Ronald Buning Email & Phone Number

Santa Fe Springs, Ca, Us

San Mateo, Ca, Us

In this high-visibility role, the Platform Engineer provides hardware and software technical leadership for Cloudian’s HyperStore on-premise and cloud-hosted object storage, HyperFile NAS Storage, along with established Software offerings like HyperIQ Observability/Analytics and standalone Cloudian software that runs on commodity servers.The primary role of a Platform Engineer at Cloudian is a multi-faceted one that is highlighted by driving new hardware product introduction (NPI) from conception with an engineering and product perspective and includes interaction with vendor/suppliers and close collaboration with the globally located engineering teams, Product Management, and Sales Operations.To ensure product stability, additional roles include the co-development and release of hardware firmware for the host motherboard and individual components as well as testing those firmware enhancements to ensure the combined “systems” deliver the performance customers expect. In the area of appliance-based operating systems, the Engineer is responsible for evaluating and testing Linux distributions and potential kernel/application upgrades. Additional roles include working to qualify final products and determining product release schedules to market.Post-sales activities include solving any reported hardware issues and enhancing the overall quality and stability of the appliances by leading the resolution of critical issues, participating in root cause analysis, resolving open hardware issues by working with suppliers implementing corrective steps, and finally communicating findings and recommendations. Internally, the Engineer will implement diagnostic tools to minimize troubleshooting hardware issues, develop and execute test plans/cases, and create final reports. While the Engineer principally deals with Linux-based appliances, they also validate Windows Server – Hypervisor-based systems and those running under other Type-1 Hypervisors like VMware and Proxmox.

The Principal Technical Engineer role at The Fischer Group provides highly individualized design, support, and strategic information technology engineering for specialty clients in the prestige retail, public safety, small start-up, and medium business sectors interested in improving their computing infrastructure. The Principle Technical Engineer (PTE) is a “Solutions Provider” that helps define the client’s requirements/needs and sets up a work breakdown structure and resource pool to determine what internal and external resources in additional technical hardware are needed to complete the overall project. In addition to the PTE, and for smaller organizations, other TFG staff members can serve as Senior IT Director, Chief Technical Officer, or Project Manager on a part-time or hourly basis, that can review, build, and deliver an IT strategy and executable roadmap that supports your overall business strategy and takes your organization smoothly to the next level.In general, the PTE will lead the implementation of a wide assortment of common and specialized business solutions such as VoIP telephony and remote conferencing technologies up to and including fully integrated digital rooms for large parties. Other services include migrating whole data centers from one facility to another as well as following the current trend of migrating core business applications along with their legacy integrations to cloud-based services like Microsoft Azure, Digital Ocean, and Google Cloud. Common engagements include system administration for both Windows and Linux servers, implementing IDS and IPS systems for increased security, improving network performance by managing traditional Cisco and cloud-managed Meraki devices, assisting public safety agencies with CAD and mobile systems, and providing retail customers with on-site support and integrating with Granite Grid networking services. TFG also provides staff augmentation services for those bigger bandwidth projects.

Pasadena, California, Us

The combined Technical Operations/Project Manager position at Jada Systems oversees the day-to-day operations of this diverse technical staffing and staff augmentation firm.The Technical Operations/Project Manager is a high-level managerial position that provides a wide range of services including developing technical solutions, performing the traditional responsibilities of managing the pace and resources affiliated with client engagements and projects, and providing contract-based staff augmentation services in a wide range of areas including Software Engineering, System Administration, Mechanical & Thermal Engineering, and many other key specialty positions. The Manager oversees the work of cross-functional teams providing system administration, web technology development, technical staffing recruiting/retention, RFP responses, and a range of contracted programs throughout the company. Additional responsibilities include creating/managing/tracking project plans, reprioritizing tasks as schedule/requirements change, and leading daily stand-up meetings in critical projects utilizing Scrum and Agile methodologies. Communicating status, constraints, and schedule changes to client executive management and project teams working off-site is another key responsibility. Managing ongoing key business relationships with third-party staffing, recruiting firms, and Corporate/Governmental Business entities is part of providing trouble-free service.Perhaps one of the most critical functions of the Manager is assisting with the vetting of candidates for highly specialized technical positions within aerospace engineering firms such as NASA, The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Raytheon along with public service agencies like the Los Angeles Police Department and the region-wide Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The Manager ensures that the best candidate is placed in the role and is provided with all the resources to serve the specialized needs of the client.

Los Angeles, Ca, Us

Director Of Information Technology for Morphe, a global digital retailer and direct-to-consumer distributor of makeup, beauty, and personal care products based in Los Angeles, CA. The company grew from a single flagship store in Burbank, CA to a global brand with 22 international retail locations and valued at $2.2B.Morphe is technology-driven and heavily relies on the emerging presence of social media and influencers to market products to an expanding customer base that would be unreached by traditional marketing methods such as print, radio, and TV.The Director manages the day-to-day IT needs and long-term strategy for this rapidly expanding retail powerhouse. Initial tasks included massively upgrading the internal and external computing and networking infrastructure and migrating users to standardized business applications (email, HR, accounting, order processing, shipping, and ERP/BI) to accommodate the oncoming fast-paced and diverse business growth and bringing on additional staff to execute the firm’s newly developed technology roadmap.Follow-on tasks developed by the Director included the creation of a full-service state-of-the-art call center utilizing Asterisk VOIP PBX and iSymphony Call Manager to accommodate the over 1200 customer calls per day. The call center was unique in that it not only provided traditional customer service tasks but also allowed callers to speak with beauty consultants who could advise them on product purchases. Leveraging cloud technology, the Director and team worked to implement cloud-based NetSuite ERP, Shopify e-commerce, SkuVault inventory management, and ShipWorks shipping system to shorten order processing and shortening product delivery times.The Director interfaces with Operations and Executive Management to make sure key indicators and objectives are met on time and within budget and develops cybersecurity protocols and business continuity procedures to ensure continued operations during unplanned outages.

Managed Services Consultant to a medium-sized computer service and consulting firm providing enterprise-level technical assistance and support to a diverse client base including educational institutions, aerospace firms, mass-market digital media, hospitality providers, and retail sales outlets.The MSC acts as the “Project Task Facilitator” for other larger Field Service Companies (FSC’s) and service aggregators like FieldNation, SoloGig, UpWork, and WorkSuite. Common field service tasks included:- Installing new or improved broadband and wireless internet services for retail stores up to and including the installation of improved network switches, routers, and security appliances via direct configuration or cloud-managed methodologies (Meraki)- Carrying out network infrastructure mapping, design verification, and WiFi “heat mapping” services.- Executing large-scale Windows and Linux operating system and software rollouts and upgrades.- Provide traditional “Rack & Stack” services installing new servers into terrestrial data centers.- Designing and implementing “fault-tolerant” network configurations utilizing LTE, 5G, and satellite-based wireless internet to serve as a backup internet path.- Provide staff augmentation for projects requiring additional IT proficient resources.- Install copper and fiber-based structured cabling. - Design and install 5Ghz wireless "point-to-point" short haul LAN connectivity for metropolitan local area networks and connecting multiple buildings. - Design and implement system backup, monitoring, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions.- Install and configure digital signage for select retail outlets and financial institutions.The MSC serves as a liaison between the client and the upper-level FSC and ensures that work meets stated project objectives, provides services as advertised and that the entire engagement is completed on time and within budget constraints.

Pasadena, Ca, Us

As primary Data Center Manager at NASA-JPL, I directed day-to-day operations for several high-performance data centers that receive, process, and archive multi-mission scientific data from orbiting spacecraft in near real-time.Data processing facilities at JPL come in two varieties. The first is a traditional data center that houses core business as well as mission-specific scientific processing systems. These systems use traditional commodity servers and typically do not have any specialized hardware requirements. The second type houses supercomputers and high-performance Linux-based compute clusters that ingest raw spacecraft data and then apply complex algorithms (i.e. Fourier transformations) to the data sets and then storing the final validated data product. The HPC facility housed over 2,000 processing servers and storage for a multi-petabyte data archive in over 4,000 square feet of floor space.The DCM oversees a mission support team comprised of system administrators, system engineers, database administrators, and technicians tasked with maintaining constant operations 24/7/365 with a focus on industry best practices, and consistent processing performance. The DCM also acts as a subject matter expert (SME) in key data center infrastructure systems such as power distribution, cooling, hot aisle isolation, and space allocation in addition to being fluent in several technical areas and assisting staff in troubleshooting complex hardware and software (Windows, Unix, Linux, Application) problems and providing mentoring & training for junior staff enabling specialized knowledge transfer.Oversees NASA Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) onsite, including server and equipment integration, tracking from design, procurement, receiving, configuration, production deployment, and finally disposal at the end of the mission. Acts as liaison between JPL and the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) to track property and reassign to other missions as required.

Pasadena, Ca, Us

Provided leadership and comprehensive first and second-tier technical support for employees of a global information technology and aerospace company. Troubleshot hardware, software, and operational issues for a scientific-based and mixed OS environment.• Earned solid reputation for resolving complex issues and providing excellent customer service to internal(Raytheon) and external(JPL) clients, including out-of-state customers and contractors.• Managed a mixed Unix, Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows-based environment, focusing on their inter-operability for maximum productivity, efficiency, and availability.• Collaborated with the JPL Security Team and Corporate IT staff to design and manage an effective remediation plan to address a lab-wide security breach resulting from a SQL injection exploit and involving the APT (Advanced Pervasive Threat) and affecting numerous local operating systems.- Led team to migrate all Windows Systems and Active Directory to a single corporate domain. Prepared procedure documentation and interfaced with Corporate staff to insure a smooth and reliable outcome.- Authored and enforced comprehensive IT Security Plans and ensured that subscribed hardware was hardened and monitored for availability and possible intrusion.- Helped design a enterprise wide backup / disk imaging scheme to insure retention of data and developed business continuity plans to insure operation of key systems during a sustained outage.

Falls Church, Virginia, Us

Participated in a NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration) funded study to evaluate current DOE (Department Of Energy) data center sites and their suitability to be able to accommodate and effectively host the next generation of high performance computing hardware.- Lead system administration team to collect, assess, and report on current computing environment requirements and propose requirements/scenarios for next generation systems.- Participated in tours and roundtable discussions at various national laboratories including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to identify similarities in operating procedure and opportunities for consolidation and streamlining.- Prepared multiple scenarios for consolidation involving migration of computing assets from one center to another or creating a new “super center” at a future date. Projected budgets and cost of implementation were prepared to support project logistics.- Performed details needs assessment, identified overall project risks, and created mitigation plans.- Prepared engineering studies to determine the viability of commodity clusters (COTS) or large scale proprietary systems like IBM BladeCenters or Cray Supercomputers could be housed in smaller scale facilities with similar capabilities.- Presented findings in written form and oral presentations to Senior Lab Scientists & Engineers and to representatives from DOE and NNSA.

Washington, Dc, Us

Designing, developing, and supporting computing project infrastructures in support of scientific exploration at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.Responsibilities include installation, implementation, & maintenance of Hewlett-Packard HP-UX, Sun Microsystems Solaris & Assorted Linux (Red Hat, Mandrake, Suse) servers and software to support JPL’s projects. These responsibilities include setting up multiple 320-node Linux clusters for High Performance Parralel Computing. Several of these systems may be seen on a web site tracking the Top 500 Computing Clusters in the world at http://www.top500.org.

Greenwood Village, Co, Us

- Provided daily Unix based systems support for a mission critical public safety vehicle dispatch system serving the emergency medical transportation needs of Los Angeles County. Daily administration tasks included, resolution of help desk tickets relating to Unix based systems, troubleshooting and resolution of system or network related outages, installation and configuration of new application software, installation of operating system extension software or patches, performing OS patch analysis and installation planning, performed and planned regularly scheduled preventive maintenance sessions for core systems, maintained system security by managing user accounts and file permissions, resolved remote/local printing issues on network based/serial linked printers, and resolved client/host connectivity issues between server and various workstation platforms including terminals.

Provided direct Unix and Windows computer system and planning support for a large scale $1.2 billion pre-hospital care corporation. Responsible for consolidating a number of privately held ambulance services into a unified operational company responsible for providing emergency medical transportation services under the Los Angeles County 911 contract.

- Provided systems analysis and administration for a community based emergency medical servive. Developed, coded, and debugged application software for Hewlett Packard and IBM personal computers under HP-UX, Novell Netware, and Windows NT operating environments.-Provided network and diagnostic support for core technology systems including computer assisted dispatch and medical accounts receivable.- Provided administrative staff with analytical reports concerning emergency vehicle response times, call frequency distribution, and studies vital to corporate budget and service proposal preparation.

- Reported directly to command staff and Chief Of Police on matters concerning information systems management for a modern municipal law enforcement agency.- Responsible for department wide information systems support utilizing a variety of hardware platforms & software solutions. Developed, implemented, and supported an integrated public safety computer assisted dispatch and records management system on an IBM AS/400 midrange computer system using RPG/400.- Received the IBM “Showplace 1990” award in the area of law enforcement computing excellence. Hosted a computer systems planning seminar for police personnel representing forty police departments statewide focusing on areas of on-line data warehousing and computer-assisted criminal profiling.

B.S., Computer Science

A.S., Computer Science

H.S. Diploma, General