MICHAEL SMART
St. Petersburg
Summary
Innovative Computer and Information Systems Manager with proven experience in leading IT departments, managing complex projects from conception to implementation. Skilled in optimizing team dynamics, integrating new technologies, and developing strategies that significantly improve productivity. Demonstrated ability to enhance system operations and streamline workflow processes across various platforms, ensuring operational excellence and robust IT infrastructure support.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
IT Operations Manager
American Express
St. Petersburg
04.2012 - 07.2025
- Managed IT operations to ensure seamless service delivery across departments.
- Led cross-functional teams in implementing technology solutions for business needs.
- Oversaw system upgrades and maintenance to enhance operational efficiency.
- Developed and enforced IT policies to safeguard company data and resources.
- Coordinated incident response efforts to quickly resolve technical issues.
- Evaluated emerging technologies to support strategic goals of the organization.
- Collaborated with vendors to negotiate contracts and manage service agreements.
- Trained staff on new tools and systems to improve user adoption and proficiency.
- Ensured that all necessary backups were completed according to company policy.
- Established service level agreements with customers for IT services provided by the organization.
- Tracked technology trends in order to make recommendations on hardware and software purchases.
- Researched new technologies and products available in the market which could be beneficial for the organization.
- Assisted in the development of departmental budgets and managed expenditures within allocated budget limits.
- Created data backup processes and disaster recovery plans as needed.
- Participated in meetings with external stakeholders regarding IT projects or initiatives.
- Maintained inventory records of all IT assets such as computers, servers, networking equipment.
- Created detailed reports on IT operations activities and presented them to upper management.
- Reviewed system logs regularly to identify potential issues before they become critical problems.
- Partnered with other departments within the organization to ensure smooth functioning of IT operations.
- Monitored system performance, identified problems, and implemented corrective actions.
- Coordinated with vendors for troubleshooting issues related to hardware and software upgrades.
- Performed root cause analysis on incidents reported by users in order to identify underlying problem areas.
- Developed and implemented IT operations policies, procedures, and standards.
- Planned server maintenance schedules and monitored compliance with established guidelines.
- Provided technical support for users in resolving computer-related problems.
- Analyzed existing network infrastructure to identify areas needing improvement or upgrade.
- Conducted regular audits of user accounts and access privileges to ensure security compliance.
- Managed the installation of new hardware and software systems to ensure optimal performance.
- Developed training programs for end-users on usage of various software applications or systems.
- Maintained strong knowledge of applicable regulations to guarantee that designs, operations and IT systems met those requirements.
- Recommended hardware and software acquisitions to help users assess needs and justify equipment and services.
- Developed and maintained processes and technology roadmap to achieve business objectives.
- Kept project teams on-task with proactive control of budgets, schedules and scopes.
- Maintained close connection with project personnel to quickly identify and resolve problems.
- Identified and acted on opportunities to improve and update software and systems.
- Developed and implemented system lifecycle methodologies to produce systems of high quality.
- Analyzed workflows and established priorities for daily operations.
- Managed backup, user account and helpdesk systems.
- Met with users, vendors and technicians to determine computing requirements.
- Maintained knowledge of advances in information technology systems and applications.
- Evaluated organization's technology to recommend upgrades for hardware and software.
- Met with stakeholders to collaborate and resolve problems.
- Reviewed program plans to develop and coordinate activities.
- Controlled operational IT budget and expenditures within department parameters.
- Procured IT resources for strategic and operational computing requirements.
- Communicated relevance of organizational goals, policies and procedures to IT department staff.
- Assigned and reviewed work of IT project managers, systems analysts and developers.
- Developed data security and disaster recovery procedures.
- Assessed data processing proposals and requirements to determine project feasibility.
- Examined metrics and prepared IT project progress reports.
- Globally managed several satellite IT locations, maintaining secure and operational corporate infrastructure.
- Developed project metrics to follow system build-out progress.
- Created centralized management capability by integrating warehouse management software applications.
Lead Sr. Systems Engineer
American Express
St. Petersburg
07.2004 - 04.2012
- Designed system architectures to enhance operational efficiency at American Express.
- Led cross-functional teams in implementing technology solutions for business needs.
- Mentored junior engineers in best practices for system development and support.
- Evaluated and selected tools to optimize system performance and reliability.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to gather requirements for new system features.
- Conducted system testing and troubleshooting to ensure optimal functionality.
- Developed technical documentation for systems implemented within the organization.
- Facilitated training sessions to educate staff on new systems and technologies.
- Performed root cause analysis of problems, documented faults in tracking system and generated daily reports.
- Worked closely with other teams to ensure smooth operation of the overall IT infrastructure.
- Assisted with development of long-term strategic goals for systems engineering team in alignment with business objectives.
- Monitored system performance metrics such as disk space utilization, CPU usage, memory utilization, and network traffic.
- Assisted remote employees and made recommendations on handling system problems at home offices.
- Managed users' accounts in Active Directory services such as creating user accounts and resetting passwords.
- Provided status updates to keep upper management informed and to reach goals.
- Maintained documentation regarding all changes made to the server environment ensuring full compliance with corporate standards.
- Performed daily maintenance tasks for the upkeep of server systems including backups and system health checks.
- Provided exemplary helpdesk service and support to assist customers.
- Streamlined production operations, resulting in increase in productivity.
- Developed and implemented system security policies, procedures and best practices.
- Advised on project costs, concepts or design changes.
- Provided technical guidance for system development and troubleshooting.
- Planned, implemented, and integrated updated system-oriented projects.
- Coordinated and enhanced existing databases and established new databases as part of initiative.
- Communicated with clients to understand system requirements.
- Administered application stacks and executed performance tuning to optimize session performance by eliminating performance bottlenecks.
- Verified stability, security and scalability of system architecture.
- Utilized Python to handle debugging and automation scripting tasks.
- Designed and conducted hardware or software systems testing.
- Recorded systems information and documented design specifications and installation instructions.
- Designed and delivered mission-critical infrastructure to maintain consistent availability and performance.
- Defined technical integration strategy and developed integration plans.
- Created systems for deployment by military in remote locations.
- Evaluated emerging technology factors around cost comparison, portability or usability.
- Developed system models using automated tools to analyze performance under various operating conditions.
Education
B.S. - Computer Science
University of South Florida
05.2014
A.S. - I.T. Security
St. Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL05.2010
Skills
- IT operations management
- System upgrades
- Disaster recovery planning
- Policy development
- Incident response coordination
- Vendor management
- Team collaboration
- Technology evaluation
- Budget management
- Service level agreements
- Problem solving
- Effective communication
- Technical training
- Analytical thinking
- Project monitoring
- IT risk management
- Stakeholder communication
- Capacity planning
- Database administration
- IT strategy development
- IT infrastructure management
- Incident management
- Data center management
- Enterprise architecture
- Business continuity planning
- Disaster recovery
- Technical support scheduling
- IT resource use
- IT procurement
- Application support
- Technical leadership
- Team development
- Technical onboarding design
- Change management
- IT infrastructure
- Documentation management
- Quality assurance
- Virtualization
- Business analysis
- Technical support oversight
- Digital solutions
- Technical troubleshooting
- Local access network planning
- IT asset management
- Mobile technologies
- Operating system management
- Documentation and reporting
- IT budgeting
- IT Project Lifecycle
- Team building
- Data privacy
- Business development support
- Multitasking capacity
- Infrastructure planning
- IT policy development
- Business process improvement
- Cloud computing
- Expense analysis
- Relationship building
- Technical support
- Teamwork
- IT service management
- Budget administration
- Excellent communication
- Network administration
- IT compliance
Timeline
IT Operations Manager
American Express
04.2012 - 07.2025
Lead Sr. Systems Engineer
American Express
07.2004 - 04.2012
B.S. - Computer Science
University of South Florida
A.S. - I.T. Security
St. Petersburg College