Steve Mcilwain Email & Phone Number

Albany, Ny, Us

Ridgeland, Mississippi, Us

As founder of my indie game development studio, I have been solo developing my own game projects including game design, architecture, programming, artwork and animation primarily using the Unity game engine. I also have helped other game companies build and develop their games as a contract resource augmenting their existing teams.

Added new game mechanics, fixed bugs, improved game architecture with events and scriptable objects, improved UI/UX, and managed team tasks for milestones.

Seattle, Wa, Us

In October 2020 I joined Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a Senior Solutions Architect where I work with several of the largest independent software vendors who build their software on AWS cloud. In my new role I am helping these organizations implement improved cloud security and leverage the right services for their goals via proof of concept architectures, immersive training, best practices and technology guidance.

After leaving the newly acquired AppRiver I decided to refresh my skills and experience in cyber security.I chose an in-depth, hands on certification, the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) as my target, finishing in November of 2019. During this time I also engaged in several bug bounty programs and developed open-source tools for offensive security workflows.In 2020, I worked with multiple technology start-ups as a consultant doing leadership mentoring, Covid-19 economy survival and secure IoT solution architecture.

Gulf Breeze, Fl, Us

After three years of building successful national scale projects in Dubai, I returned to the United States in search of a new, challenging opportunity. I soon learned from my continued contact with AppRiver that the company had received new investment and was on a path to grow rapidly through mergers and acquisitions. I rejoined the company as VP of Engineering to ensure that product management, systems, and software engineering are structured to scale. I also was responsible for technology due diligence for our M&A activities, planning M&A integrations, and participating as a core member of the executive team to develop corporate and product strategies. I made security a primary focus and drove several security initiatives including DevSecOps and threat response to improve the company's security posture. After driving up the value of the organization in just a year, AppRiver was sold to Zix Corp at which time I made my exit with a keen interest to focus on the exponentially growing problem of cyber security.

Dubai, Ae

While my previous position at AppRiver was a great challenge and learning experience, one of the growing trends in the industry is working with an international and diverse workforce. I joined emaratech, a premier technology company in Dubai working on government and private sector projects that are helping the country grow and scale. I led a software department of 250+ resources comprised of engineering, architecture, product management, and infrastructure resources. I reorganized teams into cross-functional units, kicked off an Agile transformation, and began implementing better practices across architecture, security, and DevOps. I introduced a Secure SDLC (S-SDLC) with automation as a fundamental part of the practice.I was fortunate to have worked with talented individuals from all over the world on ambitious projects solving challenging problems and pushing the envelope on how to use technology to empower governments, businesses, and individuals. The projects are now a success, including a new border control system that employs automation and biometrics to secure one of the world’s busiest airports.

Gulf Breeze, Fl, Us

After suffering the demise of my one-man consulting business, no thanks to hurricane Ivan that devastated the area, I lucked upon a locally-based cyber-security company in need of a software developer. I joined as the 3rd software developer and worked on a small initiative to setup the company as a host of secure Microsoft Exchange mailboxes. I tackled the extremely difficult challenge of making Exchange 2003 multi-tenant by developing my own framework and UI (featured in Network World magazine). This project laid the foundation for explosive growth and now AppRiver is one of the premiere Exchange hosting and cyber security companies for the SMB worldwide. Fast forward 9 years during which I advanced as a Team Lead, Architect, Department Manager, Technical Product Manager to VP of an Agile Product Management team. I gained an immense amount of security, architectural, management, and leadership skills during my time there and helped guide the company during times of difficult and rapid growth.

Gulf Breeze, Fl, Us

Gulf Breeze, Fl, Us

Gulf Breeze, Fl, Us

After vacationing at the white sand beaches of Florida, I couldn't resist the idea of living there. I moved to Gulf Breeze and started my own LLC mostly doing security consulting/auditing and software development for small businesses. My primary customer was American City Business Journals (previous employer) who kept me working remotely on a several critical projects. I gained a few other customers working on development projects and hardening network security. While the appeal of self-employment was great, I learned some hard lessons about the difficulties of running and growing a business. This experience was valuable in giving me perspective of how technology must empower a businesses to grow and succeed.

Charlotte, Nc, Us

After leaving my contract position with Microsoft, I joined this rapidly growing media firm that runs popular websites such as bizjournals.com. I assumed responsibility for network security and availability implement redundant Cisco PIX firewalls, Snort Intrusion Detection and Cisco VPN. I built a custom VPN key issuance system for certificate based authentication using PHP. I used my previous experience to implement Active Directory and integrate existing Linux systems via LDAP. I also worked on a small team to build and configure a SAN that replicated over wide area network to a disaster recovery site. I was mostly self-driven in this position and took on projects that required advanced networking, security and software development.

Redmond, Washington, Us

At the end of 1999, Microsoft was aggressively recruiting top IT professionals in the area to train and support the roll out of Windows 2000. I signed up, sped through an immersive training program for Windows 2000, Active Directory, Kerberos, Encryption, Networking and many of the Windows subsystems. I was placed on the "Application" support team, which was the collect-all landing place of technical issues that were difficult to identify or resolve. I often worked on issues requiring custom lab configuration and interacted with internal development teams. This was a 6 month contract position but I used every training resource available to me while there to learn new things, such as advanced security concepts and C++ programming. I declined a permanent position in technical support, choosing instead to continue my career with more versatile, project-oriented roles.

Us

Due to the high cost of living, I relocated from Boston to Charlotte, NC leveraging my advanced networking skills learned at my previous ISP positions. Solectron is a high volume, 24/7 electronics manufacturer. I learned how to work in a high-pressure environment where every minute of downtime means lost money. I gained valuable experience assuming responsibility for servers, domains and security. I trained for and implemented Check Point firewalls, implemented private VPNs and overhauled the application hosting environments to ensure software ran with the least privileges possible.

Leveraging my previous experience setting up MicroSped as local Internet Service Provider, I landed a job in Boston with a regional ISP. This was a small company with only one other technical engineer (the owner). I quickly learned new wide area networking, security and linux administration skills working with business customers in the Boston area. I alone provided technical support, 24/7 for all existing customers, setup new customers and built out new infrastructure/systems. Due to rapid growth the business was successfully acquired by a national ISP.

MicroSped was my first position in the IT industry initially working as a computer repair specialist. I quickly upgraded my skills to including local and wide area networking, which I then used to position MicroSped as the first local Internet Service Provider in the area. I dealt with network engineering, security and a wide range of break-fix responsibilities.