Shannon J

Senior Systems Administrator

Apr 2022 - Present • 4 yrs 1 mo

Since April 2022, I have served as Senior Systems Administrator at Penn State University's College of Information Sciences and Technology, returning to hands-on infrastructure work after nearly a decade in IT leadership. I manage a broad enterprise infrastructure spanning Linux servers (RHEL 9/10, Ubuntu), VMware ESXi virtualization, storage, networking, and endpoint management across Linux and macOS environments. Key accomplishments include deploying and managing a multi-platform endpoint security stack including SentinelOne EDR, BigFix, and Jamf Pro; integrating Linux systems with Active Directory via Kerberos and SSSD; automating server provisioning and configuration workflows using Bash and PowerShell; and leading CVE remediation efforts across the server and endpoint fleet. Additional work includes managing Splunk SIEM infrastructure and forwarder deployments, implementing certificate lifecycle automation using ACME and Certbot with enterprise CA integration, supporting research computing by deploying Apptainer for containerized HPC workloads, and migrating web infrastructure to AWS with CloudFront and Lambda.

Assistant Director of IT

Nov 2013 - Apr 2022 • 8 yrs 5 mos

From November 2013 to April 2022, I served as Assistant Director of IT at Penn State University's College of Information Sciences and Technology, where I led the day-to-day operations of the IT Helpdesk and drove the unit's customer service strategy. Stepping into a leadership role after years on the technical side, I was responsible for hiring, supervising, and developing helpdesk staff, managing individual and team performance while creating growth opportunities for team members at every level. I designed and managed projects to continuously improve helpdesk operations and service delivery. Beyond leadership, I served as the ITIL process manager for Incident, Knowledge, Problem, Change, and Request Management, ensuring consistent and well-documented IT service delivery across the organization. I also provided Tier 2 systems administration support and Tier 3 escalation support for the helpdesk, bridging the gap between frontline support and deeper technical infrastructure work.

Lead Systems Administrator

Aug 2007 - Nov 2013 • 6 yrs 3 mos

From August 2007 to November 2013, I served as Lead Systems Administrator at Penn State University's College of Information Sciences and Technology, where I administered hundreds of Windows and Linux servers supporting the college's academic and research operations. Drawing on my experience at MNE, I took on full responsibility for enterprise storage infrastructure, managing hardware from EMC, NetApp, and Dell, and served as backup network administrator. My core service ownership spanned the full VMware ESX lifecycle from 3.0 through 6.0, Active Directory, Exchange 2003 through 2013, DHCP, DNS, Commvault backup, Mediasite 4.0 through 6.0, a Cisco-based physical security camera system, and a Virtual Hands-on-Labs environment supporting classroom and research needs.