Christian Henry

Christian Henry

Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
linkedin.com/in/christianhenry

Senior Linux Systems Engineer (DevOps/SRE focus)

Professional Summary

Senior Linux Systems Engineer with 20+ years of experience managing mission-critical production environments.  Expert in infrastructure automation and business continuity, with a deep focus on improving system reliability and operational efficiency.  Currently leveraging extensive experience in Linux systems architecture to implement modern DevOps practices, including automated deployments and scalable cloud-ready infrastructure.

Technical Core

  • Developer Tools:  Git, GitLab, Jira, Docker
  • Scripting & Programming:  Python, Bash, Perl; Specialized in automation and system utility development
  • Automation & IaC:  Ansible, Red Hat Kickstart, Automated Provisioning, Configuration Management
  • Operating Systems:  Linux Expert (Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL/CentOS); Bottleneck Identification & Performance Optimization
  • Observability & Monitoring:  Zabbix (Enterprise-scale), Splunk, Azure Log Analytics, and performance analysis
  • Reliability & Continuity:  High Availability (HA) Clustering, Disaster Recovery (DR) Planning, Business Continuity (BCP)
  • Distributed Systems & Middleware: Kafka Broker, Apache Tomcat, IBM WebSphere, Nomad, Consul
  • Cloud & Virtualization:  Microsoft Azure (Primary), Amazon Web Services (AWS), Hybrid-Cloud Architectures
  • Network Protocols:  TCP/IP, SSH, DNS, SMTP, HTTP(S), TLS, NFS, SMB/Samba

Professional Experience

Ethoca Ltd. / Mastercard Inc. | Toronto, Ontario
Lead BizOps Engineer | Mar 2022 – Current

  • Architected and executed a major version migration for Zabbix and PostgreSQL, optimizing Zabbix functionality and supportability.
  • Boosted system processing power and high availability by transitioning some legacy local-hosted components to a distributed Azure-based architecture.
  • Optimized global incident responsiveness by automating multi-regional on-call scheduling, ensuring 24/7 coverage across disparate time zones while reducing team burnout.
  • Cultivated technical self-sufficiency by mentoring team members on Ethoca’s overall infrastructure stack, including Kafka message queuing, Nomad/Consul orchestration, and Zabbix monitoring.  This initiative reduced dependency on senior oversight by equipping the team with proactive troubleshooting skills and architectural knowledge.

Senior ProdOps Engineer | Feb 2017 – Mar 2022

  • Rearchitected Zabbix monitoring for Staging and Production to enhance system observability and resilience; optimized alert fidelity by reducing false positives and implementing telemetry for previously unmonitored critical components.
  • Executed zero-downtime deployments for customer-facing environments, ensuring seamless updates and continuous service availability.
  • Accelerated vulnerability remediation lifecycles, deploying critical security patches to production environments with zero service interruption.
  • Optimized incident response workflows as a primary on-call engineer, consistently maintaining high system availability and reducing MTTR through rapid root-cause analysis and remediation.

Great-West Life | Toronto, Ontario
System Administrator (Contract) | Aug 2016 – Jan 2017

  • Designed and deployed Microsoft Azure environments featuring VPNs, load balancers, and Red Hat Linux VMs.
  • Automated Azure Linux deployments using Ansible playbooks and JSON templates, significantly reducing project timelines and client costs.
  • Established security policies and disaster recovery strategies for AWS and Azure cloud environments.

Thales Group | Toronto, Ontario
Senior Linux Administrator (Contract) | Jun 2016 – Jul 2016

  • Installed, upgraded, and provided support for multiple Red Hat Linux (RHEL) servers running Bitbucket, Jenkins, and Atlassian Jira application servers.
  • Mentored team members on Linux “best practices”.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) | Toronto, Ontario
Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Contract) | Jan 2016 – May 2016

Andrea Rees Photography | Brampton, Ontario
Systems Administrator (Part-time) | Feb 2004 – Dec 2015

  • Designed, implemented, and supported network, workstations, end devices, and servers providing CRM (customer relationship management), NAS fileserver, and photography-processing services on a mixture of iPads, MacBooks, Windows workstations and servers, and Red Hat Linux servers.
  • Designed and implemented authorization and access of above environment using Active Directory on both Windows Server 2008 and Red Hat Linux (using Samba), running on a combination of physical and virtual servers (VMware vSphere 5 & 6 and KVM, both connecting via iSCSI and NFS to the NAS network).
  • Extended company’s WordPress websites, by modifying existing PHP code.
  • Debugged problematic third-party Python code to “get things running again”.

BMO Financial Group | Toronto, Ontario
Unix Administrator (Contract) | Apr 2014 – Sep 2015

  • Improved systems-level security by recommending and implementing industry-standard security practices.
  • Worked towards making our application support teams more self-sufficient by both mentoring them and providing explanations for all major efforts.
  • Improved working relationships amongst our teams by involving all affected teams in most planning sessions, rather than making decisions “in advance” and attempting to “sell” solutions.
  • Analyzed and documented Unix (Red Hat Linux and Oracle Solaris) servers that make up the Development Deployment Services (non-production) environment, using data collected via custom-written Perl scripts.
  • Standardized each Red Hat Linux and Solaris server to one of a small number of different patch levels.
  • Created a standard “checkpoint” patch cycle, to ease the efforts of keeping production and non-production servers at common patch levels.
  • Migrated middleware (primarily WebSphere Application Server, running on both Red Hat Linux and Solaris) to a common patch level across all environments, to improve stability and supportability.
  • Automated and scripted (primarily using Perl, Bash and Korn Shell) key tasks and processes.
  • Planned and performed stability and security patching.
  • Provided server performance analyses and tuning recommendations.
  • Supported OS-level middleware such as IBM WebSphere Application Server and webMethods Integration Server.
  • Performed incident resolution, including stability issue resolution, network packet tracing, firewall rule testing, and outage resolution.

Canadian Tire Corporation | Brampton, Ontario
AIX Administrator (Contract) | Oct 2013 – Apr 2014

  • Completed AIX portion of SVC SAN migration (EMC-to-SVC migration) with minimal downtime.
  • Performed security and stability patching for the retail AIX servers, bringing all servers to a standardized common level, with fewer unexpected issues than anticipated by management.
  • Improved some vendor-client relationships.

IBM Canada Ltd. | Markham, Ontario
AIX Administrator (Contract) | May 2012 – Oct 2013

  • Installed new, and upgraded existing, AIX LPARs and standalone servers for Scotiabank.
  • Created, upgraded, and performed failover tests of, PowerHA (HACMP) clusters.
  • Provided on-call incident and problem support for over 1,000 Scotiabank AIX servers.
  • Whenever possible, I improved system reliability, decreasing unplanned server downtime.
  • Updated internal procedural documentation.
  • Mentored intermediate-level team members on industry-recommended policies and procedures, as they apply to AIX.
  • Created and updated scripts to update support documentation.
  • Assisted with security vulnerability report analyses and corrective patching.

IBM Canada Ltd. | Markham, Ontario and Guelph, Ontario
AIX Administrator (Contract) | Nov 2010 – Mar 2012

  • Planned and implemented server migrations and new server builds for both TD Canada Trust and the Ontario Ministry of Government Services.
  • Provided post-migration and post-build support, including performance and capacity analyses.
  • Created and maintained technical documentation, such as Build and Run Books.
  • Mentored senior-level operations personnel in AIX and pSeries procedures and recommended best practices.
  • Installed PowerVM (VIOS) on new servers, installed AIX 6.1 on new partitions, and migrated AIX from standalone servers to consolidated, densely-partitioned servers.
  • Ensured high availability, using PowerHA (HACMP) and PowerVM (Virtual IO) resiliency, for some customers’ AIX environments, on IBM POWER servers.
  • Created PowerHA (HACMP) clusters, performed failover tests, and worked with customers to integrate their applications (including Oracle DBMS) into the clusters.

Loblaw Companies Limited | Mississauga, Ontario
Sr. Unix SME, Problem Resolution | May 2010 – Nov 2010

  • Recommended and implemented server performance and stability improvements, on our mix of (primarily) AIX and Red Hat Linux servers.
  • Successfully performed the same duties at the virtual stack level, using IBM’s PowerVM (Virtual IO).
  • Mentored junior- and intermediate-level colleagues.
  • Performed third-level AIX and Red Hat Linux (RHEL) support and resolved problem tickets (including performing root cause analyses).
  • Created technical documentation, such as Production Acceptance checklists and “how-tos”.
  • Provided system-level security recommendations to management.
  • Ensured high availability, using PowerHA (HACMP) and PowerVM (Virtual IO) resiliency, for core AIX servers.
  • Automated several tasks, using a combination of Perl and KSH (Korn Shell).
  • Performed PowerHA (HACMP) troubleshooting, upgrades, and preventive maintenance.

Unix Administrator (Contract) | Sep 2009 – May 2010

  • Provided regular on-call support for approximately 1,100 AIX and Red Hat Linux servers.
  • Provided support to our operations team, developers, and store support personnel.
  • Improved PowerVM / Virtual IO reliability and performance, by performing proactive patching, and by correcting issues inadvertently introduced by the original vendor.
  • Created and updated internal support documentation.
  • Performed disaster recovery tests.
  • Automated several tasks, using a combination of Perl and KSH (Korn Shell).
  • Ensured high availability (using PowerHA/HACMP and PowerVM / Virtual IO).
  • Performed PowerHA (HACMP) troubleshooting, upgrades, and preventive maintenance.

Rogers Communications Inc. | Brampton, Ontario
AIX Administrator | Jul 2006 – May 2009

  • Ensured high systems availability and better-than-expected performance levels.
  • Performed regular on-call support for approximately 100 AIX systems.
  • Designed and implemented strategy to perform Disaster Recovery “bare metal” system restores using a NIM (Network Install Manager) server.
  • Documented environmental layout (using VISIO), processes, and procedures.
  • Created Perl and KSH (Korn Shell) scripts to perform SAN-level snapshots between two systems.
  • Prepared for, and completed, Disaster Recovery tests.
  • Performed AIX upgrades, capacity upgrades, and technology refreshes.
  • Performed pSeries Hardware Management Console (HMC) proactive updates and upgrades.
  • Planned and performed PowerHA (HACMP) installs, migrations, upgrades, and preventative maintenance for environmental fault resilience.
  • Planned and performed PowerVM (Virtual IO) installs, preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, and day-to-day operations (such as provisioning virtual networking and storage to partitions).
  • Assisted with BEA (now Oracle) WebLogic installations and performance troubleshooting.
  • Supported our Oracle DBAs, especially with communication and performance concerns.
  • Performed feasibility testing of CFEngine (automation) for helping provision and manage the servers.

Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) | Toronto, Ontario
Senior Technical Systems Specialist | May 2001 – Jul 2006

  • Redesigned, implemented, and supported our SAN (storage area network) using Brocade and IBM equipment, dramatically improving system storage throughput and reliability.
  • Migrated our UNIX environment from NCR MP-RAS to IBM AIX, which dramatically improved performance due to improved scalability, improved disaster recoverability due to superior system utilities, and provided a clear third party software support future due to stronger existing relationships between IBM and third-party vendors.
  • Designed and implemented system backup strategies to increase application availability and dramatically improve backup reliability using IBM’s ESS “flashcopy” (snapshot) functionality, written in Perl.
  • Planned, implemented, and documented AIX Disaster Recovery and Business Continuance tests.
  • Planned and implemented AIX installs on standalone and partitioned (LPAR) servers.
  • Planned and implemented pSeries and SAN capacity upgrades and technology refreshes, including platform migrations.
  • Planned and performed AIX and pSeries Hardware Management Console (HMC) proactive updates and upgrades.
  • Installed and performed secondary support for Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), including Disaster Recovery-based restores of TSM itself and all client data.
  • Installed and performed system-level support of IBM Websphere Application Server.
  • Installed and supported Tivoli Identity Manager under AIX 5.3.
  • Provided Unicenter TNG mentoring when colleagues migrated from NCR hardware to IBM hardware, and when they upgraded the core software.
  • Supported our Oracle DBA’s, especially with communication and performance concerns.
  • Designed and implemented system monitoring and workload automation processes, improving system reliability and performance.
  • Created and updated system and procedural documentation, used by the Operations team.
  • Mentored junior team members.

Intria-HP | Toronto, Ontario
Senior Communications Analyst | May 2000 – May 2001

  • Integrated, upgraded, and supported IBM pSeries servers (running AIX) within Intria-HP’s electronic banking network.
  • Performed system-network communications troubleshooting, system and network performance analysis and tuning, and obtained project requirements from customers.
  • Mentored junior team members.
  • Supported CIBC’s electronic-banking, web-based infrastructure.
  • Installed and supported Apache HTTP web servers.
  • Installed and supported Apache Tomcat servlet servers (for Java servlet and JavaServer Pages (JSP) support).
  • Using Microsoft Visio, created network diagrams for the entire Electronic Banking network, which improved troubleshooting and planning.

Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) | Toronto, Ontario
Technical Systems Specialist | Apr 1998 – May 2000

  • Completely overhauled the CA-Unicenter environment, which dramatically improved its stability, and allowed us to (reliably) make use of its enhanced functionality.
  • This allowed us to both monitor our environment more proactively, and run workload jobs with fewer abnormal failures.
  • Provided UNIX (NCR MP-RAS) on-call support.
  • Automated several processes using CA-Unicenter Workload Management, improving reliability and performance.
  • Mentored junior team members.
  • Assisted Retail Support with testing Red Hat Linux as a possible replacement for NCR Unix on the retail store servers.

Qnetix Inc. | Toronto, Ontario
Unix Systems Administrator | Apr 1997 – Apr 1998

  • Increased the infrastructure’s reliability and improved key UNIX systems’ performance, running a combination of Debian Linux, Sun Solaris, HP HPUX, and IBM AIX.
  • Automated data collection using a custom-written combination of Perl- and Bash-based scripts.

PSINet Canada Ltd. | North York, Ontario
Systems Administrator | Apr 1996 – Apr 1997

  • Improved the reliability of the Canadian sales team’s servers, running a combination of Sun Solaris and Debian Linux, by performing configuration improvements and applying patches.

Everyware Software Development Corporation | Mississauga, Ontario
Quality Assurance Assistant | Nov 1995 – Apr 1996

  • Tracked down and provided details for several hard-to-reproduce bugs in Everyware’s Tango application server product, running on a combination of Windows and Sun Solaris servers.

VisiNet Internet Services | Toronto, Ontario
Networks Integration Specialist | May 1995 – Sep 1995

  • Increased the infrastructure’s reliability and improved key UNIX systems’ performance, running a combination of Debian Linux and FreeBSD.
  • Dramatically reduced service downtime by replacing our myriad of standalone, cheap modems with a proper Microcom modem bank and Livingston Portmaster terminal server.

Polarix Inc. | Scarborough, Ontario
Unix Systems Administrator | Jul 1993 – May 1995

  • Built new web, development, and application servers, under a combination of Debian Linux and SGI Irix.

Education & Certifications

  • Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) | 2015 – 2018 
  • Ontario Secondary School Diploma | Victoria Park Secondary School, Toronto, ON