Experience
Chapters, not a timeline.
Not where the work happened — what the work actually was, and what it transfers to.
Evolution
From fixing systems to governing them.
The same discipline at a different altitude, chapter by chapter.
Scope of work — the width of the problem, not rank or seniority
2017–2020
Technical services & support
Fix the system in front of you
Scope of work: Individual systems and the people using them
2020–2021
Strategic analysis & improvement
Ask why the system keeps failing
Scope of work: Recurring problems across a service, not a single fault
2021–2024
Infrastructure & systems delivery
Build and deliver the system
Scope of work: Multi-site infrastructure delivery and cross-functional coordination
2024–2026
Requirements & configuration governance
Govern the system at portfolio scale
Scope of work: Requirements, configuration and evidence across a portfolio of initiatives
Ongoing
Product & AI workflow design
Design how the work itself gets done
Scope of work: How the work is structured before anyone starts doing it
Capability
Mission IT & Technical Leadership
Ten capability areas that recur across the record — mission IT operations, cybersecurity and authorization support, governance of configuration and requirements, and the project leadership that holds them together.
Configuration & Change Management
Maintained baselines, configuration documentation and approved states, and coordinated change approval, implementation planning and rollback considerations.
Requirements Governance
Governed requirements from incomplete submission through validation, traceability, decision, acceptance and closure across a high-volume portfolio.
RMF & Cybersecurity
Supported RMF, ATO/ATU workflows, security requirements, risk assessments and cybersecurity compliance alongside cybersecurity and ISSM stakeholders.
Secure Communications & COMSEC
Supported COMSEC and secure communications activities, including cryptographic key loading and protected communications equipment in mission environments.
Systems Integration
Integrated hardware, software, network infrastructure, secure communications and mission systems against technical requirements and cybersecurity controls.
IT Modernization
Supported upgrades, equipment integration, legacy replacement, testing, operational transition, sustainment, rollback and decommissioning.
Project & Program Management
PMP-certified delivery across predictive, adaptive and hybrid approaches, with scope, schedule, risk, resource and acceptance control.
Contractor Coordination
Coordinated with contractor teams, including SAIC personnel, inside the Department of Defense IT environment on technical execution and documentation.
Mission Operations Support
Supported major operational exercises and daily mission IT operations through configuration, integration, testing, troubleshooting and sustainment.
System Lifecycle Management
Tracked systems from requirement and review through configuration, implementation, operational use, sustainment, change and decommissioning.
System Lifecycle — Stages Supported & Coordinated
- 01
Requirement
- 02
Analysis
- 03
Security / Risk Review
- 04
Technical Review
- 05
Approval
- 06
Configuration
- 07
Integration
- 08
Testing
- 09
Implementation
- 10
Operational Use
- 11
Sustainment
- 12
Change / Rollback
- 13
Decommissioning
Jalen supported and coordinated across these stages with Government personnel, engineers, cybersecurity teams, contractors and mission owners. No sole ownership or approval authority is claimed.
2024–2026
Enterprise Requirements & Configuration Governance
Requirements & Configuration Management Team Lead / IT Specialist | Indo-Pacific enterprise
Mission. Govern a high-volume technology portfolio from incomplete request through technical validation, decision, implementation, acceptance, status accounting, and closure.
Selected Outcomes
- Established a required-documentation collection phase and returned incomplete packages before they consumed scarce board capacity.
- Strengthened authoritative-source practices, controlled repositories, status accounting, ownership, escalation, acceptance and continuity.
- Weighed mission need, technical feasibility, interoperability, workforce capacity, cybersecurity, configuration, lifecycle, external dependencies and the consequences of delay before recommending an integration path.
- Used aging, stage, owner and dependency reporting to drive training, escalation, prioritization and corrective action.
- Supported Zero Trust-aligned governance and Authorization to Operate (ATO) / Authorization to Use (ATU) authorization workflows by maintaining traceability across requirements, configurations, cybersecurity controls, risk decisions, evidence, approvals, and operational use.
- Coordinated technical, change and requirements reviews with cybersecurity, network, system administration and mission stakeholders so approved baselines matched what was actually implemented and operated.
Scope
- 2,000+ service/configuration actions and approximately 200 C4I/IT initiatives
- Balanced approximately 30–60 active efforts while reviewing more than 50 incoming or stagnant submissions in many weeks
- Resource plans, milestone information, estimates, bills of materials, project support agreements, cost reimbursement memorandums, risk and decision records, acquisition support, and closure evidence
- Quality-control planning, inspections, customer-dissatisfaction monitoring and post-change performance verification
- Vendor price and material variance comparison used to support governed resource and budget adjustments
- Annual IT configuration management plan and support to a seven-year lifecycle replacement and procurement view
- Supported RMF, Authorization to Operate (ATO) and Authorization to Use (ATU) activities: cybersecurity compliance, security requirements, risk assessments, authorization documentation and system lifecycle records
- Supported integration, modernization and operational implementation, including rollback planning, equipment replacement and decommissioning
- Supported major operational exercises, including Ulchi Freedom Shield and Freedom Shield, from planning, configuration, integration and testing through operational use, troubleshooting, sustainment and recovery or rollback
Leadership
- Facilitated 250+ technical reviews and contributed across 500+ governance sessions
- Trained 150+ personnel on requirements, configuration, governance and customer workflows
- Integrated customers, engineers, cybersecurity, configuration analysts, acquisition and resource stakeholders, military and civilian leaders, contractors, vendors, and U.S. and Korean partners
- Coordinated directly with SAIC personnel and other contractor teams inside the Department of Defense IT environment
- Used capability-based workload distribution in a small core team and reduced key-person risk through process documentation and training
Technical Environment
- Service request portal, SharePoint, Excel, Power BI-style decision products
- Teams, Active Directory, ServiceNow, Remedy
- Enterprise network, security and configuration documentation
- CENTRIX-K / CX-K mission-network environment (directly supported)
- Palantir Gotham (working experience)
- Zero Trust principles; Authorization to Operate (ATO) / Authorization to Use (ATU) authorization support
Transferable Business Capability
- Portfolio governance and PMIS design
- Requirements and scope control; lifecycle planning
- Quality control, inspection and performance verification
- Decision facilitation and stakeholder negotiation
- Resource, cost-variance and capacity management
- Zero Trust-aligned security governance and ATO/ATU authorization support
September 2023–August 2024
Executive IT & Secure Mobility Support
Executive / VIP IT Support | Germany | DoD enterprise and mission-partner environments
Mission. Provide responsive, high-touch technical support that sustained secure access, communications and mobility for senior leaders and VIP users across classified, unclassified and mission-partner environments.
Selected Outcomes
- Sustained secure access and continuity of communications for senior leaders across classified, unclassified and mission-partner environments.
- Delivered mobile and on-site support across locations to maintain mission readiness and continuity of communications.
- Resolved credential, certificate and authentication failures without weakening DoD cybersecurity and Information Assurance requirements.
Scope
- Served as a primary technical point of contact for senior leaders and VIP users, resolving endpoint, connectivity, authentication, credential and enterprise-mobility issues
- Supported NIPRNet, SIPRNet and Mission Partner Environment services, troubleshooting endpoint access, connectivity, authentication and user-impacting issues
- Hands-on support for government-furnished laptops, desktops, iPhones, iPads, peripherals and mobile services in office and mobile operational environments
- Endpoint and enterprise-mobility lifecycle activities: device setup and configuration, onboarding, secure access, application troubleshooting, mobile connectivity and hardware or software problem resolution
- Supported identity, credential and access provisioning, including mission-partner token and credential creation and authentication troubleshooting for authorized DoD and partner systems
- Assisted with PKI- and certificate-dependent services, secure authentication and access issues while following DoD cybersecurity and Information Assurance requirements
Leadership
- Acted as a technical liaison between VIP users and enterprise IT organizations, escalating infrastructure-level issues while keeping ownership of the user experience through resolution
- Translated enterprise constraints into plain guidance for senior leaders working under time pressure
- Coordinated with enterprise service, identity and cybersecurity teams rather than working around them
Technical Environment
- NIPRNet, SIPRNet, Mission Partner Environments
- Government-furnished laptops, desktops, iPhones, iPads and peripherals
- Enterprise mobility and mobile device management
- Identity and access management; credential and token provisioning
- PKI and certificate-based authentication
- Windows, iOS / iPadOS
Transferable Business Capability
- Executive stakeholder support under time pressure
- Identity, credential and access troubleshooting
- Enterprise mobility and endpoint lifecycle support
- Escalation ownership across organizational boundaries
2021–August 2023
Operational Infrastructure & Systems Delivery
IT Specialist / Systems Administrator / Team Leader | Germany & Eastern Europe
Mission. Deliver and sustain secure endpoint, network, identity and communications capability in garrison and deployed environments.
Selected Outcomes
- Established a supportable communications environment from bare site conditions, with controlled baselines and documented ownership.
- Sustained secure day-to-day operations across identity, endpoint and network services for a large garrison user base.
- Integrated hardware, software, network infrastructure and mission systems against cybersecurity requirements rather than treating security as a separate review.
- Isolated faults through cable and connectivity checks, command-line and log review, monitoring and security tooling, configuration comparison and before/after validation.
- Left sustainers a supportable baseline through equipment accountability, maintenance status, version and configuration records and handoff documentation.
Scope
- Endpoint, network, identity and communications support for 600+ users in garrison operations
- Greenfield physical and network foundation established by a four-person technical team for 200+ users in approximately 2.5 weeks
- Tactical and expeditionary communications setup and sustainment: satellite-connected field systems, deployable network packages, routing and switching, encrypted transport, fiber, identity and endpoint integration
- Approximately two years supporting coalition and multinational mission-network operations
- Configuration and version control across devices, software baselines and approved states
- Security compliance evidence, testing, equipment accountability and structured handoff
- Supported unit Information Assurance and ISSM functions by assisting with cybersecurity requirements, security controls, secure communications, system configuration and mission IT operations
- Supported COMSEC and secure communications activities, including cryptographic key loading and protected communications equipment in mission environments
Leadership
- Coordinated Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, service-provider, vendor, site and customer stakeholders under compressed timelines
- Led a small technical team through dependency-driven sequencing and constrained site conditions
- Worked alongside and supported the unit Chief who performed ISSM responsibilities, translating cybersecurity requirements into implementable configuration and support actions
- Enabled nontechnical operators in plain language through demonstrations, checklists and escalation guidance so they could establish connectivity, recognize faults and report useful information
- Treated security compliance as a release gate rather than a closing activity
Technical Environment
- SNAP, CPN/CPN-X, SATCOM, VSAT/Starlink
- Routers, switches, TACLANE, fiber, VTC
- COMSEC support and cryptographic key loading; protected communications equipment
- NIPR, SIPR, MPE, JWICS
- Windows, Active Directory, SCCM/Configuration Manager, Intune
- ServiceNow, Remedy, AESMP
- SolarWinds, ACAS/Nessus, SCAP/STIG, PowerShell
- Information Assurance / ISSM support practices (assisted, not designated)
Transferable Business Capability
- Greenfield and expeditionary delivery under dependency pressure
- Systems analysis, fault isolation and post-change validation
- Configuration, version and equipment accountability control
- Cross-organizational, coalition and vendor coordination
- Operator enablement and operational handoff
May–July 2026
Strategic Analysis & Organizational Improvement
Plans, Analysis & Integration | Installation-level planning environment serving 15,000+ personnel
Mission. Convert fragmented operational, performance, customer-feedback and planning inputs into decision-ready products and executable improvement plans.
Selected Outcomes
- Identified and corrected data-quality inconsistencies before leaders relied on the percentages.
- Produced action-oriented recommendations covering content reduction, technical rehearsal, mobile delivery, immediate feedback, dual-language cohesion and visible leadership presence.
- Turned an attractive campaign concept into a reviewed, signed-off planning baseline with measurable success criteria and contingency paths.
Scope
- Built a connected business case, charter, WBS, schedule, network and critical-path analysis, risk register, owners, KPIs, contingency paths and closure activities for a customer-feedback campaign
- Analyzed an operational-excellence training event against intended design, actual time compression, technology failures, bilingual delivery, workforce feedback and organizational climate
- Supported installation planning, performance reporting, customer feedback, action tracking and executive briefings
Leadership
- Tailored executive summaries, working-level trackers and source repositories to different decision audiences
- Preserved uncertainty and separated confirmed fact, analysis, open decision and recommendation
- Coordinated across leadership, directorates, school and student participants, media partners, service providers and process owners
Technical Environment
- Excel, SharePoint, Power BI-style reporting
- WBS, Gantt and network analysis; risk and action registers
- Executive briefing products
Transferable Business Capability
- Decision intelligence and critical-path planning
- Data-quality control and organizational diagnosis
- Performance reporting and change adoption
- Executive communication
2026–Present
Independent Product & AI Workflow Design
FamilyOS | Early-stage independent product
Mission. Translate family needs into a controlled, testable digital product and AI-assisted workflow system.
Selected Outcomes
- Created a structured MVP testing environment and a traceable product-development process. No commercial scale or launch results are claimed.
Scope
- Requirements, acceptance criteria, decision and risk records
- Feedback-driven iterations with a four-person beta group
- Privacy and access controls, release and rollback considerations, human approval gates
Leadership
- Tailored iteration speed to consequence: formatting and usability could move quickly, while privacy and health-related content required deliberate review
Technical Environment
- GitHub, Supabase, Vercel, Lovable
- Iterative product design
Transferable Business Capability
- Product management and controlled experimentation
- Responsible AI workflow governance and human-in-the-loop design
- Privacy-aware delivery
2017–2020
Independent Technical Services & Customer Support
Owner / Paid Part-Time Technical Support Provider | El Paso, Texas
Mission. Turn individual customer technology problems into scoped, supportable solutions with clear cost, schedule, communication and acceptance.
Selected Outcomes
- Built the service ownership, troubleshooting discipline and customer communication later applied to complex Department of Defense technology delivery.
Scope
- Supported 20+ recurring or occasional customers with computer, mobile-device, connectivity, upgrade and data-recovery needs
- Scoped problems, estimated parts, cost and time, scheduled work, and communicated constraints and progress
- Repaired or upgraded computers and mobile devices, restored data and connectivity, and validated customer acceptance
Leadership
- Owned the complete customer relationship from diagnosis through handoff
- Set expectations honestly when a problem exceeded available authority, parts, time or capability
Technical Environment
- Personal computers, mobile devices, local connectivity
- Component replacement, data recovery, customer support
Transferable Business Capability
- Customer discovery and expectation management
- Technical diagnosis and root-cause isolation
- Cost/time estimation and work scheduling
- Acceptance and service ownership
Selected Project Delivery Record
- Accepted experience
- 49 non-overlapping months accepted by PMI across five Army IT/IS projects, 2022–2026.
- Delivery approaches
- Traditional, adaptive and hybrid delivery, selected by uncertainty and consequence.
- Team size
- Teams ranging from 5–9 people to 20+.
- Project range
- Network modernization, rapidly deployable communications, infrastructure reactivation, secure connectivity expansion and enterprise gateway planning.
Budget figures are omitted because they were protected or classified. No portfolio dollar authority is claimed.
Technical Platforms & Equipment
Direct hands-on experience
Operated, configured, supported or validated directly in the course of the work.
Tactical communications & transport
- SNAP
- CPN / CPN-X and coalition partner network equipment
- SATCOM connectivity
- VSAT / Starlink
- TACLANE
- Routers
- Switches
- Fiber
- VTC
Enterprise systems & endpoint management
- Windows
- Active Directory
- SCCM / Microsoft Configuration Manager
- Microsoft Intune
- Microsoft 365
- Exchange Server
- iOS / iPadOS
Identity, credentials & enterprise mobility
- Identity and access management
- Credential and token provisioning
- PKI and certificate-based authentication
- Mobile device management
- Government-furnished laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets and peripherals
IT service management & operations
- ServiceNow
- Remedy
- AESMP
Security, monitoring & technical validation
- SolarWinds
- ACAS / Nessus
- SCAP / STIG
- PowerShell
- Command Prompt
- Event Viewer
- Device Manager
- Ping and ipconfig
- Cable, connectivity, configuration, log and before/after validation methods
Secure communications equipment
- COMSEC support activities
- Cryptographic key loading
- Protected communications equipment
- Encrypted transport (TACLANE)
Data & mission platforms
- Palantir Gotham (working experience)
Project delivery, analysis & collaboration
- Microsoft Project
- Microsoft Excel
- Power BI
- SharePoint
- Microsoft Visio
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Teams
Governance & cybersecurity practices
Frameworks, processes and disciplines applied in the work. These are practices, not vendor products.
Cybersecurity & authorization
- RMF support
- Authorization to Operate (ATO) / Authorization to Use (ATU) support — Korea, 2024–2026
- Zero Trust principles — Korea, 2024–2026
- Security controls, cybersecurity compliance and risk assessments
- Information Assurance / ISSM support — Germany, 2021–August 2023 (assisted, not designated)
- Executive / VIP IT support under DoD cybersecurity requirements — Germany, 2023–2024
Configuration, change & requirements governance
- Configuration management and baselines
- Change management and change approval
- Requirements governance and traceability
- Technical review boards and configuration documentation
- Implementation planning, rollback considerations and decommissioning
Operational mission support
- Exercise support: Ulchi Freedom Shield and Freedom Shield — Korea, 2024–2026
- Systems integration and operational implementation
- Sustainment, troubleshooting and recovery or rollback
- Contractor coordination, including SAIC personnel — Korea, 2024–2026
Environments supported
Named operating environments supported as a practitioner — not systems architected or owned.
Networks & mission environments
- CENTRIX-K / CX-K — Korea, 2024–2026
- NIPR
- SIPR
- MPE
- JWICS
- LAN / WAN
- Coalition and multinational mission-network environments
Working familiarity / transferable knowledge
Adjacent terminal and band environments; transferable knowledge rather than claimed direct platform ownership.
Adjacent terminal & band environments
- C-band, Ku-band, X-band and Ka-band mission applications
- DKET
- Mobile DKET
- USMC SWAN
- mVSAT
- ISA terminal environments
Proficiency varies by platform and assignment; the labels above distinguish direct operation and support from adjacent or transferable familiarity. No certification, administrator ownership or expert status is implied where the evidence shows use, support or exposure.
Editorial note
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