System Online

JAMES SON

SENIOR NETWORK & SECURITY ENGINEER

Leveraging a hacker mindset to anticipate and mitigate threats. 20+ years building secure enterprise networks across Fortune 100 companies and federal agencies. Specializing in Zero Trust, network automation, and cloud security. Pursuing CCIE Enterprise, CCIE Security, and CISSP.

20+
Years Experience
35+
Certifications
1200+
Sites Managed
99.9%
Uptime SLA
$ whoami
Role: Senior Network Engineer
Clearance: Federal
Status: Active

$ certs --count
AWS: 5 | Azure: 5 | Cisco: 16
PAN: 3 | GCP: 2 | CompTIA: 3

$ skills --focus
Zero Trust | Automation | Cloud | SDN
CCIE Lab: In Progress

$
// 01 - Arsenal

Core Competencies

Full-stack network engineering from data center fabric to cloud-native security.

Network Security

Zero Trust architecture, micro-segmentation, multi-vendor firewall policy, VPN engineering, and vulnerability assessment.

Palo AltoCheckpointCisco FTD/ASAAlgoSecZscalerCyberArk

Data Center & Routing

ACI fabric, VXLAN with BGP EVPN, SDN, MPLS, and enterprise routing across multi-site data centers.

ACIVXLANBGPOSPFEIGRPMPLSNexusSD-WAN

Identity & Access

802.1X deployment, RADIUS/TACACS policy, certificate lifecycle management, and identity-based segmentation.

Cisco ISEClearPass802.1XTACACSRADIUSPKI

Cloud & DevOps

Multi-cloud architecture, infrastructure as code, hybrid integration, and cloud security across AWS, Azure, GCP.

AWSAzureGCPTerraformAnsibleDocker

Automation & Dev

Custom network automation tools, API integration, web apps for reporting, and scripted deployments.

PythonGoJavaFlaskDjangoNode.jsNetmiko

Monitoring & SIEM

Log forwarding, SNMP monitoring, SIEM integration, incident response, and AI-enhanced threat detection.

SolarWindsWazuhSentinelGuardDutyExabeamNew Relic
// 02 - Credentials

Certifications

35+ active certifications across Cisco, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Palo Alto, and more.

CISCO 16 CERTS
  • CCNP Enterprise
  • CCNP Security
  • CCNP Data Center
  • CCNP Service Provider
  • DevNet Professional
  • Specialist - ACI Implementation
  • Specialist - Enterprise SD-WAN
  • Specialist - Security Identity Mgmt
  • Specialist - DC Automation
  • CCIE Enterprise & Security (In Progress)
AWS 5 CERTS
  • Solutions Architect - Professional
  • DevOps Engineer - Professional
  • Security - Specialty
  • Advanced Networking - Specialty
  • Solutions Architect - Associate
MICROSOFT AZURE 5 CERTS
  • Cybersecurity Architect - Expert
  • Solutions Architect - Expert
  • DevOps Engineer - Expert
  • Security Engineer - Associate
  • Administrator - Associate
SECURITY & OTHER 9 CERTS
  • Palo Alto PCNSE
  • PA Security Automation Engineer
  • Checkpoint CCSE R81
  • Certified Ethical Hacker
  • CompTIA Security+ / PenTest+
  • GCP Professional Architect
  • GCP Professional Network Engineer
  • CISSP (In Progress)
// 03 - Career

Professional Experience

Two decades across federal, Fortune 100, ISP, and government environments.

JULY 2023 - PRESENT

Senior Network Engineer

AccelerED - University of Maryland Global Campus
Adelphi, MD
  • Redesigned BGP ISP from single to dual multi-home architecture
  • Lead engineer for Cisco ISE deployment with Zero Trust model
  • Building custom reporting apps using vendor APIs
CiscoPalo AltoISEBGPPythonTerraformAWS
JAN - JULY 2023

Senior Network Engineer II - DC Migration Lead

TEKsystems - Maxim Health
Columbia, MD
  • Led full data center migration with minimal downtime
  • Deployed ACI multisite for VMotion hot migration
  • Replaced Cisco FMC with Palo Alto firewall platform
ACIPalo AltoAnsibleGoSilver PeakMeraki
NOV 2019 - FEB 2023

Senior Network Engineer V

SAIC - Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Vienna, VA
  • Implemented Zero Trust with micro-segmentation
  • Managed Zscaler, CyberArk, two-tier domain systems
  • AWS/Azure hybrid cloud engineering
Zero TrustZscalerCyberArkAWSAzureAlgoSec
JAN - NOV 2019

Senior Network Engineer

TEKsystems - Exelon (Fortune 100)
Baltimore, MD
  • Built next-gen networks for Fortune 100 energy company
  • Deployed micro-segmentation and ClearPass/ISE auth
CheckpointDCNMClearPassISE
2011 - 2019

Network Engineer

Northrop Grumman - Social Security Administration
Baltimore, MD - 1,200+ Field Offices
  • Enterprise network for 1,200+ offices nationwide
  • Led QA for all network device configurations
MPLSBGPEIGRPCatalystNexus
2007 - 2011

IT Manager

Compliance LP - Washington, D.C.
  • Multi-site VPN, VMware/Hyper-V, Exchange, SAN storage
2005 - 2006

Tier 3 Systems Engineer

InterAmerican - U.S. Congress
  • SQL Server administration and custom reporting
// 04 - Lab

Projects

Live

Cloud Homelab - Oracle Free Tier

Full Docker stack: Nightscout, Home Assistant, UISP, Uptime Kuma behind WireGuard VPN with wildcard SSL via Cloudflare.

DockerWireGuardNPMOracle Cloud
Live

Network Automation Platform

Custom web apps for network reporting and automation using Python, Flask, and vendor APIs with SQL-backed dashboards.

PythonFlaskSQLAPI
Live

CGM Remote Monitor

Self-hosted Nightscout with Libre CGM data via Juggluco, integrated into Home Assistant for health dashboards.

NightscoutMongoDBHome Assistant
In Progress

AI-Enhanced Automation

Exploring AI/ML for network incident response, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation workflows.

AI/MLPythonAutomation
// 05 - Connect

Get in Touch

in

LinkedIn

james-t-son
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GitHub

labaccessnow
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Location

Maryland, USA