Daniel Willis
Summary
Infrastructure engineer with 20+ years of hands-on engineering experience and 15 years of progressive growth at a single organization, advancing to Director of Cloud Operations. Career built on traditional datacenter foundations and evolved through hybrid environments and cloud migrations, with extensive expertise in network architecture, firewall management, systems administration, and cloud operations. Experience leading teams while remaining involved in automation, deployment pipelines, and cloud infrastructure. Pursuing remote roles where technical depth and operational leadership combine.
Qualifications
CloudAWS (VPC, EC2, S3, IAM, Route 53, RDS, DynamoDB, Backup), cloud-hosted Windows and Linux server deployment and administration, hybrid and multi-environment architecture
NetworkingNetwork architecture design, Cisco firewall, router, and switch configuration, firewall policy management, hybrid cloud connectivity
VirtualizationVMware vCenter / vSphere, Hyper-V, AWS EC2 virtualization
AutomationInfrastructure as Code (AWS CDK), Bash, Python, PowerShell
MonitoringGrafana, Prometheus, NodePing
MicrosoftMicrosoft 365 administration, Exchange Server (on-premises and hybrid), Active Directory, Windows Server
SoftwareVeeam, Backup Exec
AIOperational use of Amazon Q, AWS AI agent (custom deployment), Cursor, and Claude for development assistance and infrastructure automation
Employment History
Darwin (formerly Palm Coast Data) — Palm Coast, FL
2010 – 2026
Director of Cloud Operations | 2023 – Present
Led cloud operations and infrastructure strategy for a multi-account AWS organization, overseeing all cloud-hosted systems while maintaining hybrid connectivity to remaining on-premises infrastructure. Managed QA and afterhours support teams while continuing to serve as sole subject matter expert for legacy and transitional systems across the organization.
- Single-handedly architected and executed migration of 175+ on-premises datacenter systems to AWS EC2, consolidating to approximately 45 instances over two years
- Built and maintained site-to-site VPN connections between Cisco on-premises network and AWS cloud infrastructure
- Led infrastructure migrations for multiple acquired companies including PCS, PSA, KCK, Stamats, and DSB (UK and Germany), each provisioned as separate AWS member accounts within the organization
- Deployed and managed AWS CDK for infrastructure as code, streamlining provisioning and configuration
- Configured Exchange Online hybrid and migrated 100+ mailboxes from on-premises Exchange to Microsoft 365
- Implemented monitoring and observability stack using Grafana, Prometheus, and NodePing
- Utilized Amazon Q, AWS AI agents across member accounts, Cursor, and Claude for development assistance and infrastructure automation
Network Administrator | 2010 – 2023
Administration and maintenance of Windows, Exchange, and Linux servers, ESX hosts, and virtual machines. Managed backups and restores using BackupExec with offsite tape rotation. Coordinated support vendors for installation and upgrade of third-party applications including Avaya Contact Center, Aspect eWorkforce, and F5. Provided escalation support for helpdesk staff.
- Replaced Cisco ASA firewall pair with Cisco Firepower next-generation firewall pair
- Installed and configured Exchange 2013, migrating mailboxes and public folders from Exchange 2007
- Installed and configured Exchange 2007, migrating mailboxes and public folders from Exchange 2003 for remote Illinois office
- Implemented spam filter appliance in conjunction with cloud-based filtering layer
- Conducted offsite disaster recovery plan testing at Sungard facility in Philadelphia
- Developed PowerShell and Exchange Management Shell scripts to automate repetitive administrative tasks
- Deployed antivirus consoles across 100+ servers and 600+ workstations
City of Palm Coast — Palm Coast, FL
2006 – 2010
IT Specialist
Configured and maintained Cisco switches and routers for the city's municipal fiber optic network. Deployed and maintained virtual servers on VMware. Administered Windows servers and workstations including updates, group policy, backups, troubleshooting, and parts procurement. Coordinated third-party vendors performing infrastructure work for the city. Provided end-user support including account management, PC imaging, and hardware setup.
- Interconnected multiple enterprise sites across the city-owned fiber optic network, enabling reliable communication between departments
- Interconnected multiple FiberNET customers to the city-owned fiber optic network, expanding service coverage
- Established policy for the internal Track-It helpdesk system, standardizing ticket handling and improving response times
- Outfitted the City Emergency Operations Center with audio/video switching and display upgrades
- Configured IT training room with computers and projection equipment
Education
Daytona State College — Daytona Beach, FL
Bachelor of Science, Information Technology
Software Education of America — Brea, CA
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), 06/2000
Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), 02/2000
CompTIA
Network+ Certified Professional, 07/2004
A+ Certified Professional, 08/2004