Walter Figel
Anova
Long Valley,NJ
1
Certification
17
years of professional experience
Results-oriented IT leader with over 10 years managing IT operations and security for hybrid organizations. Led teams to reduce infrastructure incidents, improve SLA performance, and decrease operating costs. Manages identity and device solutions (Azure AD, Intune MDM) within ISO 27001 frameworks, driving enterprise rollouts like M365 Copilot and effectively translating technical needs into strategic business objectives.
Work History
IT Operations Manager
5 Years- Developed IT strategy and managed daily operations for five-person team supporting remote/hybrid, multi-location workforce, prioritizing tasks, nurturing talent, and achieving strategic and operational goals.
- Directed daily operations of enterprise IT infrastructure for 300+ remote, hybrid, and on-site users across global locations, maintaining reliability, security, and operational continuity.
- Led infrastructure initiatives from concept to completion, including migration of on-premises ERP systems to Microsoft Azure and rollout of Microsoft 365 collaboration tools (SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, O365 Groups), improving scalability, security, and disaster-recovery posture.
- Managed device lifecycle and endpoint management using Microsoft Intune (MDM), and led global deployment and support of Sophos firewalls, standardizing security and connectivity across all sites.
- Led cross-functional ISO 27001 project team to establish IT governance, creating core documentation, policies, and audit-ready processes aligned with regulatory requirements.
- Owned vendor and licensing strategy — negotiating SLAs, managing budget, and driving software rationalization and SaaS optimization that reduced IT operations costs by 15% while sustaining service quality.
- Led enterprise rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot across 300 users and departments, owning licensing, configuration, and stakeholder communication.
- Acted as the point of contact for AI strategy, evaluating Claude AI capabilities against business needs and presenting recommendations to leadership in clear, business-relevant terms.
Sr. Infrastructure Engineer
2 Years 4 Months- Led cloud modernization initiatives by architecting Azure environments and executing migrations from on-prem data centers, ensuring alignment with cloud best practices and operational resilience.
- Designed, deployed, and supported enterprise infrastructure across Azure, AWS, Windows/Linux, and VMware/Hyper-V, managing 100+ VMs and core storage, compute, and network components.
- Enhanced organization's cybersecurity posture by implementing ISO 27001-aligned policies, conducting vulnerability assessments, managing patch processes, and overseeing firewalls, VPNs, and load balancers.
- Streamlined operational efficiency through PowerShell automation and leadership in incident response, resulting in a 40% reduction in infrastructure-related incidents while developing documentation, diagrams, and SOPs to support team readiness and cross-training.
Sr. Infrastructure Engineer / Project Lead
5 Years 10 Months- Led 25+ infrastructure and modernization projects annually, including Office 365/Exchange Hybrid migrations, server and network deployments, SonicWALL installations, wireless network design, phone system rollouts, and Hyper-V/VMware implementations.
- Acted as both Account Manager and Systems Administrator for a 100+-employee construction/zoning firm, revamping AD/Exchange/Office 365 environments, consolidating vendor contracts, training power users, and reducing support ticket volume by 40%.
- Delivered Level 3 support and escalation services for 50+ clients, resolving complex issues across Active Directory, networking, virtualization, and outages; enhanced SLA compliance by 25% through root-cause analysis and cross-team coordination. Oversaw NOC operations for hosted servers, Datto backup appliances, and network infrastructure.
- Deployed and configured Arctic Wolf SOC-as-a-Service appliances to enhance client security posture.
Level 3 Systems Engineer / Field Engineer
6 Months- Delivered Level 3 sysadmin and NOC support for 40+ clients, managing Windows/VMware servers, Cisco/Fortinet network infrastructure, and hosted Exchange environments to ensure optimal system performance.
- Managed server, virtualization, and email migration projects, including vSphere datacenter environments and migrations to Intermedia Hosted Exchange, facilitating smooth transitions and minimizing downtime.
Technical Support Engineer / Support Technician Level II
3 Years- Administered MS Exchange, Active Directory, Windows/VMware servers, managing user accounts, permissions, replication for 20+ clients; executed VMware ESXi implementations and physical-to-virtual migrations, enhancing system reliability.
- Supported 1,000+ users at Sussex County Community College, contributing to IT infrastructure 5-year strategic plan to align technology with institutional goals.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
Skills
Azure Active Directory and Intune expertise
Proficient in Azure
AWS
and VMware
Cloud security
Governance and compliance oversight
IT compliance
Firewall management
Cloud automation
IT infrastructure management
IT budgeting
Business systems management
Microsoft 365 Copilot (deployment
administration
end-user enablement)
Claude AI
AI usage policy development
Certification
- CompTIA A+, Network+
- VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP)
- Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
- Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA: Office 365)
- Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA: Windows Server 2012)
- Certified SonicWall Security Professional (CSSP)
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
- IT Strategy, Roadmap & Governance — policies, documentation, and SOPs that scale with the organization
- Identity, Access & Device Management — Azure Active Directory, IAM, SSO/MFA, role-based access, Intune MDM, security & compliance (ISO 27001, NIST, SIEM)
- Multi-Location / Remote & Hybrid Team Leadership — 300+ users across global sites
- Vendor & Contract Management — SLA negotiation, licensing strategy, and budget ownership
- Executive-Level Communication — translating technical risk and tradeoffs for non-technical stakeholders
- Cloud & Infrastructure Modernization — Azure, AWS, VMware/Hyper-V, Windows/Linux
Timeline
IT Operations Manager
Anova
07.2021 - 07.2026Read More
Sr. Infrastructure Engineer
Anova
03.2019 - 07.2021Read More
Sr. Infrastructure Engineer / Project Lead
Link High Technologies
05.2013 - 03.2019Read More
Level 3 Systems Engineer / Field Engineer
CDI Managed Services
10.2012 - 04.2013Read More
Technical Support Engineer / Support Technician Level II
All-In-One Network Solutions
12.2009 - 12.2012Read More
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor of Science from Computer Science
Read More