VMware vSphere and Proxmox VE assessment, host design, storage planning, high availability, backup alignment, and migration cutovers.
Consulting Systems Engineer
Infrastructure, security, and modernization engineering.
David Nicola designs, secures, and modernizes hybrid infrastructure across virtualization platforms, network security, distributed file services, cloud systems, and operational security workflows.
FortiGate policy review, segmentation, site connectivity, routing behavior, VPN/IPsec tunnels, logging, and failover validation.
Vulnerability validation, remediation tracking, identity controls, endpoint security, SIEM logging, DNS security, and evidence handling.
Capabilities
Infrastructure engineering with security depth.
Client-facing systems engineering across hybrid infrastructure, virtualization, network security, operational controls, cloud platforms, automation, and recovery planning.
Virtualization modernization
VMware vSphere and Proxmox VE architecture assessment, host design, storage behavior, high availability, backup compatibility, workload placement, and migration sequencing.
Network security architecture
Fortinet firewall policy, segmentation boundaries, site connectivity, routing paths, encrypted tunnels, high-availability behavior, logging, and traffic-flow validation.
Security operations delivery
Vulnerability management, security evidence, identity infrastructure, endpoint controls, SIEM logging, DNS security, email security, and remediation coordination.
Hybrid systems engineering
Linux and Windows servers, AWS and Azure infrastructure, distributed storage, resilient file services, backup architecture, automation, and self-hosted retrieval systems.
Selected work
Representative infrastructure and security projects.
Work examples from consulting systems engineering, infrastructure operations, network redesign, security liaison responsibilities, platform modernization, and self-hosted retrieval infrastructure.
01
Modernization
Virtualization redesign and migration planning
Designed modernization paths for VMware vSphere and Proxmox VE environments across compute, storage, networking, backups, recovery priorities, and cutover execution.
Scope
- Assessed host state, storage paths, workload dependencies, backup relationships, and network bindings.
- Defined migration sequencing, change-window steps, validation checkpoints, and rollback paths.
- Aligned high availability, storage behavior, backup design, and operational ownership before workload cutover.
Systems detail
- VMware vSphere, Proxmox VE, shared storage, server hardware, Linux workloads, Windows workloads, and backup platforms.
- Runbooks, dependency maps, recovery priority, post-cutover validation, and operations handoff.
02
Network security
Fortinet segmentation and site connectivity review
Reviewed firewall policy, segmentation boundaries, encrypted site connectivity, routing preference, and logging behavior to improve security posture and operational supportability.
Scope
- Reviewed rules, address objects, NAT behavior, routing paths, site tunnels, and failover behavior.
- Mapped application traffic needs to firewall policy and segmentation boundaries.
- Produced low-risk change paths with validation steps for infrastructure and security stakeholders.
Systems detail
- FortiGate, Fortinet logging and analysis, VPN/IPsec, SD-WAN, routing, segmentation, high availability, and traffic analysis.
- Cisco, Juniper, Meraki, MikroTik, Aruba, and multi-site hybrid connectivity exposure.
03
Security operations
Security liaison and vulnerability remediation workflows
Coordinated security requirements, evidence collection, risk review, scanner validation, remediation tracking, and operational follow-through across infrastructure and security teams.
Scope
- Validated vulnerability findings, separated real exposure from scanner noise, and prioritized remediation by operational risk.
- Coordinated evidence, control status, remediation ownership, and technical closure with infrastructure stakeholders.
- Supported identity, endpoint, logging, email-security, and DNS-security control workflows.
Systems detail
- Duo authentication proxies, Mimecast, DNS security, Carbon Black, Aurora, FortiAnalyzer, Active Directory, LDAP, PKI, and OpenID.
- Security review workflows, remediation evidence, operational risk, control validation, and stakeholder communication.
04
Data and recovery
Distributed file services, backup resilience, and recovery design
Supported migration and operational improvement of file-service platforms where user experience, permissions, performance, namespace behavior, backup strategy, and restore validation intersect.
Scope
- Supported legacy file-system migration into resilient distributed file-service patterns.
- Reviewed access patterns, latency-sensitive workloads, namespace behavior, permissions, and recovery requirements.
- Connected retention strategy to practical restore behavior and operational recovery procedures.
Systems detail
- Nasuni, Distributed File System namespaces, Windows servers, Linux servers, server hardware, backup platforms, and colocation environments.
- Recovery objectives, restore validation, file-service performance, permissions, and operations handoff.
05
Retrieval infrastructure
Self-hosted retrieval-augmented generation infrastructure
Built local document-retrieval workflows that connect model inference, document ingestion, embeddings, vector indexing, source grounding, latency, and data-control requirements.
Scope
- Built local model workflows with document ingestion, embeddings, vector database indexing, and retrieval pipelines.
- Evaluated local inference, hardware constraints, latency, data handling, and source-grounding behavior.
- Documented practical operating patterns for infrastructure teams maintaining retrieval-assisted systems.
Systems detail
- Ollama, Open WebUI, local models, vector databases, embeddings, document retrieval, Docker, Linux, Python, and automation.
- Data control, source attribution, retrieval quality, operational support boundaries, and governance-aware design.
Technical domains
Core engineering surface area.
Modernization systems
VMware vSphere, Proxmox VE, server hardware, shared storage, high availability design, operating system migrations, backup compatibility, monitoring, and change-window execution.
- Architecture assessment and migration-path definition.
- Workload dependency, recovery priority, and operational-risk mapping.
- Runbooks, rollback plans, and post-cutover validation checklists.
Network security systems
FortiGate, Fortinet security services, VPN/IPsec tunnels, SD-WAN, policy and object review, segmentation boundaries, routing behavior, firewall logging, and high-availability path analysis.
- Firewall policy intent mapped to actual traffic flow.
- Segmentation and tunnel behavior reviewed against application requirements.
- Routing, failover, and troubleshooting paths documented for operations.
Security operations systems
Vulnerability review, evidence coordination, endpoint detection, logging and monitoring, DNS security, identity controls, email security, and operational remediation workflows.
- Scanner findings validated and converted into actionable platform work.
- Security requirements translated into infrastructure implementation steps.
- Controls supported across identity, endpoint, email, logging, and DNS layers.
Cloud and retrieval systems
AWS, Azure, virtual private cloud design, hybrid connectivity, Terraform, AWS Cloud Development Kit, Ansible, Docker, Kubernetes, local models, embeddings, and retrieval pipelines.
- AWS and Azure networking, platform operations, and hybrid connectivity connected to on-premises infrastructure.
- Automation patterns for repeatable infrastructure work.
- Self-hosted retrieval workflows designed around data control, retrieval quality, source grounding, and operational support.
Resume
Consulting Systems Engineer focused on infrastructure, security, and hybrid systems.
Experience advising clients and securing, redesigning, and performance-tuning cloud, hybrid, and on-premises infrastructure. Eligible for U.S. Secret or Top Secret clearance.
Certifications
AWS Solutions Architect — Professional
AWS Solutions Architect — Associate
Cisco CCNP Security
Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate
Fortinet Public Cloud Security
Fortinet Network Security
Education
- M.S. Cyber Operations, University of Maryland Global Campus
- B.S. Computer Networks and Cyber Security, University of Maryland Global Campus
- B.S. Political Science, The Ohio State University
Experience
Professional infrastructure, network, and security roles.
June 2026 — Present
Consulting Systems Engineer
World Wide Technology
Client-facing systems engineering across virtualization modernization, infrastructure redesign, network security projects, migration planning, and operational-risk review.
July 2024 — June 2026
Infrastructure Engineer
IBP
Security liaison work, Fortinet network operations, vulnerability remediation, authentication proxies, email security, endpoint controls, SIEM logging, VMware administration, Nasuni/DFS migration, and Proxmox development workloads.
April 2022 — July 2024
Systems Engineer
Bresco Broadband
Legacy network redesign, DNS/core services, replication and failover, Azure and on-premises domain hardening, Linux databases, cloud networking, server migration, and vulnerability remediation procedures.
2020 — 2022
Network, implementation, and cyber QA roles
Chick-fil-A · L Brands · Huntington National Bank
Network implementation, endpoint and server support, firewall and device deployment, IAM testing, security-control validation, documentation, and technical troubleshooting.
Contact
Infrastructure, network security, cloud, and systems engineering.
Email, LinkedIn, and resume downloads are available below.