:: Resume
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Mika A. Epstein
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E ipstenu@ipstenu.org
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Cover Letter
Since 1997 I have worked for The Northern Trust, beginning as a consultant and being hired full time in February 1999, specifically for the Y2K push. Since then I have had the opportunity to work on a myriad of other projects, and been able to advance my skills and talents with understanding code, by learning the underlying infrastructure and framework.
I currently am interested in moving beyond supporting code written by other companies, and would like to create. While I have copious support experience, I also have many times been asked to, and was capable of picking up new software tools and mastering them with a minimum of formal training. I can work as a technical writer, and I am skilled at explaining technical information to non-technical people. The majority of my work has been on Windows, however I am self-trained in Macintosh and Linux Red Hat, and fully capable of learning new operating systems. I can work both in the corporate world and a mom-and-pop shop with equal ease and enthusiasm.
I enjoy challenges and am looking for an environment that would both foster my creativity and expand my knowledge of the computing world. I am a dedicated and responsible worker, respectful of my employers, and reliable to come to work on-time. I can be trusted to work off-site and still get the job done on time. I have interests outside of work, to provide a healthy balance in my life, and I am conscientious of my coworkers and respectful of our differences.
Work History
Introduced to the computers in the days of dedicated terminals and Novation CAT modems, I have experienced the growth of the internet as a location for tools as well as information, and been a part of online communities where conversing with people across the world became the norm. Well aquatinted with web development, both professionally and personally, I have been designing webpages since the early 1990s, and am self trained in PHP, SQL, HTML, ASP. I have used Front Page, Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro and other multimedia tools for Macintosh and Windows. I have installed and maintained many web-based community environments, such as PHPNuke, MediaWiki, Invision Power Board, Simple Machines Forums, PHP BB, Soho, Wordpress, TinyMU, MUX, and Movable Type. I have designed personal pages for sites such as LiveJournal and MySpace.
I have a solid knowledge of the issues with Windows desktops, as well as the general usage and support of Macintosh OS X and 'Classic' (8 and 9), and I have more than a passing familiarity with Unix/Linux command line interfaces. I have used a wide variety of scripting tools, including but not limited to VBS, InstallScript, Perl (CGI), and DOS. I have installed content management systems on web servers, as well as built and configured Red Hat Linux servers from the ground up via the command line. I am highly adaptable, I learn quickly, and I am open to new challenges. I have performed user support and know how to relate highly technical information to non-technical people, and have written articles for an inter-office email newsletter on technology as well as maintaining precise and up to date documentation of any project I work on.
Most recently I have worked for the Northern Trust Bank in Chicago since April, 1997 as a software engineer and third level support technician, working to install, configure and test PCs for Y2K, disaster recovery and daily use. I have assisted in the creation of a standard workstation image for Windows NT, 2000 and XP, to facilitate deployment of these operating systems throughout the bank. I implemented a Citrix environment in the bank, specifically in configuring our existing applications to function correctly within Citrix, as well as providing second and third level support for our users. I returned to a former team to act as senior technician for the XP deployment strategy, certifying deployable MSI packages for XP, while supporting NT and 2000, as well as migrating installs to be used on XP, while supporting a testing lab, which includes Macintosh operating systems, and requires hardware upgrades. Most recently I have supported and led development of installing home-grown software onto application servers for in-house use as well as the partner front end. Through the use of project management tools such as PVCS and Mercury's Project and Portfolio Manager, I automated much of our day to day work to allow us to support developers directly and address their needs within our environment.
Dates Employed
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Job Title
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Company
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5/2005 - Present
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Second Vice President of Worldwide Operations and Technology
Senior technical lead of the Code Migration Team, responsible for installing in-house software on application servers in multiple environments, including Linux, Solaris Unix, Windows Server (NT through 2003), and Netscape Webservers. Designed workflows in Mercury Project and Portfolio Manager to handle installations and scheduling across multiple platforms, designed BASH scripts and DOS scripts to automate installation. Supporting PVCS Version Manager (a code management software) and its integration with third-party software.
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The Northern Trust
Chicago/IL
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9/2003 - 5/2005
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Officer of Worldwide Operations and Technology
Working in application certification as a senior technician to standardize and deploy software through the company by working with the business partners and technical liaisons to create self contained packages (in the form of InstallShield MSIs and LANDesk executables). Worked on the XP migration project as well as XP SP2 testing, while still providing backwards compatibility for NT and 2000. Assisted in hardware configuration of testing lab.
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The Northern Trust
Chicago/IL
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5/2002 - 9/2003
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Officer of Worldwide Operations and Technology
Working with the Citrix software as a disaster recovery/desktop replacement strategy for the bank by certifying the functionality of applications within Citrix, updating Citrix Silos with application modifications, maintaining team web pages, and providing second and third level support for users.
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The Northern Trust
Chicago/IL
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5/2000 - 5/2002
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Officer of Worldwide Operations and Technology
Working on the Standard Workstation Image team as the chief designer and support for an in house build of Internet Explorer (versions 5.0 SP1 through 5.5 SP2), maintaining team web pages, assisting in the development of a standardized operating system for NT, 2000 and XP, updating McAfee Virus Scan settings, and propagating updated data across the network. During this time, promotions to Senior Software Engineer and later Officer were received.
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The Northern Trust
Chicago/IL
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2/1999 - 5/2000
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Software Engineer
Working in application certification as a Software Engineer to standardize and deploy software through the company by working with the business partners and technical liaisons to create self contained packages (in the form of WinINSTALL's proprietary software 'NAIs' as well as MSIs and executables). Assigned to assist the Year 2000 project, by helping install, configure and test computers for emergency use.
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The Northern Trust
Chicago/IL
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4/1998 - 2/1999
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Software Engineer
Working at the Northern Trust in application certification to standardize and deploy software through the company by working with the business partners and technical liaisons to create self contained packages (in the form of WinINSTALL's proprietary software 'NAIs' as well as MSIs and executables).
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New Boston Systems
Chicago/IL
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6/1997 - 4/1998
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Intern
Assisting in the development of online commerce websites by designing and testing interfaces, building servers, and installing new hardware and software.
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Technology Explained
Chicago/IL
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