Justin Smith's Profile

About

Hello! I’m Justin Smith. By day, I’m a Systems Engineer specializing in converged infrastructure and automation; by night, I’m an avid technologist and home-lab hobbyist.

I thrive on solving complex technical puzzles, whether it’s architecting enterprise-scale cloud environments or troubleshooting a niche issue in my lab. In a fast-paced industry, I make it a priority to stay at the cutting edge—experimenting with new tech and refining my craft. When I’m away from the screen, you’ll likely find me cycling, hiking, or exploring new trails.

Basic Information

Email:

justin@jwsmith.info

Address:

Denver, CO

Language:

Ansible, Bash, Powershell, PowerCLI

Work Experience

November 2024 - Present

Xcel Energy

VMware Converged IT Engineer

▶Administering and supporting VMware virtualization technologies, including VMware vSphere, vCenter Server, and ESXi, as well as products from vendors such as Dell and Cisco	▶Security patch management, ensuring timely identification, assessment, and deployment of patches to protect systems from vulnerabilities and maintain a secure IT environment	▶VMware, vCenter, SRM, vROPs, Software Defined Data Center (SDDC), VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).
▶Experienced in deploying and configuring VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), providing a unified, integrated platform for building and managing private and hybrid cloud environments	▶Documenting processes and following ITIL standards, ensuring adherence to best practices and effective change management within the organization	▶Provides technical expertise in analyzing requirements and recommending solutions, leveraging in-depth knowledge to guide decision-making and drive effective outcomes
▶Mentors other engineers to apply engineering background knowledge for project design, analysis, and project coordination of services or products.	▶24/7 365 day support including maintenance activities	▶Reviews and manages server logs, performs diagnostics
▶Incident management, conducting thorough problem investigations to identify root causes and implementing effective solutions for prevention and resolution	▶PowerCLI, bash, and ansible scripting

January 2021 - November 2024

Xcel Energy

VMware Converged Senior System Administrator

▶Administering and supporting VMware virtualization technologies, including VMware vSphere, vCenter Server, and ESXi, as well as products from vendors such as Dell and Cisco	▶Security patch management, ensuring timely identification, assessment, and deployment of patches to protect systems from vulnerabilities and maintain a secure IT environment	▶VMware, vCenter, SRM, vROPs, Software Defined Data Center (SDDC), VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF).
▶Experienced in deploying and configuring VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), providing a unified, integrated platform for building and managing private and hybrid cloud environments	▶Documenting processes and following ITIL standards, ensuring adherence to best practices and effective change management within the organization	▶Provides technical expertise in analyzing requirements and recommending solutions, leveraging in-depth knowledge to guide decision-making and drive effective outcomes
▶Mentors other engineers to apply engineering background knowledge for project design, analysis, and project coordination of services or products.	▶24/7 365 day support including maintenance activities	▶Reviews and manages server logs, performs diagnostics
▶Incident management, conducting thorough problem investigations to identify root causes and implementing effective solutions for prevention and resolution	▶PowerCLI, bash, and ansible scripting

January 2016 - 2021

Xcel Energy

Linux/Unix System Administrator

▶Support 1400 and growing Unix/Linux physical and VMware virtual environment	▶Create detailed documentation for change proces	▶Create knowledge base articles for troubleshooting
▶Suggest hardware configurations and provisioning resource	▶24/7 365 day support including maintenance activities	▶Reviews and manages server logs, performs diagnostic
▶Incident solutions and problem management investigation to solution

May 2014 - December 2016

Progressive Insurance

Systems Engineer

▶Provided support in office and remote agents	▶Administrate and troubleshot virtual machines within vSphere	▶Managed and maintained PC's/Laptops/Thin Clients/Virtual desktops throughout the organization
▶Automated common troubleshooting steps and tasks for physical and virtual equipment	▶Created document knowledge articles on operating systems as well as hundreds of applications	▶Installation, configuration, development, implementation, support and maintenance of complex operating systems, hardware components, and applications

July 2011 - May 2014

Georgia Southern University

Information Technology Specialist

▶Help Desk/End-User Support	▶Supported Mac OSX and Microsoft OS systems	▶Directed training and skills development with professors
▶Created knowledge articles including issues and solutions for other team members to use	▶Analyzed and deployed troubleshooting scripts saving specialist time	▶Collaborated with students and faculty to increase the educational experience

January 2013 - May 2013

Norfolk Southern

Distributed Systems Intern

▶Managed sharepoint pages including desiging infopath forms with complex workflows	▶Assisted Systems administrator in operational support of the AIX operating system	▶Managed security permissions of file systems on Unix, as well as exchange servers
▶Coordinating storage with SANs team, working with virtual operating systems(VIOS), Virtual SCSI, Virtual Fiber Channels	▶Worked with AIX systems, maintain and upkeep of test and production servers. Making regular backups, and creating shadow copies for testing to production