About Me
Platform engineer with a unique story: Former MSP owner who built TimothyTek to $250K revenue serving 40+ clients before executing a clean exit. Now combining hard-won business acumen with deep technical expertise to create exceptional value in platform engineering and leadership roles.
The TimothyTek Story: Built a successful MSP from scratch, navigating complex vendor relationships and learning invaluable lessons about integrity, contract negotiation, and maintaining trust under pressure. The business reached $250K annual revenue with 40+ clients before I executed an integrity-first exit that protected all stakeholders. These battle-tested business skills now enhance my technical capabilities.
Current Technical Focus: Implementing enterprise-grade network security infrastructure with pfSense while maintaining 3+ hours daily Kubernetes practice for CKA (March 2025). Not just studying - building real production patterns that demonstrate platform engineering excellence.
Helping Others Succeed: Passionate about helping engineers reach $150K+ compensation through strategic skill development and positioning. My unique perspective from building a business provides insights most technical coaches lack. Free consultations available for serious professionals ready to transform their careers.
Seeking: Contract-to-hire platform engineering roles with clear path to leadership. Interested in organizations that value business acumen alongside technical excellence. Geographic flexibility with $150-180K initial target and proven ability to deliver exceptional ROI.
Certification Portfolio & Technical Excellence
Honest Certification Status
Currently Active (5)
- Google AI Essentials - AI/ML fundamentals (2024)
- Google Project Management Certificate - Agile/Waterfall methodologies (2023)
- CompTIA A+ - Hardware and OS fundamentals (Active until 2026)
- CompTIA Project+ - IT project management (Lifetime)
- CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ - Cloud strategy (Lifetime)
Expired Certifications
- CompTIA Security+ - Expired 2023 (Renewing in 2025)
- CompTIA Network+ - Expired 2023
- CompTIA Cloud+ - Expired 2024
- CompTIA Stackables: CSCP, CCAP, CSIS, CIOS - Expired with prerequisite certs
- Note: Will renew certifications as needed for specific role requirements
In-Progress Certifications (2025)
- Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) - Primary focus, target: March 2025
- AWS Solutions Architect Associate - Cloud architecture fundamentals
- CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) - Renewal for current standards
Future Considerations
- Additional certifications will be pursued based on specific role requirements
- Focus on certifications that provide direct value for platform engineering
Business Background & Current Projects
MSP Founder Success
Built TimothyTek to $250K revenue with 40+ clients. Navigated vendor challenges, maintained 95% client retention, and executed clean exit protecting all stakeholders.
Enterprise Team Leadership
Led 13-person technical team at Vanderbilt Hospital deploying 5,000+ systems. Delivered on-time, within budget, with zero security incidents.
Current: Network Security
Implementing enterprise pfSense infrastructure with multi-WAN failover, VLANs, and monitoring. Real production patterns, not home lab experiments.
Career Acceleration
Helping engineers reach $150K+ through strategic positioning. Combining business acumen with technical expertise for unique career transformation insights.
Daily Study Routine & Skills Development
Kubernetes Excellence
3+ hours daily hands-on practice. Not just CKA prep - building production patterns, GitOps workflows, and security policies. March 2025 certification target.
Vendor Management Mastery
Hard-won expertise from MSP ownership. Navigate complex vendor relationships, negotiate contracts, and protect business interests while maintaining integrity.
Infrastructure Automation
Terraform, Ansible, and GitOps for repeatable deployments. Building modules that reduce deployment time 60% while improving reliability.
Business Value Focus
Every technical decision evaluated through business impact lens. Unique perspective from P&L management ensures ROI-focused implementations.
Leadership Development
Mentoring engineers transitioning to senior roles. 100% placement rate for committed mentees targeting $150K+ positions.
Cost Optimization
Reduced client infrastructure costs 40% while improving performance. Now applying same principles to cloud architecture and platform engineering.
Path to Platform Engineering Leadership
Strategic progression from MSP owner to platform engineering leader, helping others along the way:
Q1 2025: Production Systems
Network security infrastructure + Kubernetes mastery. Building real systems while studying for CKA. Demonstrating immediate value.
Q2 2025: Cloud Excellence
AWS Solutions Architect + cost optimization projects. Showing business impact through efficient cloud architecture.
Q3 2025: Leadership Transition
Security+ renewal + engineering management preparation. Building team leadership skills alongside technical depth.
Q4 2025: Executive Path
Platform engineering leadership roles. Target: $180K+ with clear path to $250K+ and engineering management.
Connect With Me
Contact
Open to contract-to-hire platform engineering opportunities
Missouri LLC available for consulting engagements
From building a $250K MSP to platform engineering leadership - bringing business acumen to technical excellence.