I'm an ICT Engineer who's worked remotely for over 14 years. This has taught me to use my initiative and acquire good communication skills even though working from a great distance at times. I am inquisitive and always yearning to tinker and learn new skills. It has also given me the experience to develop my problem solving skills without the need to physically be somewhere. I have over 22 years of experience in the IT field, especially in the area of web infrastructure.
Server
Networked Computing - BSc (Hons) with distinction (2004-2005)
Computing Support - Diploma with distinction (2002-2004)
06/2023 to present
My current responsibilities involve me providing Business IT Support to a Software Development company within the eyecare industry. I also support the Operations and Development teams in network-related troubleshooting and maintenance, especially with respects to networking, security and IAM in Azure and Linux environments. Most of my responsibilities relate to managing the network infrstructure (ranging from local hardware to VPNs and ExpressRoute) migrating from traditional networks to SDN's and SD-WAN technologies. I'm also actively involved in the InfoSec policies and IAM process, assisting with defining and developing it as the company grows and matures.
11/2007 to 06/2023
The role involved me acting as an IT support outsourcer to SMBs in Scotland. My primary tasks were to manage the security and support needs of a wide range of servers from Microsoft (AD/Exchange/MSSQL/RDS/Office365 & Azure) based to Linux servers based on the LAMP Stack, FreePBX & Nextcloud. I carried out network administration for a range of devices including Cisco, Ubiquiti, pfsense & Draytek equipment. Moreover, I was responsible for the infrastructure (hardware and software) and managed two technicians who carried out work on-site in cases when I was unable to do things remotely.
09/2014 to 02/2018
I managed 4 Linux-based web servers where I was responsible for maintaining security and performance of the web servers (Mixture of Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Apache, Nginx, MySQL, Mariadb, PHP, Solr, OpenVPN, Openswan & Git). I was regularly involved in migrating websites, keeping them up-to-date and ensuring that they remain secure. I also was required to do bash and python scripting of automated tasks on these servers.
02/2013 to 04/2013 (3 months)
The work experience was a part of demonstrating Finnish-language skills and experiencing Finnish workplace culture. Tasks included speaking to customers and assisting with implementation of a re-design of the store
This project required me to collaborate with a global network team who'd just decided to implement SD-WAN technologies from Cato and to connect our offices together spanning some 50+ offices from various divisions around the company. I was one of the first to implement ExpressRoute to the network, giving users direct access to development networks in Azure at low latency. I worked with stakeholders in both Finland, Germany and the US to share knowledge and expertise about how to deploy this for other locations.
As part of adding redundancy and resilience to web-services, I had implemented a redundant front-end reverse proxy using Nginx and K8's. This allowed the team to automate the provision of SSL certificates for clients, add resiliency and create more bandwidth and speed as traffic increased. Morever, it provided an additional layer of security, ensuring that no web servers were directly exposed to the web, ensuring that file permission attacks could not be performed.
I helped reverse-engineer, design and implement a turnstile entry system for a major US corporation at football stadiums across the UK. This involved understanding how their ticket management system worked and designing a new system so that we could scan ticket barcodes, understand if there was a positive response (or not) and doing actions based upon this. I was responsible for getting the SBC set up to be ready for use and ensuring it complied to IT security practises within the regions where the legislation applied.
I have been recently responsible for the full migration of all systems of a multi-million pound company, which involves their entire Windows infrastructure from Windows Server 2008/2012 to a full-2019 infrastructure. This involves their line-of-business apps, which is a multi-terabyte document management system, terminal server (for all users) whilst ensuring minimal downtime.
English: Mother tongue
Finnish: Spoken: A2.2, Listening: A2.2, Writing: A2.1
Category B Driving license (Finland)
Unit D2, Newark Road South, Glenrothes, Fife, KY7 4NS
e-mail: scott.grimsley@ncdscotland.com
gsm: +447866511252
Keilaniementie 1, 02150, Espoo
gsm: +358442628759