Fares Ashraf M. Email & Phone Number

Holly Springs, North Carolina, United States

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area

Returned to Cisco as a VPN TAC engineer; expanded my training beyond Site-To-Site including technologies such as Cisco AnyConnect, DMVPN (hub/spoke), GETVPN, Flex VPN, and Clientless Remote Access.Trained by Cisco to obtain the SVPN, a security concentration exam of the CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional).Worked with dozens of high-priority clients, including government escalated cases to assist with finding a resolution for issues experienced with their networks.Collaborated regularly with the Next Generation Firewall and Enterprise Routing & Switching teams, along with AWS cloud engineers on cases that required amulti-disciplined approach.

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area

One of 5 engineers selected to mentor the new generation of 20 technical consulting engineering interns at Cisco, as I was mentored during my rotation. Each mentor was assigned a group of 4 mentees to be coached in customer case management, studying for the CCNA certification, Cisco's Webex collaboration technology, and the general corporate culture at Cisco. As mentors, we also assumed the role of being the first line of defense for our mentees. This 3 month rotation served as an excellent introduction to the world of leadership and being accountable for others. I was able to develop my skills in teaching, public speaking, inspiration, and problem solving, while making decisions that consider all stakeholders.

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area

One of 14 students who joined Cisco as part of their TCE Co-Op 6-month full-time internship program. Began with supporting Webex customers and external Webex administrators coupled with CCNA training. • Severity of cases ranged from software misconfiguration on customers’ end to software bugs that required patching from developer teams. • Developed advanced case management to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction.• Developed my professional writing skills, both to internal recipients (colleagues, developers, leadership) and external recipients (customers).• Developed familiarity with many of Cisco’s internal online resources and portals.After case-taking and CCNA training, moved to a Tier 2 Security TAC Team as part of Cisco’s CXA department. Specialized in VPN technology as part of RTP-VPN TAC.• Solved several complex client VPN issues daily through live virtual meetings with external experienced IT admins.• Advanced troubleshooting, designing, testing, and implementing custom solutions to resolve client issues in a timely manner.• Advanced knowledge in IKEv1 and IKEv2 Site-To-Site VPN policy-based tunnels and VTIs using Cisco’s Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA), Firepower Threat Defense (FTD), and IOS/IOS-XE routers.• Advanced knowledge in IKE proposals (Hashing, Authentication, DH Group, Lifetime, Encryption), IPsec proposals, Network Address Translation (NAT), SNORT file inspection, and Access Control Policies (ACP).• Also trained in DMVPN (dynamic multipoint) crypto map configurations.• Collaborated frequently with engineers on other teams and developers.• Case severity ranged from software misconfiguration to business-impacting software bug that may require collaboration and symptom recreation in a lab environment.

United States

I was employed by TutorMe to tutor high school and university students in a wide variety of subjects, including calculus, physics, writing, mathematics, C, C++, among others, and I have managed to maintain an average rating of 5 stars. With just a 4% acceptance rate of applicants, TutorMe is widely regarded as one of the best online tutoring platforms.I'm lucky to be part of TutorMe because it allowed me to develop my on-the-spot problem-solving skills, my communicational skills while presenting, and my organizational skills for pre-scheduled sessions.

Cairo, Egypt

ASCO Engineering Co. is an Egyptian contracting company based in Cairo, specializing in construction. I spent my summer shadowing on one of their larger contracts known as the MEGA LAB Project, owned by Al Borg Laboratories, which involved the construction of a large-scale laboratory. As an NCSU Computer Engineering student, I was hired as an intern to observe the installations of various light current systems, including a fire alarm system, an access control system, a data network system, and a building management system (BMS). Toward the end, I became involved in the technical writing process revolving around project documentation and financial reports in both English and Arabic.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Computer Engineering, Graduate

Activities and Societies: Head of Treasury at NCSU's Arab Student Organization (ASO), SolarPack (solar-powered car club), Quantum.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Civil Engineering