Stewart Alexander

Senior Network Engineer | AI Infrastructure Specialist

Mebane, North Carolina

Github/StewAlexander-com

Senior Network Engineer and AI Infrastructure Specialist with 15+ years of experience designing scalable networks, implementing Zero Trust architectures, and automating deployments. Recognized for architecting Covariant’s robotic networks and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) autonomous crash test wireless system. Certified in CCSP, RHCE, Motorola and Extreme Network technologies.

Core Technical Skills

Cloud / IaC / Virtualization

AWS (200+ EC2 instances), GCP, Terraform, Kubernetes, OpenStack, zOS (MVS/JES2), VMWare, Hyper-V

DevOps Automation

Python, Ansible, SaltStack, Jenkins CI/CD, Cisco DNA/Catalyst Center, LibreNMS, OpenNMS, SolarWinds, NetDisco

Network Security

Juniper SRX320/Palo Alto/Fortigate NGFWs, Tailscale, PCI-DSS/NIST 800-207 complianceis

Emerging Tech

• AI/ML Infrastructure (Covariant robots) • Zigbee Mesh Networks , Locata GPS (Perrone Robotics)

Recent Work Experience

Covariant

Senior Network Engineer

Jan 2023 - Oct 2024

Developed cross-functional, innovative AI- driven network infrastructure solutions by integrating departmental insights and vendor recommendations for Covariant’s Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) team

Key Accomplishments:

AI Infrastructure Scaling: Provisioned 200 Ubuntu servers for robotic systems using Terraform, SaltStack, & Python reducing deployment errors by 40%
Zero Trust Implementation: Deployed Juniper SRX320 firewalls in HA, cutting cybersecurity incidents by 25% (Nov 2023)
Network Architecture: Decreased remote client network interventions by 20 monthly through strategic network design and cellular hotspot integration; minimizing travel and improving customer satisfaction by March 2023
Pre-Sales Engineering: Elevated networking requirements to pre-sales focus, enabling successful integration for 75+ customers

Alamance Community College (ACC)

Senior Network Engineer

May 2019 - Dec 2022

Spearheaded comprehensive network and systems engineering efforts across Alamance Community College

Key Accomplishments:

Network Modernization: Rearchitected and retrofitted 17 distribution frames, resulting in a 85% reduction in resolution times (from 3 days to 4 hours) and an estimated $10,000 annual cost savings
Remote Work Solution: Built Tailscale/NGINX platform supporting 400+ staff with 99.99% uptime during COVID-19.

PROJECTS

RedHat RHEL 8 on z0S 14/15 Mainframes

Nov 2018 - May 2019

Assisted RedHat with developing and or working with vendors on network driver and firmware solutions needed to get their RHEL version 8.0 to general availability status (GA) on z14 and z15 mainframes

IIHS Autonomous Vehicle LAN

Mar 2015 - Feb 2016

Designed Zigbee mesh network improving crash test accuracy by 50% using Locata GPS

Education

North Carolina State University, Appalachian State University

Bachelor’s of Science in STS (Science,Technology & Society)

Aug 1995 - Jan 2001

Relevant Coursework: Computer Science, Physics, Meteorology

Certifications / Achievements

LEADERSHIP

• Lead Network Engineer at Covariant | Spearheaded end-to-end network infrastructure design and orchestration for local, remote, and client connectivity, ensuring seamless integration with robotic systems • Mentored 3 junior engineers at Alamance Community College (2020–2022).

CERTIFICATIONS / AWARDS

• CCSP (2022–Present) • RHCE (2014–Present)) • ENA (2006) • Motorola Wireless (2006) • Above & Beyond (IBM, 2013) • Extreme Networks Technical Superstar (2006)

PUBLICATIONS

• Medium.com | 20 Awesome Command Line Tools for the Mac | Authored technical guide read 40,000+ times since April 2020...

Skills

- 12 years with Cisco in enterprise production environments - 7 years working with MVS/JES2 and or zOS mainframe platforms - 10 years with Network Management Systems (OpenNMS / LibreNMS / SolarWinds / Cisco DNAC) - 20 years Linux OS - 15 years scripting / software development (Bash, Batch, C, Python, VisualBasic, Perl, Ruby)