Isreal Varela

Associate Principal Solutions Architect & Account Architect

linkedin.com/in/isrealvarela

Executive Summary

Visionary technology executive with 26 years of experience spanning enterprise security, cloud architecture, and infrastructure engineering. Deep expertise in cybersecurity frameworks, DevSecOps, and hybrid cloud. Hands-on leadership across Red Hat, AWS, and Booz Allen Hamilton. Adept at aligning technology strategy with mission objectives.

Core Competencies

Security Strategy & Governance Cloud Architecture (AWS, OpenShift, Kubernetes) CI/CD & DevSecOps Risk & Compliance Management Zero Trust Architecture Vulnerability Assessment & Remediation Incident Response & Disaster Recovery Infrastructure as Code Enterprise Network Design Team Leadership & Mentorship

Experience

Red Hat
Associate Principal SA – Account Architect
Dec 2024 – Present
  • Serve as dedicated Account Architect for strategic enterprise accounts, owning end-to-end technical relationship and long-term technology roadmap.
  • Drive adoption of Red Hat's hybrid cloud portfolio (OpenShift, RHEL, Ansible Automation Platform).
  • Partner with account executives and customer leadership to develop multi-year technology strategies.
  • Act as primary escalation point for complex architectural challenges.
RogueThink Inc.
OpenShift Platform Lead
Mar 2023 – Dec 2024
  • Led design, deployment, and operations of enterprise OpenShift container platforms for mission-critical government and commercial workloads.
  • Established platform security baselines, hardening configurations, and RBAC policies.
  • Defined and implemented GitOps-driven workflows for continuous delivery.
  • Collaborated with DevSecOps teams to embed security scanning and secrets management in CI/CD pipelines.
Leidos
Cloud SME
Sep 2022 – Mar 2023
  • Provided cloud subject matter expertise for federal program teams on AWS and hybrid environments.
  • Advised on cloud security architecture, FedRAMP, and DoD security frameworks.
Red Hat
Associate Principal Specialist SA
Jul 2021 – Sep 2022
  • Delivered presales architecture engagements focused on OpenShift and cloud-native platform solutions.
  • Developed and delivered tailored technical workshops and proof-of-concept demonstrations.
Booz Allen Hamilton
Cloud Solutions Architect
Apr 2019 – Jul 2021
  • Designed and deployed highly scalable Kubernetes infrastructure as a reusable framework across federal programs.
  • Architected end-to-end CI/CD pipelines for secure, rapid prototyping.
  • Deployed IaC frameworks enabling continuous patching with minimal disruption.
Amazon Web Services
Systems Development Engineer
Mar 2017 – Apr 2019
  • Deployed and supported Route 53 DNS infrastructure across global datacenters at multiple classification levels.
  • Designed highly available AWS architectures achieving 100% uptime through rolling upgrades.
Rackspace Hosting
Linux System Administrator
2016 – 2017
  • Administered RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu, and Debian systems for dedicated, cloud, and hybrid customers.
  • Led security incident response and forensic analysis of compromised hosts.
Composite Technology Development
IT Manager
Jun 2011 – Aug 2015
  • Owned all IT for a 60+ endpoint network including security, compliance, and unified communications.
  • Designed and administered 8-node VMware vSphere infrastructure; engineered redundant iSCSI SAN.
  • Saved $60,000+ by engineering a virtualized infrastructure strategy.
Redfish Rentals, Inc.
IT Manager
Mar 2007 – Aug 2011
  • Oversaw IT for 150+ endpoints across 10+ locations.
  • Led ISP-level network modernization: replaced frame-relay with MPLS backbone including fiber installation.
Cornerstone IT
System/Network Engineer
Apr 2005 – Apr 2007
  • Primary Linux engineer for web and email hosting; migrated physical infrastructure to virtual.

Education

BS Information Technology: Security
Western Governors University
2016

Certifications

RHCSA (2017, 2021) RHCS OpenShift Administration (2022) CompTIA A+ CompTIA Network+ CompTIA Linux+ CompTIA Security+ CCNA CCNA: Security MCP Software Development C# LPIC-1