ANDREW STEPHENS

RELEVANT TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE

Self-Hosted Hybrid Environment - Independent Infrastructure Engineer (2008 - Present)

• Developed responsive websites and improved UI/UX for clients.
• Managed an enterprise-style UniFi network stack including UDM Pro, PoE+ switching, wireless access points, surveillance, and VoIP over symmetric gigabit fiber.
• Deployed and maintained Dockerized application stacks with persistent storage, service dependency management, upgrades, troubleshooting, and recovery workflows.
• Supported database-backed services using MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Redis across automation, CMS, document management, and monitoring platforms.
• Implemented secure remote access and service publishing through VPN, Unbound DNS, Traefik, Pangolin, Cloudflare DDNS, AdGuard Home, and CrowdSec.
• Established monitoring and uptime visibility with Netdata, Prometheus, and Uptime Kuma to improve service reliability and issue detection.
• Administered user-facing platforms including Paperless-ngx, ownCloud, Vaultwarden, Home Assistant, Plex, and OpenVSCode Server with attention to access, continuity, and maintainability.

Senior IT Support Specialist - Vanderbilt University (2001 - 2006)

• Delivered advanced technical support in regulated academic and medical environments, troubleshooting hardware, software, account, and systems issues while maintaining compliance with institutional standards and operational procedures.
• Supported end users across a broad range of enterprise technologies, resolving incidents involving desktops, laptops, printers, network connectivity, authentication, shared resources, and standard productivity platforms through in-person and remote support, maintaining 95%+ user satisfaction rating.
• Managed user accounts, permissions, and system access for faculty, staff, students, and affiliated users, helping maintain secure and appropriate access to institutional systems and services.
• Diagnosed and escalated complex technical issues across endpoint, infrastructure, and application layers, partnering with systems, networking, security, and application teams to restore service and reduce repeat incidents.
• Documented technical issues, resolutions, workflows, and support procedures to improve knowledge sharing, service consistency, and issue resolution efficiency.
• Provided customer-facing support in high-demand environments where uptime, responsiveness, data sensitivity, and clear communication were critical to academic, administrative, and clinical operations.
• Assisted with hardware deployment, workstation setup, software installation, system updates, and lifecycle support for end-user computing environments.
• Built a reputation for translating technical issues into clear user guidance while balancing service quality, urgency, and policy requirements.

Junior Systems Administrator - Vanderbilt University (2001 - 2002)

• Supported administration of academic IT systems and infrastructure, assisting with server operations, user account management, permissions, system maintenance, and general environment stability.
• Performed day-to-day systems administration tasks including provisioning accounts, supporting shared resources, troubleshooting service interruptions, and assisting with maintenance of institutional platforms.
• Helped manage server and workstation environments by supporting software deployment, updates, configuration changes, and troubleshooting across departmental and user-facing systems.
• Assisted in maintaining reliable access to academic technology resources by addressing authentication issues, file access problems, printing support, and network-related service requests.
• Monitored and resolved technical issues through structured troubleshooting, ticket-based workflows, and collaboration with senior IT staff and cross-functional technical teams.
• Contributed to documentation of support processes, technical configurations, and recurring solutions to improve operational continuity and onboarding of future team members.
• Developed a foundation in systems thinking, infrastructure support, and user-focused problem solving that continues to inform current work in virtualization, networking, cloud-connected services, and security-minded administration.
• Maintained fiscal oversight across $MM+ scopes, staffing, and deliverables, ensuring efficiency and profitability.

RECENT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Director, Retail Consultancy - Mars United Commerce (2024 - 2025)

• Developed strategic business plans and briefs to drive performance across shopper, media, and connected commerce in a fast-paced, deadline heavy environment.
• Directed full campaign lifecycle, from activation to recap, including programmatic and in-store.

Sr. Customer Success Manager - Trustly (2023 - 2024)

• Identify and drive data-centered performance improvements for Open Banking Payment Merchants.
• Led analysis and held QBR with Senior Executives, achieving 100% renewal rate.
• Served as the primary liaison between client business stakeholders and internal Technical Account Managers (TAM) to ensure successful product adoption, integration health, and long-term satisfaction.
• Collaborated with TAMs during onboarding and post-integration phases to monitor API-based payment integrations, identify root causes in transaction or authentication errors, and communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical client teams.
• Assisted in troubleshooting production issues by interpreting API call logs, request/response payloads, and error codes, then translating the results into actionable insights for clients and internal developers.
• Partnered with engineering and product teams to escalate and prioritize client-impacting issues, ensuring timely resolution and maintaining SLA compliance.
• Developed client-facing documentation and training materials that simplified complex integration workflows and enabled clients to self-solve common configuration challenges.
• Leveraged customer usage metrics, support trends, and feedback loops to proactively identify opportunities for optimization, retention, and cross-functional process improvement.

Account Director - The Wilson Group (2022 - 2023)

• Administered user accounts, permissions, email, cloud storage for a small SOHO agency.
• Supported secure and reliable daily operations in a Microsoft back-end environment on MacOS endpoints.
• Managed client relationships, project timelines, and deliverables across a portfolio of retail.

CERTIFICATIONS

• Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) - Expected 2026
• Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500) - Expected 2026
• AWS Solutions Architect Associate - Expected 2026
• RHSCA - Expected 2026

EDUCATION

• MBA, Masters of Arts Administration - University of Cincinnati (2007)
• Bachelors of Music - Vanderbilt University (2005)