~ ssh randy@randy-sykes.me

14+ years in infrastructure operations and automation engineering. Building toward cloud-native DevOps - automating what shouldn't be manual, instrumenting what shouldn't be invisible.

Python AWS Infrastructure Automation CI/CD ITIL 4 Certified AWS CCP Cloud Resume Challenge
Explore my work ↗
// work history
Experience
System Engineer
O'Reilly Auto Parts
Jun 2023 - Present · Remote
  • Designed and deployed company-wide NAC rollout across Meraki and Aruba switches with automated validation tooling.
  • Built internal web dashboards (Python) to manage MAC filters, verify consistency across servers, and validate large device lists - eliminating manual QA processes.
  • Developed CLI and web-based provisioning tools for new store deployments and switch onboarding into NAC auth.
  • Self-hosted and administered a personal GitLab instance on Linux, including OS-level configuration, service management, and CI/CD runner setup.
Python Meraki Aruba NAC Automation REST API Linux GitLab
Professional Network Design Engineer
AT&T
Sep 2019 - Jun 2023 · Austin, TX
  • Led network design for McDonald's enterprise (10,000+ locations), engineering the High Availability configuration now in active deployment.
  • Reduced template deployment time for 13k+ devices from weeks to a 2-day automated cycle via Python + Git pipeline.
  • Collaborated across engineering, ops, and customer success to reduce recurring incidents and drive documentation improvements.
Python Git Pipeline Automation HA Design Enterprise Scale
Specialist – Network Design Engineer+
AT&T
Feb 2018 - Sep 2019 · Austin, TX
  • Joined McDonald's account team and immediately contributed automation improvements, compressing deployment cycles from ~2 months (800 stores) to 6–8 weeks for 10,000+ stores.
  • Built and maintained Python-based tooling for template deployment, version control via Git, and operational validation.
Python Git Automation
NOC ITAC – Tier 2 Specialist, Network Control
AT&T
Jul 2015 - Feb 2018 · Austin, TX
  • Served as escalation point for Tier 1 NOC engineers, resolving complex installation and network issues across enterprise accounts including McDonald's, Hilton, and Marriott.
  • Identified and documented trending infrastructure issues, escalating systemic problems to engineering teams with full root-cause documentation.
  • Continued development and maintenance of internal automation tools, improving team efficiency and reducing manual support burden.
Tier 2 Support Automation Root Cause Analysis Documentation
Network Operations Engineer
AT&T
Jun 2012 - Jul 2015 · Austin, TX
  • Acted as technical lead for SuperClick — the team's highest-complexity installation type — providing remote support, testing, and acceptance for Wi-Fi and LAN deployments.
  • Mentored NOC team members and developed the NOC2 server configuration to streamline day-to-day operational activities.
  • Delivered enterprise-grade remote installation support across McDonald's, Hilton, and Marriott accounts.
Wi-Fi/LAN Mentoring Remote Support
// toolbox
Skills
Languages
Python JavaScript Node.js Java SQL Bash
Cloud & DevOps
REST APIs AWS CI/CD Terraform* GitHub Actions* S3 CloudFront*
Infrastructure
Network Access Control (NAC) Meraki Aruba VLAN HA Design
Web & Data
React HTML/CSS PostgreSQL MongoDB EJS
Linux & Version Control
Linux GitLab GitLab CI/CD Git

* actively building via Cloud Resume Challenge

// credentials
Certifications & Education
☁
AWS Certified Cloud PractitionerAmazon Web Services
⚙
ITIL 4 FoundationIT Service Management
◈
CompTIA Project+Project Management
B.S. Computer Software Engineering
Western Governors University
Jun 2023 - Dec 2026 (In Progress)
// cloud resume challenge
CRC Progress

The Cloud Resume Challenge by Forrest Brazeal is a hands-on DevOps portfolio project. Each step builds real AWS infrastructure that powers this page.

01
Certification
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
✓ complete
02
HTML Resume
Resume written in HTML — you're looking at it.
✓ complete
03
CSS Styling
Styled with custom CSS — no frameworks.
✓ complete
04
Static Website
Static site hosted on S3.
✓ complete
05
HTTPS
Served via CloudFront with SSL cert.
✓ complete
06
DNS
Point a custom domain at CloudFront.
✓ complete
07
JavaScript
As part of the page to count the number of visitors.
live: —
✓ complete
08
Database
Setup DynamoDB for keeping track of my visitor counter.
✓ complete
09
API
REST API via API Gateway connects frontend to Lambda service.
✓ complete
10
Python
For the Lambda service to for updating the database.
✓ complete
11
Tests
Tests for the python code.
✓ complete
12
Infrastructure as Code
All AWS resources defined as code — no ClickOps.
✓ complete
13
Source Control
Keep the website and code in a repository for CI/CD later.
✓ complete
14
CI/CD (Back end)
GitHub Actions auto-deploys on every push to main.
✓ complete
15
CI/CD (Front end)
GitHub Actions auto-deploys on every push to main.
✓ complete
16
Blog Post
Write up lessons learned and publish a walkthrough.
○ todo