Stew Alexander — Bio

Stew Alexander

Infrastructure Automation and Network Security Engineer for AI Systems

Professional Summary

Infrastructure Automation and Network Security Engineer with 15+ years building resilient, zero-trust architectures for AI/ML systems. Architected hybrid-cloud (AWS/GCP) infrastructure at Covariant.AI achieving 99.9% uptime and 60% faster deployments via Python/SaltStack automation. Expert: Zero Trust security, infrastructure-as-code (Terraform/Ansible), networking (Cisco, Juniper, Dell), disaster recovery, threat-resistant design for AI workloads.

90 Second Career Overview

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What I Do — & How I Can Help You

I assist AI/ML teams, robotics platforms, and SMBs create resilient, secure, low-latency networks that stay up. Whether you need a network security architect, an AI infrastructure specialist, or a hands-on SRE to increase performance, I operate as a network and automation consultant / engineer with 15+ years of production experience.

For Remote Teams & Startups

Zero Trust, multi-cloud (AWS/GCP), and sub‑ms latency for AI/robotics workloads. I've built campus-wide mesh networks for autonomous vehicles and PCI‑DSS‑compliant infrastructures for 10,000+ endpoints.

For Local SMBs (Mebane, Haw River, RTP)

Fixed‑fee security assessments, PCI‑DSS gap analysis, and ransomware‑ready hardening. I work with law firms, manufacturers, and small businesses to close security gaps without enterprise overhead.

For MSPs & IT Partners

White‑label security architecture and automation. I augment your team with deep firewall (Juniper SRX/Palo Alto), NMS (Cisco DNA/LibreNMS), and Python/SaltStack automation expertise.

Based near Mebane, NC (27302) — serving clients nationwide.

Schedule a 30‑Minute Call

Or email me at [email protected]

Career Highlights

  • Senior Network Engineer: Specializing in Linux Networking and Site Reliability Engineering, reducing operational risks and improving network reliability through infrastructure modernization and Zero Trust security implementations.
  • Cloud Infrastructure Expert: Extensive experience with AWS cloud implementations, including VPC environments, multi-AZ deployments, and security best practices.
  • Cybersecurity Specialist: Led critical security initiatives including Zero Trust network access implementation and enterprise-wide security posture improvements for educational and corporate environments.
  • Technology Journalist: Author of widely-read technical content, including "20 Awesome Command Line Tools for the Mac" with 40,000+ reads, and maintainer of LinuxTech.me.
  • Automation Engineer: Developed sophisticated DevOps solutions using Infrastructure as Code, streamlining system management overhead and advancing operational efficiency for private enterprises (ARCA, Perrone Robotics, Covariant), and government institutions (US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Alamance Community College).
  • Robotics Wi‑Fi Network Architect: Pioneered vehicle-to-vehicle LAN systems for autonomous vehicle crash avoidance testing for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), while with Perrone Robotics in 2015.
  • Technical Leader: Recognized as a 'Technical Superstar' at Extreme Networks (Jan 2009) for exceptional expertise in resolving complex engineering challenges.
  • Who's Who of America Honored Listee (Dec 2024): Endorsed by "Who's Who of America" for contributions to Network Engineering, specifically in regard to robotics and autonomous systems.

Personal Interests

  • Pianist: Balances technology with art through music.
  • Open-Source Contributor: Contributed to the solution of over 15 issues within the LibreNMS, OSQuery, NTOPng and other GitHub communities
  • Weather Forecaster: Applies meteorological expertise alongside computer science and physics principles as creator and maintainer of MebaneWeather.com.

Core Technical Skills*

  • Cloud & Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Developed and administered 200+ Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances, with experience in Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Terraform, Kubernetes, and OpenStack
  • AI-Focused DevOps Automation: Adept at creating Python, Ansible, SaltStack and Jenkins CI/CD pipelines, using cutting-edge AI tools like machine learning (ML) to enhance infrastructure automation
  • Cybersecurity: Successfully implemented Next-Generation Firewalls (Juniper SRX / Palo Alto / FortiGate), Tailscale, SSL, Zero Trust architectures and PCI-DSS/NIST 800-207 compliance standards
  • Wireless Networking: Designed and built highly available (HA), secure, innovative Wi‑Fi solutions for private enterprises (IBM, Lucent Technologies), government institutions (US EPA, Alamance Community College), startups (Perrone Robotics, Covariant), and non-profits (Duke School for Children / Insurance Institute for Highway Safety).

AI Cybersecurity Blog

The Quantum Shield Initiative

Resume / CV

Stew Alexander's Resume

Contact Info

Contact Stew Alexander