Geoff Wagner

HI! My name is Geoff Wagner. I am a lifelong learner specifically focused on the technology space. My career started as a software developer in the PHP ecosystem. I was building search indexes and website scraping tools where timing and performance were very important. As I have grown in my career my focus shifted from pure software development to software delivery. Some people will consider this a move into "DevOps". I have helped businesses shift from legacy human-based deployment models into models which combine configuration management, infrastructure as code, event orchestration, and day 2 operations bringing flexibility and stability into their ecosystems.

Over the last few years, my career has taken a shift away from being purely technology-focused transitioning into a management role. I am now empowered to work with engineers and architects on developing automated delivery pipelines for the future. This blog is meant to be a representation of that journey.

I am very opinionated when it comes to well-developed and well-run technology. It is easy for technology to take center stage when people are heads down and churning things worked products. This means that the human element of being on a delivery team gets marginalized and ignored. My interests are centered around bringing humans and technology together in a way that enables people to expand their horizons.

Professional Experience

ICF Next - Minneapolis MN

Title: Partner of Technology, Engineering

Aug 2014 - Sept 2024

Led a dynamic technology architecture and engineering group—including software developers, DevOps engineers, QA analysts, and security personnel—to design, build, and operate technology solutions ranging from small projects to enterprise-class systems. Optimized processes and procedures throughout the full application lifecycle by leveraging multiple methodologies and techniques for perfect alignment. Mentored engineers, architects, and non-technical staff through regular one-on-one sessions, fostering personal and professional growth. Built practice-oriented teams to manage delivery within their areas of expertise. Developed comprehensive growth and continuous improvement plans for all personnel, cultivating a high-performing team environment.

Notable Contributions / Accomplishments

• Implemented a DevOps practice inside multiple business units that significantly enhanced system stability, accelerated delivery speeds, minimized downtime, and boosted efficiency while remaining flexible through strategy development from industry insights.
• Designed and implemented large-scale/elastically scaling technology solutions for on-prem and the cloud (AWS and Azure) for public-facing commercial websites/web services.
• Introduced and standardized new technologies designed to enhance operations and increase efficiency in technology delivery. Examples: Delivery pipelines, Serverless, Kubernetes, AI/ML, and advanced APM.
• Championed application performance tuning to maximize performance and reduce infrastructure footprint. Systems capable of processing 35M-50M+ daily transactions (75% read, 25% write). Tuning activities included cloud instance, application, database, caching, and load balancing to achieve optimal cost-effective performance for page load times of less than 2 seconds for 99.9% of page loads or greater.
• Led development teams on strategies for modernizing application architecture resiliency to maintain application uptime of greater than 99.999% on business-critical applications requiring minimal downtime.
• Introduced and integrated automated DAST and SAST scanning for software development projects to greatly reduce vulnerabilities and increase visibility for lifecycle management activities.
• Established a dependable and adaptable Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) practice within the business, designed to bolster general software development projects as well as support compliance with audit requirements and initiatives.
• Managed large-scale co-location facilities, modernization, and the inevitable transition to the cloud. Designed Azure and AWS virtual data centers to provide native and hybrid hosting capabilities.
• Reduced technology total cost of ownership (TCO) focusing resources towards customer-centric value-oriented initiatives and projects, thus maximizing value delivery and customer satisfaction.
• Designed an internal developer platform (IDP) compliant with NIST Low standards, ensuring robust security in development practices and reducing project setup time by 90%.
• Worked with Auditors on streamlining data collection and evidence cataloging processes for clean and transparent audit activities. SOC, ISO, NIST.
• Increased technology deployment rate from 10 per month to over 100,000 deployments per year for Frontend, Middleware, Backend, Database, and Configuration Management code by introducing automated pipelines all without increasing errors or downtime.
• Sponsored capital projects from concept to delivery. Provided ROI analysis and worked with the executive team to obtain funding and developed KPI's to ensure goals were met.
• Developed technical pitch decks to sell both new work to new customers and enhancements to existing customers.
• Worked and built relationships with business leaders designed to ensure requirements were understood and fully delivered for all designed solutions.
• Provided direct oversight for technology delivery projects ranging from 200K to 58M.
• Secured and maximized operational uptime of over 99.999%, supporting systems generating $500M in revenue.
• Built a highly skilled team of DevOps engineers through efforts in sourcing, crafting job descriptions, and performing interviews.
• Led and inspired a diverse, multinational team spanning four countries, fostering collaboration and driving exceptional results.
• Promoted 4 times from Sr. Architect to Sr. Director of Engineering over my 10-year period at ICF.
• Implemented StrengthsFinder and leadership training plans for my technical leaders to drive leadership development of my direct reports.

Otterology - Minneapolis MN

Title: Senior Engineer of New Technology

June 2013 - Aug 2014

Developed and implemented a new inventory management platform to facilitate a transition to a modern web framework, incorporated a continuous integration strategy, boosted development productivity, and provided executives with in-depth system performance analytics. Devised a robust testing strategy, among other initiatives, to elevate the platform's reliability and functionality.

Notable Contributions / Accomplishments

• Led to the development of an advanced inventory management application that seamlessly integrates with Square through APIs, enabling automatic updates of sales information and inventory levels.
• Crafted user-friendly management interfaces, allowing end users to manage inventory and track sales data effortlessly.
• Enhanced system stability and achieved significant reductions in technology-related costs, effectively managing a startup budget to optimize financial resources.
• Expanded the customer base dramatically from 5 to 200 within three months through direct outreach and social media campaigns.

Fourscore Resource Capital - Minneapolis MN

Title: Lead Software Engineer

Dec 2010 - May 2013

Led design and development of cutting-edge software solutions, optimizing performance and user experience. Served as a PHP Developer, proficient in Zend Framework 1 & 2, navigating through PHP versions 5.3 and above. Operated within CentOS 5.x+ and 6.x+ environments and implemented Puppet Enterprise and Standalone for efficient configuration management. Delivered engaging and informative presentations to clients and stakeholders, communicating project milestones and recommendations.

Notable Contributions / Accomplishments

• Leveraged expertise in Apache and a solid foundation in database management using MySQL and MongoDB.
• Optimized storage solutions with NetApp SAN equipment and executed Big Data ETL operations for data processing/analysis.
• Optimized reporting generation reducing time from several hours to 30 seconds per report.
• Closed security vulnerabilities in the code based identified through automated scanning.

JobDig - Minneapolis MN

Title: Web Developer

May 2008 - May 2010

Oversaw planning and execution of new features for JobDig.com and LinkUp.com, while ensuring code optimization, minimal technical debt, and optimal user experience. Managed multiple web development projects simultaneously, prioritizing tasks, and meeting deadlines to deliver high-quality results efficiently. Conducted regular code reviews and testing to identify and address bugs, usability issues, and performance bottlenecks for optimal website functionality.

Notable Contributions / Accomplishments

• Thrived in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, favoring swift, iterative development processes.
• Contributed significantly to major projects, including the creation of job application systems, the design and development of a proactive job alerting system, the establishment of external job portals, the design and implementation of a developer API, and the integration and polling of numerous APIs for job-relevant information.

Areas of Expertise

Technical Proficiencies

Bio

Early on in my career, I worked as a software developer for a few different organizations. Each company I worked for was a stepping stone to a future career moving closer to helping teams on their DevOps and Agile adoption journeys. While I very much enjoyed my time doing software development, I was exposed to a series of different methods of delivering technology and they all felt disjointed and far too complicated.

Most of the exposure that I had pushed my never ending curiosity about how to smooth out delivery, reduce failures, and increase quality of the work my teams and I were performing. I believe that everyone deserves a quality product that reflects the passionate work everyone puts into it.

All of this has lead me to exploring Agile project management and DevOps delivery methodologies.

I have over a decade of experience working with different companies, internal organizations, and managing teams helping them transform their software delivery practices from disjointed manual processes into well oiled Agile delivery pipelines utilizing the DevOps methodology. These transformations have reduced overall IT technology burden, increased customer satisfaction, and created happier and healthier delivery teams.

The primary goal of any transformation is to reduce aspirational velocity and increase realistic expectation setting early on. A major gap in delivery is generally mismatched expectations from realistic delivery capabilities. By building more focused alignment in these areas, everyone involved can have more focused dialog rooted in solving real problems which turn into valuable results.

After realistic expectations are set, we move on to technology transformations through either IT or digital transformation and modernization. This processes requires full participation from both technical and non-technical resources to merge together project management methodology and delivery methodology. The goal is to have a well oiled machine delivering technology in unison rather than multiple parties building near each other without empathy.

Technology transformations generally start through training in specific areas or Agile and Devops to help broaden perspectives. From there goals are set, automation introduced, and the transformation can begin. The end result is a group that can push changes and have them running in production on the same day. In my experience, this transformation is lengthy with lots of twists and turns, but the results have long lasting positive impact to any of the businesses I have worked with.