Cybersecurity
Specialist
Endpoint security architecture, threat detection, and cloud automation. 26 years of hands-on IT experience — from building home labs at 11 to deploying CrowdStrike EDR/XDR across thousands of enterprise endpoints.
About
I'm James — a self-taught cybersecurity specialist with 26+ years of IT experience. I got my first PC at a young age and never stopped learning. That curiosity led me through infrastructure, telecoms, and into enterprise cybersecurity — landing a dedicated security role through demonstrated capability rather than formal qualifications.
In June 2022 I transitioned from a Patch Lead position at Openreach into BT Group's Cyber Design & Implementation team, where I was rapidly promoted from Professional (E grade) to Specialist (D grade) within 12 months. As Subject Matter Expert for CrowdStrike XDR, I led the design and deployment of endpoint protection across thousands of enterprise endpoints within BT's Managed Security Services (MSSP) portfolio, working directly with the Technical Design Authority and Product Manager.
After three years of rapid career progression, I returned to an operational role at Openreach in August 2025. I'm now actively seeking to return to cybersecurity and continue building on my security architecture, threat detection, and cloud automation expertise. Based in Wales, I'm open to remote and flexible hybrid arrangements. I maintain an active homelab and continue studying toward CISSP certification.
Skills
Endpoint Security (SME)
CrowdStrike Falcon EDR/XDR — architecture, deployment, policy design, integration & customer onboarding across 50,000+ endpoints
Security Architecture
Design & technical governance for MSSP cybersecurity services, secure product rollouts and enterprise integrations
SIEM & Threat Detection
Securonix & IBM QRadar administration, RBAC configuration, real-time monitoring and threat detection
Cloud & DevOps Security
AWS security (EC2, IAM, S3, VPC), Terraform, Ansible — infrastructure automation aligned to compliance goals
Windows & Linux Hardening
Deep OS-level knowledge — configuration, patching, automation, monitoring and system administration
Leadership & Delivery
Team management, technical workshops, training material development, stakeholder engagement across SOC, PM & TDA
Automation & Scripting
Python & Bash scripting for security automation, log parsing, API integration and system administration. Terraform & Ansible for IaC. Git version control
Programming & Development
Python (security tooling, scripting, automation), Bash (shell scripting, cron, system tasks), HTML/CSS/JS, Terraform HCL, CI/CD pipeline configuration
Experience
Certifications
CrowdStrike Certified Falcon Administrator
Endpoint detection & response platform — achieved 2023
CompTIA Security+
Foundational cyber security certification — 2025
CISSP
Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Homelab & Development
I maintain an active cybersecurity lab for continuous practical development, simulating enterprise security environments and staying current with industry tooling.
Virtualisation
VMware ESXi hosting multiple VMs simulating enterprise security scenarios
Security Monitoring
Wazuh SIEM for real-time security monitoring, log analysis and threat detection
DevOps & Containers
Docker containers, GitLab for version control, CI/CD pipelines
AWS Cloud Lab
EC2 instances, IAM policies, S3 with encryption, VPC network segmentation
Infrastructure
NAS storage with secure configuration, backup strategies and RBAC
Network Security
OPNsense firewall, managed switches, VLANs, network segmentation — full home network built from scratch
Windows Server & AD
Windows Server administration, Active Directory, Group Policy, domain services and RBAC
Scripting & Tooling
Python scripts for security automation and API integration, Bash for system hardening and scheduled tasks, Terraform for lab infrastructure provisioning
Practice Areas
Incident response drills, vulnerability scanning, security automation and reverse engineering (currently learning)