# David Spell
**Senior Support
Engineer**
Remote, SC | 1-864-513-1312 | david@dspell.net
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dspell1 | GitHub:
github.com/spelldr | Calendar: cal.com/dspell
## Professional Summary
20 years of investigating high-impact issues in event ingestion, distributed workflows, and team leadership.
I work across multi-tenant, multi-node SIEM deployments ingesting thousands to hundreds of thousands of events per second. I excel at multi-node failure analysis, cross-team escalations, and building the analytics platforms and automations that prevent recurring problems at scale.
## Notable Accomplishments
### Support Analytics Platform
Developed a PostgreSQL + Grafana analytics platform that exposed workflow bottlenecks, improved operational visibility, and enabled data-driven decisions.
### AI-Driven Case Analysis System
Built AI-enhanced internal tools using React, Redux, and TypeScript to accelerate case analysis, support RCA workflows, and enable resolution pattern reuse.
### Salesforce and Slack Automation
Designed Salesforce triage filters and Slack-based routing logic that dramatically reduced emergency response time.
### Large-Scale QRadar Upgrade Execution
Performed a coordinated upgrade of 140 QRadar hosts across multiple environments, executing parallel workflows and validation steps to maintain platform stability.
## Skills
### Systems and Data
- - Distributed Systems Troubleshooting
- - High-Volume Data Ingestion (EPS/FPS)
- - ETL and Data Pipelines
- - Log Normalization (RegEx)
- - Postgres (PSQL)
- - SQL Explain/Query Optimization
### Infrastructure and Networking
- - TCP/IP (tcpdump/Wireshark)
- - Syslog Protocols (RFC 3164/5424)
- - API Debugging (REST/RPC)
- - Webhooks
- - OAuth Flows
- - Multi-tenant Architecture
- - AWS and containerized ecosystems
### Analytics and Observability
- - Grafana
- - Datadog
- - Sentry
- - SIEM (QRadar)
- - Elastic
- - Kibana
- - Workflow Automation
### Leadership and Methodology
- - Global Incident Management (Weekend Squad Lead)
- - Technical Documentation Architecture
- - Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
- - Mentorship and Enablement
- - Principled Thinking
### Identity and Access Management
- - Authentication troubleshooting
- - SAML, OAuth, and OIDC workflows
- - Access certification
- - Compliance alignment
- - Identity-related API diagnostics
### Customer and Escalation Leadership
- - Onboarding and deployment guidance
- - Cross-functional escalation management
- - Incident coordination and stakeholder updates
- - Team mentoring and enablement
- - Expectation management in high-severity cases
## Professional Experience
### Software Developer / AI Automation Engineer
**IBM**- - Bridge to Engineering: Transferred from support to development to understand the difference in team dynamics and product delivery.
- - Frontend Engineering: Built a React, Redux, and TypeScript frontend for an AI-enabled root cause analysis extraction engine.
### Senior Support Engineer / Global Weekend Escalation Lead
**IBM**- - Performance Engineering: Engineered a custom PostgreSQL + Grafana observability suite to identify systemic response bottlenecks, reducing global first-response times from days to minutes (Awarded 440 RSUs).
- - Systemic Risk Mitigation: Identified and persisted in validating a critical architectural defect; developed a recovery protocol to avoid and repair damage.
### Technical Support Engineer (Acquired as Subject Matter Expert)
**IBM**-
- Operational Scale: Orchestrated the
simultaneous upgrade of 140 distributed hosts in under 8
hours by utilizing
`screen`'s`at`directive to parallelize execution across 18 nodes, achieving zero failures across a complex multi-node environment.
### SIEM Administrator (Managed Security Services)
**IBM**- - Product Transformation: Launched the overhaul of the global firmware delivery model from live-service binary updates to a consistent offline ISO/Live-CD framework; eliminated the high-risk in-flight update failures and drastically reduced deployment-related support tickets for mission-critical enterprise environments.
### Desktop Support Administrator
**Piedmont Technical College**- - Distributed Deployment: Architected and transitioned deployment workflow for 2k endpoints from Ghost via USB to PXE-based SCCM deployment. Reduced imaging time from 2 weeks to overnight.
- - Virtual Desktop: Pioneered Citrix XenDesktop VDI rollout as part of the school's cloud initiative.
### Other Roles
- - System Administrator: Installed Cisco voice and data networks for small businesses, PC repair, field technician.
- - Blackberry Enterprise Server Support: Configured and troubleshot mobile device management registration through group policy and active directory for Visa, Facebook, and Department of Defense.
- - NOC Agent: Responsible for monitoring uptime for contracted ISP clients.
- - 2nd Level Agent: Quickly promoted from first level for low call time, high first call resolution, and a few marriage proposals.
- - Internet Tech Support: Troubleshot satellite and dialup connectivity issues over the phone for non-technical users.
## Education
### Education
- - Studied the science of education through the research of Piaget and Vygotsky.
- - First Trombone.
- - Studied Cisco networking, vlans, switching, telephony.
- - After graduation, hired by the Department Head to manage the school's desktop infrastructure.
### Certifications
## Contact
Ready to solve your hardest problems?
I'm currently open to senior support engineering and escalation leadership roles, especially at companies dealing with complex distributed systems and high-severity customer impact.
Send Me an Email Download Resume