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Jared
Needell

Senior Enterprise Systems & Automation Engineer
Cloud · IAM · SaaS Platform Operations · AI-Assisted Engineering

AWS Okta Terraform Google Workspace SSO / SCIM Python PowerShell Datadog GitHub Actions Claude · Copilot · Cursor
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About Me

Engineering that
reduces toil at scale

I'm an enterprise systems and automation engineer with 10+ years building and operating cloud platforms, identity infrastructure, and SaaS tooling at scale. My core drive is simple: find the manual work, automate it away, and leave systems more reliable than I found them.

At Rithum, I own the full stack of platform and identity operations — from multi-account AWS infrastructure and on-prem datacenter environments to Okta/Entra ID lifecycle automation, Google Workspace administration, and cross-functional SaaS integrations. I treat every repeated task as a bug to be fixed.

On the enterprise systems side, I've administered Google Workspace at scale (1,000+ user organizations) for over a decade — progressively automating provisioning through Admin SDK integrations, Python, and PowerShell rather than manual admin console work. I've administered Slack identity integrations and API-driven workflows including SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning via Okta, and HRIS attribute sync, and integrated the ADP Workforce Now API to eliminate HR-to-IT handoffs. When a product doesn't have native integration support, I build it with their API.

I use Claude, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor daily to write better code faster, generate runbooks, accelerate IaC development, and improve the quality and consistency of operational work across scripting, documentation, and troubleshooting.

AI-Assisted Engineering

AI is part of my actual engineering workflow — not a novelty. I use it for first-draft scripting, working through unfamiliar vendor APIs, log-based troubleshooting, and documentation. I've also built connected workflows where Claude has access to SSH, JIRA, Slack, email, and calendar — reducing context-switching and keeping operational work moving.

Claude GitHub Copilot Cursor Vendor API Integration Log Troubleshooting JIRA / Slack / SSH
Jared Needell
10+
Years Experience
Significant
IT Ticket Reduction
Reduced
Helpdesk Toil
AI
Daily Practitioner
Technical Skills

The stack I operate in

Deep expertise across cloud, identity, automation, and AI tooling — with a focus on service ownership and operational leverage.

☁️
Cloud & Platform Engineering
AWS EC2S3IAM LambdaEKSCloudFormation AzureKubernetes (infra)Docker VMwareNetAppPure Storage Rack & StackOn-prem Datacenter Multi-account
🔐
Identity & Access Management
OktaOkta Workflows Microsoft Entra IDActive Directory SAMLSCIMSSO RBACGPODUO 2FA MFA / Passwordless Conditional Access ConductorOne (IGA) Access ReviewsLeast Privilege Identity GovernanceLifecycle Automation Okta → Entra ID Migration
🏢
Enterprise Systems & SaaS
Google Workspace AdminAdmin SDK Google Vault Slack APISlack Bot Development ChatOps JIRA AutomationBoomi (iPaaS) NetSuiteREST APIs Webhook IntegrationsService Ownership Internal Tooling
📦
Infrastructure as Code
TerraformCloudFormation AnsibleGitHub Actions CI/CD PipelinesIaC Modules Deployment Automation
⚡
Automation & Scripting
PythonPowerShell BashREST API Integration AWXJenkins API ADP Workforce Now APIConductorOne API Event-driven Automation Runbook Automation Workflow Orchestration
📊
Observability & Incident Response
DatadogSplunk ExtraHopAlerting Pipelines MTTD/MTTRIncident Triage Post-Incident Review
🤖
AI-Assisted Engineering
ClaudeGitHub Copilot CursorRunbook Generation IaC Acceleration Prompt Engineering Documentation Automation
Experience

Where I've built things

Senior Platform & Infrastructure Engineer
Rithum
Feb 2015 — Present
Holly Springs, NC
Platform Ownership & Automation
  • Owned and operated AWS infrastructure across multi-account environments, establishing reusable Terraform IaC modules that standardized deployment patterns across engineering teams.
  • Eliminated manual deployment toil by building GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines enabling consistent, auditable infrastructure releases with minimal human intervention. Use AWX and Jenkins to orchestrate scheduled automation pipelines — backups, garbage collection, storage tasks, and operational jobs — including API-driven automation against Pure Storage and other platform SDKs.
  • Built and maintained infrastructure supporting hybrid Kubernetes (EKS) and VMware environments — including underlying hardware provisioning, rack/stack, and on-prem datacenter work. Actively involved in administration of VMware, NetApp, and Pure Storage infrastructure 1–2x per month, including storage automation via the Pure Storage API.
Identity & Access Management
  • Served as company-wide Okta owner — built and maintained SAML app integrations for internal systems, enforced RBAC policies, integrated DUO 2FA, and owned the full SSO/SCIM provisioning stack.
  • Led enterprise identity migration from Okta to Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) — including SAML app re-configuration, user lifecycle continuity, and zero-downtime cutover planning.
  • Deployed ConductorOne for Identity Governance & Administration (IGA) — used the ConductorOne API with custom scripting to build an IaC-style approach to managing and versioning IGA resources, enabling self-service access to privileged systems. Significantly reduced IT ticket volume from Engineering teams and saved substantial helpdesk labor annually.
  • Automated user lifecycle workflows (joiner/mover/leaver) using Okta API + Python/PowerShell, meaningfully reducing manual helpdesk workload and improving audit traceability through automated, traceable lifecycle events.
  • Managed enterprise Active Directory (DSA, GPO, DHCP, DNS) as the ongoing Windows AD administrator — maintaining group policy, OU structure, DNS/DHCP services, and user/computer objects while progressively integrating cloud identity alongside on-prem AD. Conducted periodic access reviews, enforced least-privilege principles, and maintained audit-ready documentation for compliance and security reviews.
Enterprise Systems & SaaS Operations
  • Administered Google Workspace across 1,000+ user environments for 10+ years — progressively automating user lifecycle, mailbox, and group management through Okta/Entra ID, Admin SDK integrations, and Python/PowerShell scripting orchestrated via AWX and Jenkins. Shifted provisioning from manual IT tickets to event-driven automation, improving audit traceability and eliminating provisioning lag.
  • Supported multiple audit cycles as the Google Workspace technical SME — partnering with Legal and compliance stakeholders to configure retention rules, Vault policies, and eDiscovery workflows for regulatory requirements, litigation readiness, and discovery requests.
  • Administered Slack identity integrations and automation workflows — configured SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning via Okta, automated HRIS-to-Slack attribute sync for user and group assignment, and built event-driven ChatOps workflows via the Slack API.
  • Built PowerShell middleware bridging Active Directory with Google Workspace and Slack — reading AD attributes, transforming data, and pushing role assignments and group memberships to both platforms via API. Anything requiring more than one admin console change became a candidate for automation.
  • Built custom Slack bots integrating the Slack API with JIRA Automation and AWS — enabling event-driven deployment notifications and change release workflows for Platform Engineering, replacing manual team handoffs with automated in-channel triggers.
  • Designed and implemented ADP Workforce Now API integration with SCCM and Active Directory — automating the full employee lifecycle including onboarding, offboarding, and org changes propagating automatically across AD and downstream SaaS applications. Reduced manual helpdesk workload by 20%, freeing the team to focus on higher-complexity work.
  • Implemented Boomi iPaaS integration between NetSuite and internal business systems — demonstrating iPaaS workflow design, connector configuration, and enterprise data pipeline operations.
Observability & Incident Response
  • Designed monitoring and alerting pipelines across Datadog, Splunk, and ExtraHop — improving MTTD for platform incidents and reducing alert noise from false positives.
  • Led incident response for platform-level outages, owning triage, root cause analysis, stakeholder communication, and post-incident remediation across cloud and identity systems.
AI-Assisted Engineering
  • Daily practitioner of AI-assisted engineering using Claude, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor — generating first drafts of scripts and IaC, working through unfamiliar vendor APIs and connectors, and feeding logs and errors into Claude for faster troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
  • Built Claude-connected workflows integrating SSH log access, JIRA ticket creation/updates, Slack, email, and calendar — using AI as an operational interface to stay on top of incidents, create tickets from context, and reduce manual context-switching across tools.
  • Built a custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) server as an API wrapper using AI-assisted development — enabling Claude to query internal systems directly and prototype AI-augmented operational workflows.
Junior Systems Engineer
CMIT Solutions of Monroe
Aug 2013 — Feb 2015
Rochester, NY
  • Managed infrastructure across server, network, and cloud environments for 100+ SMB clients.
  • Consulted on technology modernization projects improving business resiliency and operational performance.
IT Infrastructure Contractor
Condor Capital Management / Highpoint Solutions
2012 — 2013
New Jersey
  • Provided technical consulting for infrastructure modernization projects in finance and healthcare sectors.
Applied AI & Automation

Projects that eliminate toil

Hands-on work at the intersection of AI tooling, identity automation, and platform engineering.

🔌

Custom MCP Server — API Wrapper for Claude Integration

Built a custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) server using AI-assisted development — wrapping internal APIs to enable Claude to query operational data directly. Demonstrated how natural language can serve as an interface to existing tooling without requiring a full platform build.

MCP Claude REST API Workflow Automation
⚡

AI-Accelerated IaC Development

Integrated Claude and GitHub Copilot into the Terraform and IaC development workflow for module scaffolding, security validation, and documentation generation — compressing the time from requirements to first working draft and improving consistency and inline documentation coverage across module patterns.

Terraform Claude GitHub Copilot Cursor
📋

Automated Runbook & Documentation Generation

Established an AI-assisted workflow using Claude and Cursor to convert incident post-mortems and tribal knowledge into structured runbooks, escalation playbooks, and onboarding guides. Improved operational knowledge coverage for platform and IAM systems with significantly less engineering time than manual authoring.

Claude Cursor Runbook Automation Documentation
🧩

ConductorOne IGA-as-Code

When ConductorOne lacked native IaC support, built a custom solution using the ConductorOne API and scripting to define, deploy, and version-control IGA resources as code. Enabled self-service access to privileged systems — reducing access provisioning lead time from weeks to seconds and significantly cutting IT ticket volume from Engineering teams.

ConductorOne API IGA Python IaC Patterns Identity Governance
Credentials

Certifications & Education

Certifications
☁️
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator
Associate · Active
🔬
CompTIA A+
Active
🏥
HIPAA Privacy & Security Training
Completed
Education
Rochester Institute of Technology
BS, Information Technology
Networking, Security & Systems Administration
December 2014
Contact

Let's connect

Open to senior IT engineering, IAM, and enterprise SaaS roles — especially where identity depth, automation mindset, and operational ownership matter.

[email protected] LinkedIn GitHub Download Resume