Bryan B. Merkley

Reliable Computer Engineer

🔗 linkedin.com/in/bryan-merkley/

Professional Summary

Securing Information Technologies with expertise in Cloud and Linux administration via shell prompt as well as internal web GUI development and optimization. Background includes working for a global cybersecurity firm, a provider of cloud-based Infrastructure-As-A-Service, and one of the 20 largest web hosting companies. Unique skills include flexible adaptation and effective communication about active cloud environmental health, with customer-facing sensitivity and terminology.

Technical Core

Shell Scripting (Bash, PHP, Python)
Cloud Administration
Linux (Alma, Ubuntu, Mint, RHEL, SUSE, Debian, Arch)
Database Management & Admin
White-glove Client Communication
System Administration
Network Administration
Load Balancing (Content Reliability)
JBOD Configurations (RAID 0,1,5,6)

Professional Experience

Trellix (previously FireEye)

Draper, Utah
April 2021 — Present

Staff Designated Support Engineer (DSE)

March 2023 – Present
  • Designated Support Contact for top-tier accounts with their on-premises and cloud appliances supplied by Trellix.
  • Continues all skills from the level 3 engineer role while working with the account team and customer Security Operations Center to navigate any and all issues as seen with a more personalized inside knowledge of the customer’s architecture and setup.

Staff Technical Support Engineer (L3 TSE)

April 2021 – February 2023
  • Utilizing Python, MQL, BASH, AWS, and Rundeck, provided quality stack monitoring, analysis, and modification.
  • Assist in managing bridges with customers and sustaining on-call support groups and executives as necessary.
  • Manage, track, and report on incidents using Salesforce.
  • Helped manage lab appliances, served on RMA Review board, taught beginner class on Network Packet Analysis with Wireshark, and participated in team meetings and team projects as assigned.

Site Operations Command Center Engineer (Contract)

Ancestry.com | Lehi, Utah
September 2020 — April 2021
  • Utilized AWS, New Relic, Rundeck, PagerDuty, Terraform, and BASH, provided quality stack monitoring, analysis, and modification.
  • Assist in managing bridges with on-call support groups and executives as necessary.
  • Manage, track, and report on incidents using ServiceNow.
  • Participate in team meetings and team projects as assigned.

Global Operations Center Engineer (Contract)

Adobe | Lehi, Utah
June 2020 — September 2020
  • Utilized VMWare Suite, BASH, ILO, Grafana, Nagios, and in-house monitoring tools to provide quality alert definitions and customer expectations.
  • Commanded war rooms while coordinating team involvement to keep maximum uptime for Adobe’s Digital Experience customer base and engineering staff.

Senior IT Operations Specialist

Virtustream - Dell Technologies | Draper, Utah
September 2016 — January 2020
  • Contractor until December 2018, then hired directly.
  • Utilized VMWare Suite, SaltStack, Zabbix Monitoring, and in-house monitoring systems (reading from Zabbix proxies) to provide white-glove monitoring and 2nd tier support for SAP specialized cloud environments within Virtustream.
  • Worked with on-call teams as needed to make sure the servers and networks are operating as expected.

Bluehost.com - EIG, Inc.

Orem, Utah
July 2014 — September 2016

Linux Server Professional (Jr. Server Administrator)

June 2015 – September 2016
  • Customer-oriented junior administration work.
  • Assisted the support department with inquiries about servers’ running services and the servers and their state of functionality.
  • Assured accounts and scripts acted as intended. Verified that configurations and services were operating as anticipated.
  • Verified hacks and suspended any offending accounts. Worked closely with the Data Center Admin Team to confirm major server issues and optimal-uptime resolution.

Scripter / Site Compatibility (SRE)

February 2015 – June 2015
  • Verified whether a customer’s issue was with the server configuration or the site’s scripting. Supported out-of-scope developmental support.
  • Verified hacks or other malicious codes. Worked with the Scripting Team to learn the different languages and Content Management Systems used on servers.
  • Specializing in Virtual and Barebone server hosting accounts.

Web Advisor - Senior Web Advisor (Tier 1 TSE)

July 2014 – February 2015
  • Maintained incoming chat requests from customers using basic accounts as well as the Virtual and Barebone server customers, to make sure they had the products and configurations as requested.

Senior Technician

Skinner Electronics | Layton, Utah
December 2010 — July 2014
  • Offered fix estimates with repair investment advice for out-of-warranty customers.
  • Supplied repair estimates, performed warranty work, and attended certification conferences for many large companies, including Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, and RCA.
  • Maintained workplace IT infrastructure, website, customer database, and backups.

Co-op Engineer

L-3 Communications Systems West | Salt Lake City, Utah
April 2008 — July 2010
  • Received Department of Defense clearance, as required for active projects.
  • Worked beside Electrical Engineers on product testing and quality assurance.
  • Utilized networking (RF and wired) and video encoding knowledge to enhance board and system test procedures.

Certifications

  • CompTIA Security+ (Sept 2022)
  • CompTIA Network+ (July 2021)
  • CompTIA Linux+ (March 2016)
  • CompTIA A+ (April 2007)
  • LPI-Certification 2 (August 2016)
  • LPI Linux Essentials & LPI-Certification 1 (March 2016)
  • SUSE Certified Server Administrator (March 2016)
  • DoD Government Clearance (Issued 2008)
  • CCNA Certification (Nov 2007 - Nov 2010)
  • Dell Tier 2 Certified Technician (Feb 2007 & Aug 2010)

Education

Western Governors University

Bachelor of Science, Cloud and Network Engineering - AWS 2025 - Present | Salt Lake City, Utah

Key Courses: Network Analytics and Troubleshooting, Technical Communication, AI for IT Automation and Security, Python for IT Automation, and others.

University of Utah

Studied Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering Fall 2008 - Summer 2010 | Salt Lake City, Utah

Key Courses: Electrical Circuits, DC Circuit Theory, English Writing, and UNIX Systems.