Systems Administration · IT Operations
Jake Melega
Systems Administrator & IT Generalist
Virginia Beach, VA — relocating to Western Washington or Western Oregon
Looking for a full-time or contract systems administration, infrastructure, IAM, or IT operations role in Western Washington or Western Oregon — remote, hybrid, or onsite all work for me. Ready to relocate as soon as the right offer comes along.
About
I've spent 14+ years in IT across systems administration, technical support, field service, and independent consulting. In my current role, I work across identity, endpoint, infrastructure, and day-to-day operations for an organization of 350+ employees.
A lot of my work sits at the boundaries between systems: Active Directory, Entra ID, Google Workspace, Cloudflare WARP, Intune, Windows Server, VMware, and Linux. I tend to end up with the problems that cross those boundaries — especially when provisioning, authentication, access, or device management doesn't behave the way it should.
I also like taking on projects that need someone to own the technical details from beginning to end. That has included a company-wide workstation modernization, enterprise password management, workstation provisioning automation, and the technical execution of a major office relocation.
I'm relocating to the Pacific Northwest — Western Washington or Western Oregon, west of the Cascades — mainly the Seattle–Tacoma–Olympia and Portland–Eugene–Springfield areas — and looking for a systems administration, infrastructure, IAM, or IT operations role there.
Experience
Virginia Beach, VA
- Administer identity and access across Active Directory and Entra ID, including users, groups, permissions, Group Policy, onboarding, offboarding, and account lifecycle work.
- Maintain the identity chain between Active Directory, Google Workspace, and Cloudflare WARP, troubleshooting attribute, SCIM, provisioning, and access failures.
- Support MFA, SSO/SAML, RBAC, Cloudflare Zero Trust, OpenVPN, and authentication issues that span identity, endpoints, and applications.
- Administer and support VMware ESXi, Proxmox, Windows Server, DNS, DHCP, DFS, and Linux-based infrastructure.
- Deploy and manage Windows endpoints through Intune and Autopilot, including manual hardware-hash enrollment when vendor registration is unavailable.
- Helped build a PowerShell-based workstation provisioning workflow covering OOBE, applications, domain join, updates, WSL, and Ubuntu, allowing multiple machines to be processed unattended.
- Led the technical execution of a 40,000 sq ft, three-floor office relocation involving roughly 200 desktops and monitors, 40 TVs, 100+ retired servers, and 200+ other assets.
- Moved externally facing VM workloads to the datacenter and helped restore service following associated IP and DNS changes.
- Own international onboarding logistics including procurement, equipment preparation, shipping, account setup, and Day 1 remote support.
My first major project here: moved 200+ users off Remote Desktop session hosts and onto local workstations. Provisioned and configured machines onsite, got them out to employees, and wound the RDS infrastructure down gradually as the cutover completed.
Led the company-wide rollout to 350+ employees across roughly 30 departments, designed 40+ groups and 75+ collections with department stakeholders, and developed migration tooling, documentation, policy guidance, and onboarding material used by the rest of IT.
Earlier experience
Virginia Beach, VA
- Handled 50–70 customer cases per day, took escalations, mentored newer technicians, and wrote documentation that standardized troubleshooting.
Virginia Beach, VA
- Provided frontline support for account access, endpoint, application, and hosting-related issues.
- Performed on-site repair and preventive maintenance of multifunction equipment while providing technical guidance to customers.
Virginia Beach, VA
- Managed daily operations, cash handling, and staff scheduling between technical roles.
Remote (Sunnyvale, CA)
- Provided advanced networking and connectivity support and coordinated with field services on complex cases.
Jacksonville, NC
- Provided on-site IT support, printer installations, and small-business technology services.
Jacksonville, NC — part-time, alongside other work
- Ran a small-business IT practice providing troubleshooting, remote support, and end-user training from initial contact through resolution.
Skills
Identity & Access
Active Directory, Group Policy, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, LDAP, MFA, SSO/SAML, SCIM, RBAC, hybrid identity
Systems & Infrastructure
Windows Server, DNS, DHCP, DFS, VMware ESXi, Proxmox, Docker, Linux (Ubuntu), virtualization and file services
Endpoint Management
Intune, Windows Autopilot, Windows deployment, Apple Business Manager/MDM, hardware-hash enrollment
Networking & Security
TCP/IP, VLANs, Cloudflare Zero Trust/WARP, OpenVPN, authentication troubleshooting, access controls
Automation & Scripting
PowerShell, Python, Bash, Git, Ansible (basic), provisioning workflows and operational automation
Operations & Documentation
Runbooks, deployment guides, incident troubleshooting, vendor coordination, project coordination, onboarding/offboarding
Tools & Platforms
Kaseya VSA, Bitwarden, Authentik, Apple Business Manager, Snipe-IT, Jira, Confluence, Opsgenie
Certifications & education
- Google IT Support Professional Certificate 2025
- Coursework toward B.S., Computer Engineering — DeVry University 2009 – 2010
- High school diploma equivalent — Coastal Carolina Community College 2009
Beyond IT
I grew up in Tacoma and spent roughly a third of my life there, so moving back to the Pacific Northwest is as much about returning to a place that feels familiar as it is about starting somewhere new. I miss the weather and the outdoors more than I expected to.
Outside of work I'm married with three kids and a house full of pets. Most of my free time goes to them, along with getting out on the trails in my truck, putting together model kits, and tinkering with the home lab.
The home lab is where I experiment with virtualization, identity, Linux, networking, and automation before I'd ever bring an idea into a production environment. A lot of what's behind the move is wanting to give my own kids the same sense of stability and opportunity that I valued growing up.