Nicholas A. Vargish

Silver Spring, Maryland; Washington DC metro area

Summary: Ten years of Unix development experience; twelve years of Unix systems and network engineering; fifteen years of professional Internet experience.

Goal: Long-term position performing software development or systems engineering, in an environment encouraging skill growth and original problem solving.

Employment History

IT Specialist
December 2002 -- present		 US Government Printing Office
Washington, DC
Develop and maintain applications as a member of the Graphic Systems Development Division. Primary duty is transition of legacy web services written in C running on DEC Unix systems to Python-based solutions. Troubleshooting C and C++ programs that are not ready for complete translation is also an important duty. Also provide technical expertise for units working with full text indexing software. Understanding of XML, SGML, Perl and a general knowlege of Web-based services, CGI form processing, and related technologies has proven useful. Communication skills and willingness to self-motivate are additional aspects of this position. This position also includes minor instructional duties involving familiarizing trainees with the role of IT in the GPO's online offerings.
Consultant
August 2002 -- June 2003		 iNetXperts, Inc.
Rockville, Maryland
Work with a variety of customers to develop requirements and implement solutions to a number of system and software engineering needs. In addition to technical challenges, maintain a positive and professional relationship with customers, developing business opportunities as customer needs grow. Projects include Unix email system redesigns with spam mitigation features, virtual domain support, pop before SMTP, account information stored in SQL database, and other enhancements. Member of development team for a voice over IP application, specifically feasibility study and adaptation of Win32-specific code to Linux and Macintosh OS X.
Senior Software Engineer
December 1999 -- September 2002		 NFR Security, Inc.
Rockville, Maryland
Design and develop security software for NFR Security, a leading provider of intrusion detection systems. Projects include architecting and writing the core software for the Secure Log Repository appliance, a Unix-based syslog and event log aggregator, as well as managing the team of developers that brought the final product to market. Performed lead engineer role on Unix side of a host based intrusion project, including APIs for core functionality, XML document type definitions describing the data the system would handle, and interfaces to existing product lines. Develop SQL database backend for packet and other sensor data in PostgreSQL on Unix platforms, including Solaris and Linux. Replace DES with AES in various communication components, write installation and configuration scripts for many Unix products.
Consulting Software Engineer
June 1999 -- December 1999		 TMSI/Fannie Mae contract
Washington, DC
Consultant with the Event/Fault Management department of Fannie Mae, whose primary task is enterprise-wide system and event monitoring. The core engine is Tivoli, with many in-house modifications, which interfaces with their Remedy-based trouble-ticket system. The main project is the development of software to translate Tivoli configuration files into human-friendly HTML pages, so that system monitoring parameters can be reviewed by support and engineering staff. Additional work involved the development of a forms-based system so that departments can request additional monitoring or change existing services. Writing additional system monitoring scripts was a peripheral duty on this contract.
Consulting Engineer
December 1997 -- June 1999		 ATR/Federal Reserve Board contract
Washington, DC
Consulting at the Federal Reserve Board, Information Resources Management division. Specifically providing Unix engineering and administration support to the records project. This project involves the conversion of paper records into electronic formats, primarily through the use of scanner and OCR technology. Record and database storage comprises many hundreds of gigabytes, and scanning is deployed on a number of systems, making the work both interesting and challenging. Streamlining and documenting maintenance procedures, such as serial terminal service for dedicated RAID farms, is a component of the contract. Intimate knowledge of Solaris, TCP/IP networking, and process-flow scripting are integral skills in this role. Also provide support on Year 2000 testing projects.
Consulting Developer
July 1997 -- December 1997		 Halbrecht and Associates
Fairfax, Virginia
As a consultant to the Bureau of National Affairs, perform production-oriented application design, development, and testing. Initial project focused on invoice and postal code processing in Perl; in addition to data handling code, support for this project involved designing a transaction processing and print queue under AIX. Subsequent work involves developing user account management utilities for a Windows NT based Site Director server. Both projects required that programs be documented, commented, and maintainable. Peripheral consultation on user authentication techniques, Web page design and development, and system architecture issues.
Systems Engineer
July 1996 -- June 1997		 BTG Incorporated
Fairfax, Virginia
Network and system security engineering, both in-house and on contract. Site security analysis through infiltration techniques as well as cooperative information sharing. Analysis of software systems for security issues by source code analysis and subversion attempts against test systems. Research and reports on security-related subjects such as alternatives to sendmail, network traffic encryption systems, and certificate distribution architectures. Installation and configuration of firewalls and software-based network security utilities. While on contract to BTG customers, performed some program development, including CGI work in C, a database of security weaknesses with browser in Scheme, and a family of Perl programs for a Year 2000 project at Fannie Mae.
Systems Administrator
September 1993 -- July 1996		 SURAnet, then BBN Planet
College Park, Maryland
Perform Unix system administration duties in a highly dynamic environment of corporate transition. Write and develop systems administration tools in a variety of scripting languages, primarily Perl, as well as in C. In addition to code, produce documentation and train staff in the use of these tools. Continuing participation in the conversion of SunOS 4.1.x servers and desktops to Solaris 2.5. Development of scalable Usenet news platforms, including software solutions to bottlenecks and routine administration duties, on a variety of Solaris 2.5 hardware platforms. Primarily responsible for Sun desktop workstations and servers from both DEC and Sun, as well as integration with PC and Macintosh desktops and printers. Duties also include administrating a large Usenet news service (feeding over two hundred sites), a popular archie server, customer consulting, and Unix security.
Network Operator
February 1992 -- September 1993		 SURAnet
College Park, Maryland
Provide customer support and engineering solutions for networking issues at one of the "Big Seven" Internet providers. Primary duties include Cisco and Proteon router configuration, basic scripting, and the use of network monitoring software. An understanding of TCP/IP networking at several levels is a requirement for solving customer issues. Vital non-technical skills include good phone manners, the ability to work with customers under adverse conditions, and maintaining focus in crisis situations.
Information Systems Engineer
September 1990 -- March 1991		 Computer Science Center, University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
Build, deploy, and obtain content for the "Info at Maryland" project. The project attempts to make information available to students through public-access terminals and dial-up connections. Information ranges from University-related material to Project Gutenberg texts. The Infor project predates the widespread use of the World Wide Web. Required skills include an understanding of network services such as ftp, archie, and gopher, as well as the ability to write scripts to extract textual information from a variety of formats.
Editor, Arts and Leisure Section
August 1989 -- March 1990		 The Diamondback
College Park, Maryland
Editor of a section of the college daily newspaper, The Diamondback. Managing student reporters, assignments, and deadlines; editing stories for content, grammar, and style; designing and laying out at least one newspaper page per day were all duties of this demanding role.
First Aider
December 1987 -- May 1989		 Computer Science Center, University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
Part-time on-site support for students using the university computer labs. Primary requirement is the ability to troubleshoot user issues with networked DEC workstations, Apple Macintosh, and IBM personal computers. During the last semester of this job, supervise other student workers, managing schedules and supporting them in their efforts.

Applicable Skills

Unix Variants and Environments Solaris/SunOS; Linux; BSD variants; AIX; X Windows (including OpenWindows and the CDE); Bourne shell (including ksh, bash, zsh); C shell (including tcsh).
Other Operating Systems PalmOS; MS/PC-DOS; MS Windows (9x, NT, 2000, XP); Macintosh (OS X, OS 9 and earlier); VM/CMS.
Programming and Scripting Languages C; C++; Python; Perl; PHP; Java; JavaScript; sh; Tcl and Tk; Lisp (including Scheme and GUILE); Smalltalk; FORTH; various BASIC dialects; Pascal; some Intel and Motorola assemblers.
Applications and Tools PostgreSQL; Oracle; Informix SQL; Various SQL access libraries; StarOffice; awk, sed and the usual Unix tools; various Windows and Macintosh applications.
Markup and Publishing XML; XSLT; SGML; HTML (including CGI and forms); TeX and LaTeX; nroff and variants; OmniMark; Apache; Emacs and/or vi.
Network and System Services qmail; sendmail; httpd configuration; Usenet news; various Unix backup strategies; ftp administration; Tivoli; TCP/IP network and host configuration; System V and BSD print serving; care and feeding of cron; NFS administration; DNS/BIND configuration.
Security Systems and Tools various security tools such as TCP Wrappers, Crack, and tripwire; NFR intrusion detection products; PGP (various flavors); ssh installation and configuration; packet capture and decode utilities; familiar with cryptographic theory and protocols, some implementations.
Hardware Experience Sun Sparcstations and Sparcservers; Intel PC hardware; DEC Alpha systems; Cisco routers; Ethernet cabling and hubs; Annexes and other terminal servers; modem racks; various printers especially Hewlett-Packard and Apple laser printers; SCSI devices.

Educational Background

Singapore American School
Republic of Singapore
August 1983 -- June 1987
High School Diploma, National Merit Scholarship Finalist

University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
September 1987 -- November 2005
BA Philosophy

U.S. Citizen / References Available