Raj Bansal

Motivated and accomplished IT professional with over 13 years of expertise in Windows-based system administration and hands-on experience in platform management as a senior system engineer. Excel in both technical execution and building strong relationships with stakeholders. Specialize in the Microsoft Server platform, VMware, endpoint management, patch/vulnerability management, and Microsoft management toolsets. Proven track record in delivering complex solutions, automating processes, and driving successful projects within government organizations. Adept at mentoring teams, fostering collaboration, and driving stakeholder engagement to achieve shared objectives. Proactive approach and commitment to continuous learning enable quick adaptation to evolving technologies, ensuring both personal and team growth.

Senior Systems Engineer

Department of Defence

AUG 2022 to Current

Adhering to Essential 8 Principles in DevSecOps, I am currently working as Senior Systems Engineer in DoD and oversee the EUC team operations. I investigate the new ways to enhance one of many operational standalone networks in MPI. I streamline the current processes and deliver the best possible ways.

• Engineer in the Department of Defence (DoD), in EUC team operations and enhancing standalone networks within the DICT. Streamlined processes to improve efficiency and deliver optimal solutions.
• Solely accountable for server, workstation, OS, and application patching in an air-gapped environment, ensuring compliance with Essential Eight maturity levels set by ASD and ACSC.
• Manage MECM infrastructure including device management, application packaging, SOE development, deployment, and task sequence builds.
• Management of Win10 and Server 2019 SOE and related tasks.
• Management of Exchange, AD, DNS, GPO, DHCP and RBACs.
• Management of virtual and physical server stack.
• Upgraded 2016 MS Exchange to 2019 MS Exchange.
• Lead the design, development, and integration of Tanium for endpoint management within an Agile environment, collaborating with vendors to align with STIG guidelines.
• Lead the deployment and Management of VMware Horizon VDI infrastructure, managing Gold Image, Horizon connection servers, and VMware DEM Manager.
• Responsible for developing, reviewing and maintaining documentation such as Build Guides, As-Built-As-Configured (ABAC), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and Design Documents (HDL/DLD).

Technical Specialist – Windows Services 

Australia Post

Feb 2022 to Aug 2022

Worked as a Technical Specialist in the Windows Services team, maintaining an enterprise fleet of 2500+ virtual and AWS servers with a focus on BAU and project delivery, which requires excellent stake holder management and a leader in improving service engagement and creating new Microsoft based solutions.

• Management of enterprise servers with a focus on BAU and stakeholder management.
• Handled server alerts, performed change and problem management, and managed high-priority incidents and escalations to ensure business continuity with minimal disruption.
• Delivered services for Windows Services project delivery, supporting environments from non-production through to final release.
• Focused on Windows core competencies, requirements gathering, providing feedback for design updates, and assisting with integration and BAU activities to facilitate application installation in the Australia Post environment.
• Management of Print and File server.

Senior Infrastructure Engineer – Project Services

Department of Defence

Aug 2021 to Feb 2022

Working part of Project Services Leidos Team to deliver key defence internal projects. Working closely with PMO office across the Australian Defence Force. Managing multiple, concurrent activities, understanding, and managing priorities, dependencies, and risks in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

• Managed project planning, scoping, implementation, and integration activities while providing technical guidance to ensure the successful deployment of large-scale services supporting critical Defence systems.
• Engineered complex systems and produced high-quality artifacts throughout the Systems Engineering lifecycle to meet Defence’s business-critical needs.
• Delivered key VMware and Windows upgrade projects, navigating critical risks and milestones.
• Led the infrastructure team in consolidation of 280 data centers into 11, which included OS upgrades to Windows Server 2019/2022.
• Contributed to the Defence One Technology Upgrade (D1TU) and ICT2271 as a senior systems engineer.
• Designed and deployed Windows servers using MECM/SCCM and built ESXi hosts via Auto Deploy on Cisco UCS hardware.
• Design, deploy and management of SQL database clusters.
• Developed Technical Execution Plans (TEP) to build, manage, and monitor project infrastructure based on architectural recommendations.
• Assisted Defence teams with application installation and configuration across multiple domains.
• Created testing documents (ABAC) and runbooks for the TiS and TSR processes with OGS support teams.
• Optimized engineering processes to minimize risks and achieve project outcomes while contributing to the architecture and system design phases.
• Worked closely with Defence and Leidos architecture and project teams to understand and deliver business and technical outcomes.
• Provided overarching system support for projects and organizational activities.

Senior System Engineer

Department of Defence

Nov 2018 to Aug 2021

Accountable for providing Business as Usual (BAU), after hours on-call support and project support to a large, multi-faceted and complex infrastructure of physical and virtual windows servers. Manage High Priority Incidents during BAU and after hours on call support. Virtualised physical servers on 32 sites and remediated 221 physical servers by regional server refresh.

• Maintained 99% system uptime while adhering to SLAs. Efficiently resolved incidents, minimizing business disruptions.
• Served as the escalation point for complex technical issues, conducting root cause analysis and providing rapid resolutions.
• Configured, administered, and maintained Windows Server environments (2012/2016/2019), handling updates and patch management.
• Management of infrastructure for Objective and SQL Databases.
• Delivered daily system health reports to management. Worked closely with leadership to optimize processes and improve efficiency.
• Designed and deployed new infrastructure for various projects with zero downtime.
• Liaising with stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted business operations.
• Supported the remediation team by deploying staging servers, aiding in the identification of redundant applications and securing critical IT infrastructure for Defence.
• Directed patching operations across multiple domains (DEV, TST, UAT, PROD) for the Department of Defence, leading a team of 12 and consistently achieving a 99% SLA target.
• Fostered strong relationships with third-party vendors and stakeholders, driving successful collaborations and solutions.
• Mentored and trained staff across multiple locations to build team capabilities.
• Authored and reviewed critical technical documents, including SOPs, Transition into Service (TIS) documents, and implementation plans, ensuring alignment with best practices.
• Managed HR functions for direct reports, including performance reviews, timesheets, and leave management, contributing to a positive and productive team environment.

ARCHITECTURE 

• Reverse engineering complex solutions and adapting existing systems to new business and technical requirements
• Automating manual processes to improve time and productivity efficiency
• Managing the ‘Cradle to Grave” lifecycle
• Architecture roadmap design, development and delivery

I.T. MANAGEMENT  

• à Managing and leading teams of I.T. focused staff, in the areas of infrastructure architecture, systems implementation / integration, I.T. project management, applications development and implementation, infrastructure migration projects, greenfield environment design and implementation.
• Leading various key projects; e.g.
• VMware Horizon VDI Deployment
• Tanium Deployment
• D1TU and ICT2271
• Regional Server Refresh
• Defence Extant Project
• Win 10 SOE upgrade
• Restack of ATO end users
• Staff workflow management / resourcing administration, including KPI development planning
• Training and developing staff with respect to I.T. skills and knowledge; this involves one on one mentoring and coaching, as well as facilitating group training sessions

• Bachelor of Information Technology: Central Queensland University, 2003
• Advanced Diploma in Engineering: Box Hill Institute of TAFE, 2000

• VMware Certified Professional 6 – Data Center Virtualization
• Microsoft MCSA Server 2016
• Nutanix Multi-Cloud Administration (NCP-MCI 5.15), 2020
• Microsoft Azure Administrator, 2020
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) V3 Foundation
• MCTS – Windows 7 | MCITP – Windows 7
• MCSE 2003
• Microsoft Azure Fundamentals, 2020
• Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) from (ISC)²
• Getting Started with Tanium, 2023 (Completed)
• VMware Carbon Black Endpoint Security Core, 2023 (Completed)
• VMware Carbon Black Plan and Deploy, 2023 (Completed)
• Tanium Essentials Vendor Training (Completed)
• Completed Defence Security and Risk Management course.

Currently pursuing:

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)