.
- Participate in both Acropolis in-house and client systems design.
- Assist in the design, recommendation, and support of both legacy and current client systems.
- Support all Client Software.
Computer Technician
Alton Community Unit School
01.2017 - 01.2017
IT Intern
01.2015 - 01.2017
Education
Bachelor of Science - BS - IT, Cloud Computing
Western Governors University
06.2021
Skills
- CI/CD administration and development
- Performance tuning
- Network troubleshooting
- Monitoring and Detection
- Incident Management
- Linux/Windows OS administration
- Strong Technical Leadership
- Technical Leadership
- Change Management
Websites
WEBSITE, PORTFOLIO AND PROFILES
www.linkedin.com/in/maxtaul
Timeline
Lead Automation Engineer, Engineering Enablement
Reinsurance Group of America, RGA
11.2025 - Current
Sr. Automation Engineer, Engineering Enablement
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
10.2022 - 11.2025
Sr. BizOps Engineer - External Cloud
MasterCard
01.2021 - 01.2022
System Administrator, Workstation Engineering
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
01.2020 - 01.2021
Desktop Support Engineer
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
01.2019 - 01.2020
NOC Service Technician
Acropolis Technology Group
01.2017 - 01.2019
Computer Technician
Alton Community Unit School
01.2017 - 01.2017
IT Intern
01.2015 - 01.2017
Bachelor of Science - BS - IT, Cloud Computing
Western Governors University