Valerie Cook
Network Security Engineer
Pasadena,MD
Summary
Network engineering professional with two decades of experience enhancing enterprise security, optimizing cloud infrastructure. Transitioning with a background in electronic engineering and information systems I am now targeting opportunities in renewable energy, bringing a passion for innovation and sustainability.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
6
6
Certification
Work History
Senior Network Engineer/Customer Service Operations
R & C Enterprises Inc./TA GR&C Enterprises Inc.
Baltimore, MD
07.2020 - Current
- Freelance as a senior network engineer, showcasing expertise in electrical installations, deployments and wireless LAN controller’s |NIST standards.
- Abatement operations, performing full risk mitigation reduction standards in homes across the Baltimore Metropolitan area, adhering to M.D.E. and HUD guidelines.
- Exceptional work habits and customer service task/ technical skills have contributed to the company's growth.
- Zendesk cloud-based customer service.
Geospatial/Cloud Support Scientist
Earth Space Technology Services
Bowie, MD
09.2023 - 03.2024
- Strengthened NOAA Data Center’s infrastructure, accelerating data processing by 45% through advanced load balancing on F5.
- Diagnosed and mitigated network vulnerabilities across 10+ sites, ensuring 99.9% uptime with fore-sighted risk assessments.
- Configured VPN endpoints supporting 500+ users, eliminating unauthorized access attempts by 28%.
Senior Network Engineer
Marriott Global Property Team
Bethesda, MD
09.2022 - 03.2023
- Engineered resilient network architectures spanning 1,200+ properties, cutting downtime incidents by 40%.
- Deployed cloud-driven firewall policies securing $200M+ in global transactions, achieving full PCI-DSS compliance.
- Automated failover protocols using SD-WAN, reducing packet loss by 22% and enhancing connectivity speeds by 30%.
- Designed IPv6 transition strategies, ensuring seamless ISP collaboration across 50+ locations.
Security Network Engineer
MKNet Consulting
Los Angeles, CA
01.2020 - 02.2022
- Configured and hardened 500+ Cisco and Palo Alto firewalls, mitigating breach attempts by 90%.
- Enhanced disaster recovery frameworks, reducing mean time to recovery (MTTR) from 8 hours to less than 2 hours.
- Spearheaded a VPN overhaul serving 5,000+ remote employees, increasing connection reliability by 75%.
Education
B.Sc. - Computer Networks & Cybersecurity
University of Phoenix
AZ 03.2025 - Current
A.A.S. - Information Assurance & Cybersecurity
Anne Arundel Community College
MD05.2016
A.A.S. - Electronic Engineering Technology
Anne Arundel Community College
MD05.2011
Skills
- Intrusion prevention systems (IDS/IPS)
- Zero trust architecture
- Risk management strategies
- Virtual private networks (VPN)
- Cloud identity and access management (IAM)
- Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
- Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
- Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
- IPv4 and IPv6 networking
- Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
- Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN)
- F5 load balancing solutions
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Microsoft Azure cloud services
- Infrastructure as code with Terraform
- Palo Alto Prisma security
- Network monitoring tools (SolarWinds, Wireshark)
- Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA)
- Firepower Management Center (FMC)
- NetMRI network management
- Infoblox DNS solutions
- Checkpoint firewall technologies
- ServiceNow IT service management
- Zendesk customer support platform
Certification
- Cisco CCNA, 07/22
- Cisco CCNP ENCORE-ENARSI, 09/23
- CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701), 10/24
- Palo Alto PCNSE, 10/24
Core Skills And Competencies
Intrusion Prevention (IDS/IPS), Zero Trust, Risk Mitigation, VPN, Cloud IAM, BGP, OSPF, MPLS, IPv4/IPv6, Cisco ISE, SD-WAN, F5 Load Balancers, AWS, Azure, Terraform, Palo Alto Prisma, Network Monitoring (SolarWinds, Wireshark), Cisco ASA, ISE, Firepower FMC, NetMRI, Infoblox, Checkpoint Firewalls, ServiceNow, Zendesk
Timeline
B.Sc. - Computer Networks & Cybersecurity
University of Phoenix
03.2025 - Current
Geospatial/Cloud Support Scientist
Earth Space Technology Services
09.2023 - 03.2024
Senior Network Engineer
Marriott Global Property Team
09.2022 - 03.2023
Senior Network Engineer/Customer Service Operations
R & C Enterprises Inc./TA GR&C Enterprises Inc.
07.2020 - Current
Security Network Engineer
MKNet Consulting
01.2020 - 02.2022
A.A.S. - Information Assurance & Cybersecurity
Anne Arundel Community College
A.A.S. - Electronic Engineering Technology
Anne Arundel Community College