Steven Bradford
25+ years keeping enterprise Windows environments stable, secure, and running at scale. Most recently at Blackbaud, supporting 4,000+ servers across three Active Directory forests, six global data centers, and a hybrid Azure environment. I solve complex infrastructure problems, build automation that reduces manual work, and make sure production systems stay up.
About Me
A concise overview of my background, strengths, and the kind of work I enjoy delivering.
I've spent 25 years inside large enterprise Windows environments — first at International Paper, where I led the Windows team through a decade of infrastructure growth and physical-to-virtual migrations across 800+ servers; then at Dell, where I worked as a Master Engineer handling Tier 3 escalations for enterprise customers across Active Directory, SQL Server, clustering, and SharePoint; and most recently at Blackbaud, where I've been a Level 3 engineer supporting one of the more complex Microsoft environments you'll find — 4,000+ servers, three AD forests, twelve domains, six data centers, and a growing Azure footprint.
My work spans the full stack of Windows infrastructure: Active Directory and Entra ID, DNS, Group Policy, VMware, SCCM/MECM, IIS, SQL Server, clustering, and PowerShell automation. I'm comfortable in the weeds of a production incident at 2am and equally comfortable writing the runbook that makes sure it doesn't happen again. I hold an MCSE in Cloud Platform and Infrastructure and an ITIL Foundation certification, and I bring a practical, ownership-oriented approach to every environment I support.
Core Skills
The infrastructure and systems engineering capabilities I bring to enterprise IT teams.
Windows & Microsoft Infrastructure
Virtualization & Cloud
Automation, Security and Operations
Experience Highlights
A few examples of the type of work I have handled across my career.
Enterprise Server Support
Supported and maintained Windows-based server environments including builds, upgrades, patching, performance troubleshooting, and production issue resolution.
Directory Services
Managed Active Directory administration, DNS, access control, policy enforcement, and platform reliability across enterprise environments.
Customer-Facing Delivery
Worked directly with customers on implementation, configuration, issue resolution, and post-sales support to translate business needs into practical technical outcomes.
Career Summary
Focused on maintaining reliable enterprise environments, supporting production systems, documenting changes, and collaborating across teams to improve service quality and stability.
Delivered technical solutions directly to customers, configured platforms based on business requirements, and supported projects end-to-end in service and post-sales environments.
Projects & Technical Work
Examples of engineering, automation, documentation, and infrastructure improvement work that reflect how I support and strengthen enterprise environments.
PowerShell Automation Library
A production-ready script library built and refined across 25+ years of enterprise Windows support. Covers post-patch server validation, domain controller health checks, WS_FTP deployment, and PCI/SOC audit evidence collection — designed to reduce manual effort and improve consistency during maintenance windows.
Server Lifecycle & Migrations
Led Windows Server upgrade campaigns, Active Directory cleanup, and DNS remediation across enterprise environments. Handled pre- and post-change validation to keep production stable through every transition.
- Windows Server upgrade and lifecycle remediation
- Active Directory cleanup and structure improvements
- DNS validation and troubleshooting
- FTP platform upgrades and file transfer validation
Runbooks & Operational Guides
Built a library of runbooks, change checklists, and build guides that reduced tribal knowledge dependency and sped up incident response across a large enterprise environment.
- Server build and configuration documentation
- Incident response runbooks and escalation workflows
- Pre- and post-change validation checklists
- Active Directory administration and access procedures
- Application support guides to reduce resolution time
Stability & Risk Reduction
Identified recurring failure patterns and addressed root causes through config standardization, PowerShell automation, and hardened change procedures — including PCI/SOC audit support and RBAC enforcement.
- Vulnerability remediation via Tenable/Kenna
- PCI/SOC audit evidence collection and support
- RBAC and privileged access enforcement
- Automated validation tasks to reduce manual risk
Contact
Ready to talk about a systems engineering, infrastructure, or IT operations opportunity?