Welcome

My name is Tristan Findley

Automation Engineer & Systems Administrator

  • From Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
  • Age 38
  • DevOps / SRE Experience 7+ Years
  • IT Experience 18+ Years
  • Creative Experience 13+ Years
  • Graduated 2006, BSc (Hons) Computer Network Management & Design, University of Portsmouth
  • Status Looking for new opportunities in Belgium

Download Resume

Hello! I’m Tristan Findley. I am Team Lead for the Application Services team. I am a DevOps focused team lead with a background in IT Systems Administrator totaling 17+ years experience in Public and Private sectors covering Defence, Cloud Infrastructure, Telecommunications, Research and Further Education. I am primarily skilled in Linux but am experienced in Windows server administration. Over the last seven years I have spent time working with Chef , Ansible, Terraform and CI/CD to utilize the ‘infrastructure as code’ approach to Systems Administration, underpinned by the DevOps methodology of Code / Release / Develop.

I have also undertaken IT Contracts for End Users and Small businesses, focusing on managing and supporting bespoke IT solutions, Systems Administration and Support, and Web Hosting and Development. This allowed me to develop new IT skills and experience which I brought to my position.

Adding my skills as a creative professional in the Photography and Video worlds lets me bridge the gap between the Technical and Creative, allowing a full end-to-end solution which delivers not only on the platform but also on Digital Asset creation.

IT Experience

Team lead for the Platform Services team, consisting of four highly skilled DevOps Engineers. As a team we're building and delivering the vision of 'automation first' to the wider organization and our customer.

A Member of the Automation Service Reliability (ASR) team, providing automation, infrastructure deployment, management and monitoring services. The primary focus of the team is to deliver to the businesses and its customers; key methodologies, tools and processes to improve the quality, availability and speed of delivery of UKCloud’s management platform and services through the use of automation tools

Developing a new automation layer for service deployment, management and security using Ansible.

Managing systems and programmable infrastructure in the Service Delivery team for the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences (FEPS) at the University of Surrey.

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Supporting the Department of Computer Science, and the School of Mathematics and Information Security at Royal Holloway University.

Managing Windows/Linux/Mac Desktops and Servers, in both virtual and real-world environments.

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2001 - 2003

Helpdesk Assistant / Assistant Network Technician

Farnborough Sixth Form College

IT Skills

Windows/Apple/Linux Desktop Support
Linux Server
Ansible
Terraform
Chef
Hashicorp Vault
Windows Server
EUD installation & management
Active Directory (AD) domain
Web Servers (LAMP, IIS)
WordPress Deployment / Administration
Virtual Machine (VMWare ESX / vSphere) Administration
Storage (EMC, Synology, NetApp, Quantum StorNext) Administration
SaaS and Multi tenancy (Wordpress MultiSite, Linux Webhosts)
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Azure (currently learning)
Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
On-Premise Private Cloud (Single/Multi tenancy)
Hybrid Cloud
Network Infrastructure (HP ProCurve / Aruba, Cisco)
Network Appliance (Cisco ASA VPN / Gateway, WatchGuard Firewall, Smoothwall, pfSense)
Bash
Python
Powershell
Ivanti ITSM (Administration)
Microsoft SQL (HA, DR)
Ivanti ITSC (Administration)
Atlassian Suite (Jira, Confluence, Bamboo, BitBucket, Crowd)
Docker
Kubernetes (Currently learning)

Transferable Skills

Documentation
Presentation
Course content creation / structuring
User Training (one-to-one)
Group Training (one-to-many) / teaching
Word Processing / Spreadsheeting
Administration (License Management, Fiscal)

The Creative World

Tristan Findley photographer

In tandem with my technical career, I’ve nurtured a set of creative skills. While my initial focus was Photography, my experience has expanded into Video Production, Desktop Publishing, and Audio Engineering.

I began as a Behind-The-Scenes (BTS) photographer in North London’s film industry, drawing on skills developed through Wildlife photography. This led me to various roles within the film industry, including Runner, Boom Operator, Camera Operator, Assistant Director, and Second Unit Director. I also explored Wedding and Event photography, covering everything from corporate gatherings to sports events.

The need for self-promotion and digital assets prompted my delve into Desktop Publishing. This introduced me to tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, enhancing my skill set further.

Creative Experience

2014 - 2017

Audio Technician

Backdoor Broadcasting

Recording academic podcasts from inaugural lectures, events and presentations for publication on the web.

2012-2013

Photographer (Sub-contracted)

RP Photography by Design

Sub-contracted as a Sports and Events photographer covering sporting events for national multi-school sports days.

2012 - present

Graphic Designer

Royal Holloway University

Creator of posters and publications for internal and out-reach events at Royal Holloway University, Department of Mathematics.

2010 - present

Photographer, Business owner

TFindley Photography

Business owner and photographer, specialising in portraiture, events, sports and wildlife.

Creative Skills

Photography
Photo Editing (Adobe Lightroom / Photoshop)
Film Editing (Adobe Premiere)
DTP (Adobe InDesign / Illustrator)
Post Production (Adobe AfterEffects / SpeedGrade)

Creative Portfolio

My Ski Epic 2015

Video

Urban Portraiture Teaser

Video

Introduction to Rob Pugh and RP Photography by Design

Video

An interview with Jeff Widener – The Camera Never Lies

Video

Royal Holloway MSc in Mathematics for Applications

Creative Desktop Publishing

Royal Holloway MSc in Mathematics of Cryptography and Communications

Creative Desktop Publishing

Royal Holloway MSc in Economics with Statistics

Creative Desktop Publishing

Exploring Maths 2016

Creative Desktop Publishing

Business Skills

Day-to-Day Business Ops
Finance & Accounting
Marketing

References

  • I have worked and cooperated with Tristan for a whole academic year. There were many times that immediate action and creative solutions were required, and I think that Tristan's problem-solving attitude and professionalism contributed to the successful outcome of each task.

    Konstantinos Mersinas VLE Manager & Tutor @ Royal Holloway University
  • Tristan is a great asset to us in the IT support for our department at Royal Holloway. He's attended to my computer & network needs with great speed, efficiency, accuracy & courtesy. He won't stand for any nonsense over security issues though, which is an excellent trait if you have bolshy managers that want too much BYOD, yet is always happy to spend a few minutes talking about his hobbies - and we've made good use of his photographic abilities as a result.

    Colin Walter Former Director of ISG DL MSc at Royal Holloway University (Retired)
  • I have often asked Tristan for advice on many aspects of computer systems -- setting them up, what to buy, strategy, types of software available, methods of teaching, digital sound, and other things that I presently forget. Tristan is very knowledgeable and he has always been very helpful, even though I have not been in the group that he supports directly.

    Chris Watkins Professor of Artificial Intelligence at Royal Holloway University
  • Tristan was an able administrator of the computer systems and cheerily responded to requests for help.

    Steven Galbraith Professor at Royal Holloway University
  • I worked with Tristan during my time in the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London. I always found him to be very approachable and enthusiastic about his job. I also found him to be very skilled and committed to his work.

    Alex Dent Reader at Royal Holloway University
  • Tristan is an enthusiastic, conscientious and very knowledgeable member of the team who is always willing to seek solutions and new ideas and apply them to his day-to-day work. Since joining Royal Holloway, Tristan has been extremely helpful to me and I look forward to working with him for many years in the future.

    Emma Mosley Senior Postgraduate Administrator at Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Tristan is a knowledgeable engineer and makes sure he keeps up with all technologies and trends. He is also very amiable with colleagues and customers.

    Matthew Convery Senior IT Service Desk Analyst
  • Tristan is a solid technician who can make any OS sing! His photography is pretty amazing too, I can honestly say the ISG Technical team are all excellent, and Tristran is an Exemplar!

    David Misell MSc Student, ISG, Royal Holloway University
  • I have known Tristan Findley for more than 5 years while he has been Systems Administrator for the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London. Appointed when I was Director of the Information Security Group, we chose Tristan for his technical ability and willingness to engage with our users who have a varied understanding of network systems. Tristan has fulfilled our needs admirably and has developed his skills so that he now delivers some laboratory-based aspects of our MSc in Information Security. Tristan is a sociable person who has become a character within the group and takes a keen interest in all its aspects. He has initiative and is willing to put forward ideas for changes to enhance both network provisions and day-to-day running of the group. I am pleased to provide this recommendation for Tristan.

    Peter Wild Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London
  • Tristan has excellent interpersonal, organisational skills and technical knowledge. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to a company that were undertaking a review of his professional skills.

    Valente Panattoni Senior Desktop Support Officer, Royal Holloway University
  • Tristan is without doubt very able, extremely knowledgable and highly committed to his job.

    Chris Mitchell Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London

My Clients

Education

Apr 2022 - Jun 2023

People Leadership Programme (PLP)

Multiverse (in association with CMI)

2003 - 2006

BSc (Hons) Computer Network Management & Design

University of Portsmouth

2001 - 2003

Computing (A-Level), Business (GNVQ Advanced Double Award)

Farnborough Sixth Form College

Beyond the Digital Vale

  • Motorcycling
  • Skiing
  • Computer Gaming
  • Martial Arts
  • Photography
  • Outdoors / Hiking
  • Travel

Want to know more? Check out my Interests Page

Achievements, Awards and Cerifications

Technical Training

  • Red Hat Linux 7 Systems Administrator (RH199)
  • CompTIA Security+ (SY0-501)
  • CompTIA N+ (N10-007)
  • ITIL Foundation
  • Apple Tech Series – MacOS Imaging and Deployment
  • Apple Tech Series – Snow Leopard technical briefing
  • Contensis CMS training
  • VMWare Product Briefings (delivered by SNS)

Business Training

  • Customer Services (delivered by Narratively Ltd)
  • Clean Room training
  • Minute and Note Taking skills
  • Parabilis P2P Purchasing System
  • Stress Awareness
  • Influencing Skills
  • Communication Skills

Certifications

  • Apple Mac Integration Basics, 10.7 – July 2012
  • ‘Selling Microsoft CRM’ Certified

Other Certifications

  • Mental Health First Aid
  • Motorcycle BikeSafe assessment by London Metropolitan Police – April 2018, Grade: C
  • Motorcycle Driving License (Unrestricted) – June 2016
    • Motorcycle Practical test (Module 2) – June 2016
    • Motorcycle Maneuvers test (Module 1) – June 2016
    • Motorcycle Theory Test – April 2016
    • Motorcycle Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) – January 2016
  • Car Driving License (Manual) – October 2005
    • Car Driving Practical test – October 2005
    • Car Theory Test – September 2005

Bushido Academy of Martial Arts

  • I began training at the Bushido Academy of Martial Arts in 2006, achieving my Black Belt in Ken Kai Ryu in 2015 and my First Dan Black Belt in 2017.
  • To further my journey in the school; I began training in Bushido Karate in 2008, achieving my Black Belt in 2019.
  • I have been a martial arts teaching assistant at the Yateley Dojo under my Sensei since 2017

Contact Me

Drop me a line below

I am based in Farnborough, Hampshire, UK.

If (for some reason) you want to know even more about me, explore my site through the menu on the top right.

If you’re completely confused, check out my FAQ page.