Santha Kumar Govindan
Austin
Summary
Experienced Backup, Storage, and Cybersecurity Engineer with 20 years in deploying and securing enterprise data protection systems. Expertise includes architecting resilient backup solutions, optimizing storage performance, and implementing security measures for ransomware readiness and compliance. Focused on safeguarding digital assets in hybrid and multi-cloud environments while delivering scalable and cost-effective data protection strategies tailored to organizational needs.
Overview
1
1
Certification
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Backup & Recovery Cybersecurity Consultant
MERCK & CO
Austin, Texas, United States
02.2025 - Current
- Implemented and fine-tuned comprehensive backup and disaster recovery systems leveraging industry-leading technologies to strengthen organizational resilience and data integrity.
- Built HLD and LLD architectures and delivered POCs to ensure alignment with enterprise compliance RTO, RPO, and data protection strategies
- Overseeing cyber resilience including ransomware preparedness cyber vault integrations immutability threat scanning analytics and recovery validation across multiple platforms
- Managing large scale backup infrastructures through capacity planning performance tuning monitoring reporting upgrades and integrations with SIEM and ITSM platforms
- Managed large scale backup infrastructures through capacity planning, performance tuning, monitoring, reporting, and integrations with SIEM and ITSM platforms to enhance operational reliability
- Automating operational tasks and workflows using Bash scripting platform APIs and Ansible to improve efficiency and reduce manual processes
- Providing technical leadership for VMware, Oracle RMAN, SQL Server and AWS cloud data protection frameworks to ensure consistent governance across enterprise services
- Coordinating cross functional teams vendors and service owners to deliver stable scalable and cost optimized backup and storage services across global environments
- Facilitated collaboration among teams and service owners to improve project outcomes. to deliver stable scalable and cost optimized backup and storage services across global environments
Backup Storage Security Consultant
JPMORGAN CHASE
Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
07.2024 - 12.2024
- Conducted ongoing security vulnerability vendor reliability performance and risk assessments across Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Dell Data Domain platforms ensuring timely mitigation remediation and continuous improvement of the organization’s security posture.
- Enabled cyber resilient features and advanced security controls for government-aligned clients across 14 multi-site Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Data Domain environments, strengthening overall security posture.
- Developed and enforced security protocols and data protection policies for hybrid on premises and AWS infrastructures ensuring secure handling of sensitive data across Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Data Domain deployment.
- Performed detailed analysis and alignment with industry security frameworks such as ISO IEC 27001 NIST SP 800 53 and CIS Controls tailoring control requirements to Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Data Domain environments.
- Configured immutable protection architectures with intelligent data lock, encryption, retention lock, quorum validation, and secure retention workflows across Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Data Domain platforms to enhance data security.
- Specialized in platform hardening for Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Data Domain including ransomware defense threat hunting threat monitoring anomaly detection WORM lock and sensitive data discovery.
- Guided implementation of best practices for secondary storage redundancy and business continuity, ensuring Rubrik Cohesity Commvault and Data Domain environments achieved ISO IEC 27001 compliance for enhanced operational resilience.
Backup & Recovery Lead Engineer
MERCK & CO
Rahway, New Jersey, United States
06.2017 - 07.2024
- Led major ransomware cyber-attack recovery by restoring nearly 15000 servers including VMware Linux Windows and other systems and strengthened the environment with enhanced security controls to prevent future incidents
- Troubleshot large-scale performance issues across Commvault, Rubrik, NetBackup, Cohesity, Data Domain, and Hyperscale platforms using event notifications, monitoring tools, and logs, enhancing data transfer, storage utilization, and backup windows through targeted tuning, deduplication, and compression.
- Integrated Commvault, Rubrik, Cohesity, and NetBackup with enterprise tools including ServiceNow, Dynatrace, Splunk, Moong soft, HPE OneView, OpsCenter, Dell DDMC, DPA, Dell PPDM, NetApp, and Data Domain appliances, enabling automation through bash scripts, APIs, and self-service workflows.
- Integrated Commvault Rubrik Cohesity NetBackup with enterprise tools including ServiceNow Dynatrace Splunk Moong soft HPE OneView OpsCenter Dell DDMC DPA Dell PPDM NetApp and Data Domain appliances and enabled automation through bash scripts APIs and self-service workflows
- Reviewed and optimized Commvault, Rubrik, Cohesity, PPDM, and NetBackup configurations for SQL Server and Metallic Microsoft 365 applications, including Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, while upgrading libraries, firmware, hardware, and Data Domain, HPE, and Fujitsu gear.
- Reviewed and optimized Commvault Rubrik Cohesity PPDM and NetBackup configurations for SQL Server and Metallic Microsoft 365 including Exchange Teams SharePoint and OneDrive and upgraded libraries firmware hardware and Data Domain HPE and Fujitsu gear
- Performed continuous security vulnerability vendor reliability performance and risk assessments across Rubrik Cohesity Commvault Data Domain and other storage platforms and deployed cyber resilient features for government aligned clients across 14 environments
- Acted as solution architect running POCs to evaluate backup and storage products for immutability automation usability security scalability and recovery and delivered security hardening at software and hardware level plus documentation training SOPs KBs and deployment guides for teams and stakeholders
Backup & Recovery Lead Administrator
LEVIS STRAUSS
Chennai, India
06.2016 - 05.2017
- Installed and configured EMC Networker with Azure cloud integration, setting up backup jobs for Windows, Linux, VMware environments, along with EMC Data Domain and Avamar deployments for multi-platform server protection.
- Configured NDMP backups, Exchange module backups, and Oracle RMAN.
- Upgraded EMC Data Domain from versions 5.3 and 5.6 to 6.x, administering Data Domain, Networker, and Backup & Recovery operations with focus on tuning and lifecycle management.
- Upgraded NetBackup Enterprise Master and Media Servers from 7.6.0.4 to 7.6.1.1/7.6.1.2, upgraded OpsCenter, and administered Commvault Simpana V11 for 4000+ clients including installation and upgrades of V10 iDataAgents across UNIX, Windows, and database workloads.
- Led capacity planning sessions with vendors, built lab environments to validate new features, implemented deduplication and snapshot efficiency techniques, and conducted quarterly disaster recovery tests for critical applications.
Implementation Engineer
DELL EMC
Bangalore, India
02.2015 - 02.2016
- Contributed to EMC’s DPAD team by implementing EMC Networker, EMC Data Domain, and EMC Avamar across multiple client environments.
- Integrated Data Domain with Networker, NetBackup, and Commvault, creating and managing CIFS and NFS exports, expanding storage shelves, and configuring Data Domain as AFTD, disk libraries, and VTLs across multiple backup ecosystems.
- Performed installation and configuration of Networker, setting up backup clients for AIX, Linux, and Windows platforms, and conducted disaster recovery planning and testing across Unix, Linux, and ESX environments.
- Executed Networker cross-country migrations, upgrades, and design enhancements, enhancing performance, resilience, and backup architecture efficiency.
- Worked on Networker cross-country migrations, upgrades, and design enhancements to improve performance, resilience, and backup architecture efficiency.
Backup & Recovery
SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
Chennai, India
11.2007 - 01.2015
- Administered and maintained NetBackup 7.6.0.4 infrastructure, troubleshooting complex backup failures, library issues (IBM TS3500), and performing Master/Media server upgrades from V7.1 to 7.2, resulting in improved system availability and reduced failures.
- Configured and managed enterprise backup hardware including libraries, tapes, drives, Data Domain DD890 and DD7200 systems, ensuring reliable backup operations and promptly resolving storage-related issues across large environments.
- Managed a 20-server TSM environment integrated with StorageTek L700E, IBM 3584, and IBM 3494 libraries, leveraging strong SAN and Azure cloud fundamentals while supporting mixed backup ecosystems (Veritas 5.0/5.1 and Networker 7.4–7.6).
- Completed NetBackup POCs, validated backup reliability, provided end-to-end support for large enterprise backup environments, conducted RCA on failures, and improved operational efficiency across multi-platform backup solutions.
- Executed NetBackup POCs, validated backup reliability, and provided comprehensive support for large enterprise backup environments while conducting RCA on failures to enhance operational efficiency across multi-platform backup solutions.
Linux Technical Support Engineer
SELVIN COMPUTER
Chennai, India
06.2006 - 11.2007
- Created and maintained Linux/Unix file permissions, shell environments, and developed bash scripts to automate routine system administration tasks.
- Managed and monitored file systems, partitions, and disk utilization while troubleshooting performance issues across Solaris and Red Hat environments to ensure system reliability.
- Created and maintained Linux/Unix file permissions and shell environments; developed bash scripts to automate routine administrative tasks, enhancing operational efficiency.
- Executed core system operations, including booting, restarting, and shutting down systems, along with service management and health checks for Solaris 10 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems, ensuring optimal performance.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Electronics & Instrumentation
Anna University
India05-2006
Skills
- Commvault
- Dell Networker
- Veeam
- Cohesity
- Rubrik
- Dell Avamar
- Infrastructure Automation
- Dell Ddmc
- Hybrid Cloud
- Dell Ai-Ops
- Dell Power protect Data Manager
- Netbackup
- Netapp
- HPE Proliant & Apollo Servers
- Data libraries
- Disaster Recovery
- Cyber Recovery
- Cyber resilience
- Data Analytics
- Threat Scanning
- AWS Cloud
- AWS Backup
- Jira/Confluence
- Hyperscales
- Storageguard
- Oracle Rman/Sql/Vm
- Fortknox/Cybersense
- Cyberresilient
- Cybersecurity frameworks
- Identity Management
- Incident Response
- Compliance Standards
- Cloud Compliance
- Disaster recovery planning
Accomplishments
- Ransomware Response & Mobilization: Mobilized and led a high-performing task force of 30 cross-functional engineers to orchestrate the emergency disaster recovery strategy, establishing containment boundaries during a major corporate ransomware attack.
- Massive Rapid Restoration: Commanded the isolated cleanroom validation, recovery planning, and data sanitation pipeline to successfully restore 15,000 multi-platform virtual machines (Linux/Windows) and mission-critical databases within an aggressive 3-month window.
- Infrastructure Cyber Hardening: Post-recovery, systematically eliminated infrastructure vulnerabilities by architecting air-gapped cyber recovery vaults, implementing WORM immutable data locking, and introducing multi-factor quorum controls to permanently reinforce global storage security.
Certification
- Rubrik Certified Engineer
- Rubrik Certified System Administrator V9
- Rubrik Certified Cyber Resiliency Specialist
- Rubrik Certified Cloud Specialist
- Commvault Cyber Resilience Certification
- Commvault Professional Certified
- Cohesity Cyber Resilience Foundations
- Cohesity data protect associate certified.
- Symantec Technical Specialist – NetBackup 6.5 (UNIX)
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
- Sun Certified Solaris 10 System Administrator
- EMC Data Domain Implementation Certified
- EMC ISM Certified
- IBM DS-8000 High-End Disk for Open Systems V2
- IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler V8.5 Implementation
- NetApp NCDA Certification
- WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment v6.1
- ITIL 2011 Foundations Certified
Timeline
Backup & Recovery Cybersecurity Consultant
MERCK & CO
02.2025 - Current
Backup Storage Security Consultant
JPMORGAN CHASE
07.2024 - 12.2024
Backup & Recovery Lead Engineer
MERCK & CO
06.2017 - 07.2024
Backup & Recovery Lead Administrator
LEVIS STRAUSS
06.2016 - 05.2017
Implementation Engineer
DELL EMC
02.2015 - 02.2016
Backup & Recovery
SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
11.2007 - 01.2015
Linux Technical Support Engineer
SELVIN COMPUTER
06.2006 - 11.2007
Bachelor of Science - Electronics & Instrumentation
Anna University