Nathan Kaufman
Kirkland,IL
Summary
Proven success in leading complex initiatives across IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, compliance, and digital transformation to build resilient, future-ready systems that enable sustainable growth. Committed to staying ahead of emerging technology to deliver lasting business value.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
5
5
Certificate
Work History
Director of IT
Epiq Design Solutions
09.2023 - 08.2025
- Completed divestiture 3 months ahead of schedule saving the company over $100,000 in fees to prior parent company for management and licensing.
- Developed CMMC and NIST compliance roadmap to implement Department of Defense requirements before Oct 2025 within 1 year using Azure GCC High.
- Led enterprise-wide cybersecurity awareness training, embedding a culture of security-first practices across departments.
- Mentored and developed IT staff, improving team capability, scalability, and readiness.
- Directed dual platform migrations for Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange to Microsoft 365 email for divested company and Head Quarters, executed with zero downtime, ensuring business continuity during a complex transition
Senior System Engineer
Northwest Community Healthcare
07.2022 - 09.2023
- Spearheaded modernization of infrastructure by migrating 750+ servers to Windows Server 2019, enhancing security compliance and minimizing operational risk.
- Optimized virtualization environments across 2,000+ servers, improving performance, scalability, and disaster recovery readiness.
- Partnered with clinical and IT teams to deliver seamless system upgrades, ensuring uninterrupted patient care.
- Maintained comprehensive documentation of server configurations and procedures, ensuring compliance with organizational standards and enabling smoother system audits.
Lead System Administrator (Contractor)
Franciscan Ministries
02.2022 - 05.2022
- Decommissioned outdated Exchange 2010 systems, reducing vulnerabilities and modernizing infrastructure.
- Designed and implemented proactive monitoring and patch management, significantly improving uptime and compliance.
- Built and delivered IT training programs that enhanced staff proficiency and operational efficiency.
- Managed multi-site Palo Alto firewalls and tunnelling between sites.
IT Manager
The McCrone Group
10.2020 - 02.2022
- Developed a multi-year cybersecurity roadmap to achieve CMMC compliance, aligning investments with organizational risk posture.
- Engineered a secure hybrid data transfer solution connecting on-prem lab systems with Azure GCC High, meeting strict compliance rules.
- Streamlined incident response processes, cutting resolution times and improving up time of mission-critical systems.
- Implemented compliance-driven badge printing solutions that protected confidential materials, reduced security risks, and ensured adherence to FDA and CMMC regulatory mandate.
- Piloted CMMC compliance initiatives by developing a comprehensive POA&M, SSP, budget, and multi-phase roadmap, positioning the organization to achieve full compliance by Q3 2024.
- Authored and standardized cybersecurity policies and procedures, ensuring alignment with NIST 800-171 controls and strengthening governance across day-to-day IT operations.
SENIOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
AAR Corp
09.2019 - 03.2020
- Partnered with the CISO to design and implement enterprise cybersecurity frameworks, aligning with NIST 800-53 controls to meet stringent DoD compliance requirements.
- Resolved a very complex Active Directory replication issues between multinational data centers.
- Collaborated with executives to assess compliance gaps, pinpointing critical applications on outdated hardware/software and aligning remediation strategies with NIST 800-53 compliance requirements.
- Implemented advanced monitoring tools to proactively identify network vulnerabilities, achieving substantial improvements in system reliability and uptime.
- Orchestrated cross-departmental workshops to align IT strategies, fostering teamwork and improving project outcomes across technical teams.
IT MANAGER
Riverside Insights / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
08.2015 - 09.2019
- Earned a promotion to IT Manager in under three years by delivering transformational IT projects, driving system modernization, and implementing sustainable improvements that supported a smooth business transition.
- Achieved $600,000 in cost savings by completing an early IT divestiture; built infrastructure, cybersecurity, and backup capabilities while leading cross-functional teams to ensure business continuity for a newly formed entity.
- Worked cross-functionally with DevOps to architect and launch Linux-based NGINX servers, ensuring high availability and resilience for enterprise web platforms.
- Migrated an 8.5 TB Oracle database to AWS ahead of schedule, delivering the project one month early, while significantly improving performance and scalability.
- Configured public DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to secure enterprise email communications, and ensure reliable deliverability.
- Designed and implemented a Postfix SMTP server on Linux as a workaround for an application limited to IP-only email delivery, successfully integrating with SendGrid to maintain secure, reliable customer messaging.
- Deployed a Microsoft SQL Always-On Availability Group in AWS across multiple Availability Zones, ensuring high availability, fault tolerance, and business continuity.
- Implemented automated backup and restore procedures for AWS servers using Cloud Protection Manager, strengthening disaster recovery readiness, and reducing data loss risk.
SENIOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
AHIMA
04.2014 - 08.2015
- Introduced standardized IT procedures for desktop imaging, network oversight, and Active Directory modifications, boosting team productivity and ensuring consistent, compliant operations.
- Managed the end-to-end VMware ESX upgrade project (v4.1 to v5.1) across three production servers, improving system performance and stability while delivering under tight time and cost constraints.
- Executed the migration of production servers from hosted Colo to an on-premises data center, coordinating with team members to ensure zero downtime, and uninterrupted business operations.
Education
Bachelor of Business Administration - Information Technology
Colorado Technical University
Colorado Springs, COSkills
- IT Strategy
- Enterprise Architecture
- Server Virtualization
- Cloud Infrastructure
- Cybersecurity and Compliance
- IT Budgeting
- IT Infrastructure
- Risk Management
- Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Azure and AWS
- Windows Server and Linux
- Divestitures and M&A Transitions
- Compliance Frameworks (CMMC, HIPAA, NIST)
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
- Team Leadership and Mentorship
- Business Analysis
- IT Service Management
Certification
- AWS Solutions Architect
- CCNA
- CompTIA A+
- Microsoft Certified Professional
Timeline
Director of IT
Epiq Design Solutions
09.2023 - 08.2025
Senior System Engineer
Northwest Community Healthcare
07.2022 - 09.2023
Lead System Administrator (Contractor)
Franciscan Ministries
02.2022 - 05.2022
IT Manager
The McCrone Group
10.2020 - 02.2022
SENIOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
AAR Corp
09.2019 - 03.2020
IT MANAGER
Riverside Insights / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
08.2015 - 09.2019
SENIOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR
AHIMA
04.2014 - 08.2015
Bachelor of Business Administration - Information Technology
Colorado Technical University
References
References available upon request.