Ben Withem
Ben WithemOpen to Work

Ben Withem

Senior Cloud / Systems Development Engineer

Washington, DC Area

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Summary

Seasoned Cloud and Systems Engineering leader with over a decade of experience designing, deploying, and maintaining secure, scalable infrastructures on AWS. Demonstrated success in implementing innovative cloud solutions, automating large-scale environments, and ensuring operational excellence in mission-critical, air-gapped systems. Adept at Agile/DevOps, Linux, networking, mentoring teams, and maintaining compliance under DoD-level standards. Seeking a fully remote role (periodic travel) to leverage AWS, Linux, automation, and compliance expertise.

Skills

Cloud Technologies

AWSEC2VPCADCTGWS2SVPN

IaC Automation

TerraformPuppetAnsibleCloudFormation

Systems OS

Linux (Red HatSolaris)Windows Server

Scripting

BashPythonRubyJavaScript

CI/CD Tooling

CI/CD pipelinesJenkinsCircleCI

Networking

Fiber/SatelliteNginxLDAPDNSTinc

Security Compliance

SOC2DoD standardsair-gapped environmentsSCIF operations

Agile Dev Ops

Agile methodsiterative developmentoperational scalabilitycontinuous improvement

Experience

Systems Development Manager, Amazon Dedicated Cloud

2023 - Present

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

  • Led a 10-engineer team, improving workflow via KanBan and structured sprint planning.
  • Integrated features (TGW, S2SVPN) under strict DoD compliance and operational readiness.
  • Hosted monthly business reviews for cross-functional alignment.
  • Mentored and developed engineering talent.

Palantir Technologies

2013 - 2018

Palantir Technologies

  • Operated infrastructure for 10,000+ EC2 instances, ensuring reliability.
  • Implemented Puppet/Terraform IaC, improving security & consistency.
  • Deployed Palantir stacks globally within 24 hours in crisis scenarios.
  • Served as SOC2 control owner, ensuring compliance in audits.

Convergenz (GeoEye/Digital Globe)

2012 - 2013

Convergenz (GeoEye/Digital Globe)

  • Supported 24/7 geospatial ops with SolarWinds in a SCIF environment.
  • Maintained network integrity over fiber/satellite uplinks.

Ace Info Solutions (U.S. Coast Guard)

2010 - 2012

Ace Info Solutions (U.S. Coast Guard)

  • Implemented Nimsoft monitoring for real-time health visibility.
  • Automated tasks with shell scripts, improving efficiency.
  • Supported Windows/UNIX servers in a high-security federal environment.