Ramon Smart Email & Phone Number

Twickenham, Gb

Twickenham, Gb

Mountain View, California, Us

In my role as Head of Global IT Operations & Security at HackerRank, I manage a multi-million-dollar IT and security budget to support the organization’s strategic objectives across North America, EMEA, and APAC. I lead a cross-regional team responsible for ensuring robust IT governance, enhancing security frameworks, and implementing efficiency-driven policies. By establishing unified processes, I align IT operations with business priorities to enhance scalability, improve compliance, and drive significant cost savings.Key Achievements:Global IT & Security Strategy: Architected and implemented a comprehensive IT and security strategy, aligning with business goals to optimize resource utilization and ensure operational excellence. My oversight extends to managing a $1 million+ IT budget and a $450,000+ security budget to fuel HackerRank's growth.Procurement Policy Standardization: Authored a global procurement policy to streamline vendor evaluation processes, ensuring compliance and maximizing cost efficiency across regions.Enhanced InfoSec Request Processing: Integrated Salesforce and Loopio for RFP and security questionnaires, reducing SLA times from 14 days to 1-3 days, improving customer satisfaction and reinforcing our security posture.Strategic Cost Savings: Delivered $600,000 in annual savings by optimizing licenses and renegotiating contracts within the IT budget, reallocating funds to high-impact projects that drive operational improvements.Proactive Service Delivery: Established a ticketing system that reduced SLA from 3 days to 2 hours, driving a significant improvement in responsiveness and enhancing user experience across global teams.Automation & Compliance: Implemented automation for onboarding, offboarding, and asset management, seamlessly integrating with IDP, which bolstered scalability and compliance across a global workforce.

Mountain View, California, Us

As Manager of Global IT Operations, I was entrusted with managing a substantial budget for IT and security infrastructure, focused on optimizing resources and building a scalable, secure environment. My efforts established a robust compliance framework and led to transformative cost savings, enabling HackerRank to meet industry standards while maximizing budget efficiency.Key Achievements:Security Infrastructure Buildout: Led the deployment of CSPM and SIEM solutions, crafting custom threat detection rules and incident response protocols within a $450,000 security budget. This work enhanced our security posture and provided critical visibility into potential risks.Budget Optimization: Generated $600,000 in savings by scrutinizing vendor contracts and software licenses, reallocating resources within the IT and security budgets to drive further innovation.Proactive IT Operations Transformation: Reduced SLA times from 5 days to 2 hours with a formalized ticketing system, establishing a proactive culture within the team and strengthening service delivery.

New York, Ny, Us

As Head of IT Support & Procurement at SundaySky, I directed IT support operations and managed procurement functions, overseeing a substantial budget to drive technology transformation and operational efficiency. My role involved designing scalable IT infrastructure, establishing vendor partnerships, and implementing robust cost-management strategies. I spearheaded digital initiatives that enhanced the IT ecosystem’s agility, reliability, and security.Key Achievements:Digital Transformation Leadership: Led SundaySky’s shift to a modern cloud infrastructure, aligning IT systems with evolving business needs. This project, managed within the allocated IT budget, boosted scalability and provided a foundation for future technology integrations.Process Automation: Developed and implemented automation solutions for onboarding/offboarding and asset management, which reduced manual interventions and increased security, supporting a growing workforce without expanding budget requirements.Cost Savings through Strategic Procurement: Achieved an 18% reduction in software spending and secured $300,000 in cost savings over 1.5 years by renegotiating vendor contracts and optimizing resource allocation.Enhanced Operational Efficiency: Reduced service request SLAs by centralizing support workflows, improving productivity, and creating a streamlined support environment across global teams.

New York, Ny, Us

As IT Operations Manager at SundaySky, I optimized IT infrastructure and streamlined processes, ensuring efficient operations across global offices. I led the daily management of support tickets, oversaw 82 critical applications, including Active Directory, Okta, and Office 365, and acted as the main IT contact for New York, Tel Aviv, and Japan offices. With a focus on proactive improvements, I drove initiatives that enhanced system efficiency, reduced costs, and aligned IT services with business needs.Key Achievements:System Redevelopment: Redesigned an internal tracking system for 210 employees, improving load times by 20% and operation times by 15% while adding 20+ new features.Efficiency & Cost Strategy: Championed a 35% increase in software efficiency and reduced expenses by 25% each quarter through optimized resource management.Cost Savings: Achieved $375,000 in savings over three years through strategic vendor negotiations and contract management.Incident Reduction: Reduced incidents by 35% in three years through proactive monitoring and standardized response protocols, boosting reliability.Application Oversight: Managed a critical application suite, ensuring smooth integration, secure access, and high performance.Telephony & Meeting System Overhaul: Upgraded telephony and meeting systems, streamlining operations and ensuring all necessary information for daily tasks was efficiently relayed.Cross-Functional IT Education: Led 50+ cross-functional team members to deliver IT education and security solutions, fostering collaboration and awareness.Data Integration & Standardization: Streamlined data integration, improving consistency across systems.Risk Mitigation Advisory: Advised senior management on risk strategies, aligning IT practices with business risk objectives.Active Directory Management: Administered Active Directory, handling policies and user creation to ensure secure, efficient access.

Solutions NYC, New York, NYOversaw day-to-day operations regarding hardware, systems, software, and network security. Built and developed a new team, coordinating and delegating responsibilities. Set goals and motivated employees to achieve targets and growth. Assessed operations and systems to ascertain and minimize risks. Installed, configured, and maintained network services, equipment, and devices. Monitored system performance and implemented performance tuning. Documented network issues and performed troubleshooting analysis of servers, workstations, and associated systems. Provided IT planning and support for a variety of technologies, including Windows Server, Linux Server, Active Directory, VMWare, ESXi, Microsoft 365, vSphere, vCenter Server, and Veeam backup & replication.Successfully managed a $500K departmental budget.Reduced expense by $100K in 1.5 years.Led the configuration of 100+ new systems, services, and devices across the IT department.Saved the company $75K in troubleshooting expenses.Conducted staff training for 100+ employees regarding software, hardware, acceptance testing, and business operations.

- Installed all new hardware, systems, and software for networks- Installed, configured, and maintained network services, equipment, and devices- Supported administration of servers and server clusters- Managed all system back-up and restore protocol- Planned and supported network and computing infrastructure- Performed troubleshooting analysis of servers, workstations and associated systems- Documented network problems and resolution for future reference- Monitored system performance and implements performance tuning- Oversaw software and network security

Master Of Science - Ms, Data Science

Master Of Science - Ms, Data Science

Master Of Science (M.S.), Cybersecurity

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Cybersecurity

Associate Of Applied Science, Information Technology