Experience

AppDynamics

• United States
• Software Development
• 700 & Above Employee

• Principal Engineer - Java Application Performance and Security Products

  • May 2016 - Present

  Senior member of the AppDynamics Java Agent APM and Security team driving both APM and Security product enhancements and future innovative integrations with other Cisco Products. Lead the company in patented innovation(s) with over 30+ patents (all of them with working prototypes) averaging more than a patent per quarter - generally split between Application/Network Performance and Security. Designed, Prototyped, Pitched (sold it internally), and Developed the entire Cisco Secure Application Java Agent which is a RASP based OWASP focused security extension that compliments our existing AppDynamics APM solution. The solution itself has 5 patents filed protecting numerous innovations/techniques give the it a solid competitive advantage in the marketplace and a natural "add on" to the AppDynamics installed base. This included the development of all of the instrumentation, discovery, configuration, communications, unit tests, regression testing, and creation of the CI/CD pipeline working on different Java Platforms (IBM, OpenJDK, Oracle, Azul, GrailVM) across Java architectures including up to Java 9-17 which included the new JPMS (Java Platform Module System). Heavily involved in helping driving our Security Portfolio across our agent platforms and Cloud Native environments. Actively involved in innovation and strategy around Open Telemetry Observability building extensions to complement the standard. Recognized inside and outside the company as an authority on Java internals and instrumentation - and regularly assigned to the most difficult P1 customer escalations where large POVs, customer renewals, or expansions are at risk I routinely work across the Business Units with Research Engineers in the Cisco ET&I (Emerging Technologies and Incubation) as well as other Cisco product groups working on innovation and new product concepts - as both a SME and providing prototypes for POC's Show less



BrixBits

• United States
• Software Development

• Application Performance (APM) and Security (RASP) Product Architect (Co-Founder)

  • Aug 2014 - May 2016

  BrixBits is a privately funded, technology centric company that provides "deep dive" Application Management capabilities primarily focusing on RASP (Runtime Application Self Protection) and APM (Application Performance Management), both of which address important issues(Security and Performance) that top the list for most Corporate Application Stakeholders (IT Directors/BU Managers/Architects/CIO). Our technologies are designed for easy integration ("pluggable") and/or white labeling into existing product portfolios for: WAF or Firewall companies which would benefit from enhanced Application Security (Detect/Prevent/Patch) from inside the application (RASP) or ITOM/infrastructure companies which would benefit from enhanced Application Performance visibility (Response Time/Load Time/Ajax) with a short Time To Market and minimum investment via OEM/private branding of the underlying technology. Primary responsibilities include design and implementation of J2EE agent instrumentation, operations, and management modules as part of an embedded javaagent which utilizes bytecode instrumentation/intercept technology for the purposes of performing a variety of security and performance functions. The core RASP agent (Security Analyzer) addresses most of the OWASP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OWASP) categories as well as many that are not listed or addressed by other Security Vendors such as auditing java specific vulnerabilities,Security Exception interception, and detailed Security Manager permission auditing. This agent is also bundled with an Elasticsearch DB and Event Dashboard for standalone use or is easily integrated into any SIEM for extended Application Event monitoring. Developed several agents for APM (pre and post production) with the primary one EUE (End User Experience) which includes a back end Server component (Transactions/Exit Points/Stall Points/Health) and a front end Browser component (Page Load Time/Ajax response/WebSocket response). Show less



BMC Software

• United States
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 700 & Above Employee

• IT Operations Mgmt Architect (Performance & Availability)

  • Apr 2014 - Aug 2014

  Assigned to the Central Architecture Team (CAT) for Performance & Availability as the primary technical representative for the APM product line (Application Diagnostics, Synthetic EUEM, Passive EUEM, and Active EUEM) within P&A.Initial objective was the complete re-architecture/re-factoring of the Service Modeling module focusing mainly on harnessing the rich discovery potential inside the APM product line for the purposes of automatic population and relational structure for the Service Modeling repository. The Service Modeling initiative within TrueSight (BMC's integrated operations platform) was the #1 release initiative and would be used in the Service Impact Visualization dashboard as well as for PCA (Probable Cause Analysis). The focus was on performance analytics, events, and intelligently applying event sequences and sources back into a model that showed IT (and APM) component relationships for both predictive and real-time assessments of Service Impact/Cause. In addition to my role in overall P&A, I continued to technically drive the APM product offering for Active EUEM (Browser based javascript instrumentation for Page Load/AJAX/WebSockets) and the MQAgent (Middleware instrumentation) after writing the original prototypes (as POCs) which were handed to the development teams. Show less

• Product Development Architect (for APM)

  • Apr 2011 - Apr 2014

  As a Product Development Architect for APM I was asked to drive the technical development (design, implementation, architecture, roadmap) for a new portfolio of products that monitored the availability and quality of service for J2EE and .NET Application Servers given a very short timeframe, limited development resources, and budget.Working closing with the Product Management team, I led an Israeli development group in the effort to integrate this Server Based product with the Coradiant "Passive Tap" technology fulfilling a compelling “Front End” to “Back End” end to end APM story. The result was a highly competitive/successful initial product launch (in < 7 months) for both J2EE and .NET applications designed for modern customer environments (Saas, mobility, virtualization, cloud) with an extremely low TCO, and a quick TTV with POCs generally completed in less than a week. This product suite (BMC Application Diagnostics) was also highly integrated with EUEM ( Coradiant “True Sight”) which combined network analysis with back end application flow path and metrics. Together this formed a strong “relaunch” of BMC into the APM market which ultimately led to being named as leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for the first time in many years.During this time, I personally implemented many of the key modules/techniques used in the product for monitoring/finding hotspots/metering web requests/call tree composition/dependencies which included 2 key filed patents and 2 others pending to be filed. I also participated in many of the key POCs driving technical discussions, and training/enabling field consultants. Personally responsible for integrating the BE server and UI technologies into the Amazon E2C AWS Cloud services as an AMI SasS offering (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmc-software-delivers-application-performance-124500879.html)Consistently ranked/recognized/rewarded by BMC R&D leadership as a critical contributor and top performer. Show less



Hewlett Packard Enterprise

• United States
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 700 & Above Employee

• Technical Lead (J2EE Agent)

  • Sep 2007 - Apr 2011

  As a lead engineer for the BTM (Business Transaction Management) team, my responsibility has been on the incremental integration and evolution of HP’s J2EE Diagnostics Agent(s) which are comprised of the J2EE Diagnostics Agent (via Mercury acquisition) and the J2EE Transaction Agent (via Bristol Technologies acquisition) which is a core component of HP’s end to end Transaction Management system which feeds the Business Availability Center (BAC). With limited guidance, and while working remotely I was able to quickly implement high impact design/code changes to both the Diagnostics and Transaction Agents (which rely on JVM bytecode instrumentation) which resulted in improved installation, management, and a high degree of integration between the Agents which exceeded expectations over several releases. During this time my achievements included a complete rewrite of the entire Java Agent installation system, re-architected and designed the Transaction Agent, and developed numerous core integration modules to extend the transaction lifecycle information via custom “plugins” that have resulted in successful POC implementations where HP was competing for deals ranging from $5m downward. Performance has been consistently rated in the top level (“exceeds all expectations”), and have received several awards of recognition internally for providing cross product integration designs, custom implementations/solutions leading to customer wins, and rapid solutions to difficult product design issues. Two patents pending (internal to HP for review) which focuses/concepts on unique approaches to Java instrumentation. Show less



nVision Software (Allen Systems Group - acquired)

• Austin Texas

• Chief Technical Officer (Sr. Product Architect after acquired)

  • Sep 2001 - Jul 2007

  Responsible for launching the nVision Software operations. This consisted of providing a business plan, enter/exit strategy, financial estimates, hiring plans, and overall technical leadership. Lead the technical due-diligence necessary for the ASG acquisition. Architected and launched the AppVision product line that provided Application Health Monitoring for the J2EE and .NET platforms. Key contributions included: • Developed the entire library of 20+ diagnostics (SNMP Query, SQL Query, JMX MBean Query, JNDI Lookup, EJB JMS simulation, WMI Query, Perfmon Query, Event Log Query, Change Management enforcement, Network Connectivity, ASP.NET health queries, FTP simulation, DNS health monitoring, and dynamic on the fly OS scripting) to determine failure based on incomplete operation and/or response time compliance. • Developed the entire product framework system in Java that included the Management Agent (Servlet HTTP/XML based), UI Management system (JFC Swing), Job scheduling, Reporting (PDF, HTML), Charting (JFreeChart) Database (mySQL/JDBC), Setup, and .NET C# interfaces (to bridge Java). Provided central configuration, operations, real-time display, alerting (SNMP, mail, JMX, MOM Connector, syslog, and SMS), Voice system (JSAPI), and automatic Component discovery (using Multicast). • Redesigned and implemented the .NET and J2EE instrumentation modules that provided low level MSIL and VM Bytecode method interception of Exceptions, Servlet In/Out, SQL Server In/Out, JDBC open/connect/query/update, and ASP.NET HttpRuntime interface (what globals.asax uses). This involved a deep understanding of the Java VM and .NET CLR/CLI mechanics to implement the java.lang.instrument profiling and the .NET profiling function Enter/Leave and JIT Compilation process. Designed a unique system of methods (using AppDomain COM methods and Cross Domain Object marshalling) to circumvent constraints designed by Microsoft for .NET AppDomain memory segmentation. Show less



Marimba

• Mountain View, Ca

• Chief Architect (Performance Products)

  • Apr 2000 - Sep 2001

  Responsible for launching the Marimba Houston Performance technology operations. This consisted of providing a business plan and financial estimates to Kim Polese (CEO/credited with the Java name) and Author Van Hoff (CTO/author, first Java Compiler). This included choosing an office location, hiring (12 people), and conducting executive and board briefings. Provided the technical leadership and the vision for a set of performance products that would lead to the “Web Traffic Monitor” product suite. These products focused on passive network decoding of HTTP/XML traffic to gauge Performance and availability of websites during the height of the Internet boom. Shortly after 9/11, and after a heavy economic recession in late 2001, Marimba had to discontinue our operation after considering the financial pressure, and ultimately brokered an arrangement to transfer the software over to Mercury Interface (a competitor) as part of a joint partnership. Show less



BMC Software

• United States
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 700 & Above Employee

• Product Author/Patrol Architect

  • Jun 1996 - Apr 2000

  Responsible for architecture, implementation, and development of the underlying network analysis modules which supported the Patrol Networked Applications KM (Knowledge Modules) and Patrol For Internet Services (PFIS) products. This module was known internally at BMC as “Patrolnet”. The original product (authored) was acquired by BMC (“Connection Detective”) from Network Catalyst, which resulted in my relocation to Houston and employment at BMC. This technology included detailed interaction with Unix Stream Drivers, NT Network Drivers, FDDI, TokenRing, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit, switching technology, and a heavy emphasis on real time performance. Later, I was transferred into the Ecommerce Division as a Lead Architect and conducted research into Java/Web Service integration into the BMC Software Patrol architecture for the PFIS product line. Show less



Network Catalyst (BMC - acquired)

• Irvine, Ca.

• Director (and Co-founder)

  • Jan 1995 - Jun 1996

  Responsible for the overall performance of the Network Catalyst Software LLC Business Unit which also included the continued development of the Detective Series products. This included maintaining and porting the ChalkTalk, System Detective IS, and System Detective AO security tools to additional versions of OpenVMS. These tools are recognized as leaders in the OpenVMS security market and include customers around the world such as Chase Manhattan, Citibank, UBS, Barkley’s, National Westminster, Caterpillar, etc. Emphasis was placed on Connection Detective which was our network security product. This product was eventually acquired by BMC Software. Activities included: Development of an MFC console, porting the product from OpenVMS to HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, porting the product to Windows NT, and porting the entire Detective series to OpenVMS 7.0 which included threads and 64 bit virtual addressing. These activities required extensive knowledge of Unix Internals, NT Internals, and OpenVMS internals as well as expertise with understanding network protocols. Show less



Saber Software (acquired by Demax Software, acquired by OpenVision Technologies)

• Dallas, Texas

• Senior Software Architect (Division Founder)

  • Jan 1991 - Jan 1995

  Responsible for the business plan, creation and development of the Detective Series product line. In this capacity, was very involved in the sales effort as well and had strong customer relationships in the U.S. as well as overseas. Transitioned between all three companies as my contract was transferred during several acquisitions. During this period, the products generated between $10-$15 million in sales revenue. Participated in all aspects of the acquisition phase, and negotiated/conducted due-diligence acceptance criteria. Show less



Kinetics, (acquired by Excelan, acquired by Novell)

• Dallas, Texas

• Senior Engineer

  • 1988 - 1991

  Responsible for custom application development and technical consulting for Excelan’s LANAnalyzer and LANtern products. The LANAnalyzer was a real-time DOS based network monitoring application. The LANtern was the industry’s very first SNMP monitoring probe. Provided Fortune 100 consultation for Novell focused on architecture/solutions for large heterogeneous environments (such as American Airlines, MD Anderson, and Bellsouth) that included Token Ring and Ethernet using Appletalk, Netware, NETBeu, and TCP/IP. Recognized internally and externally as an authority on the design and troubleshooting of TCIP/IP based Token Ring/Ethernet networks. Show less



Bell Helicopter Textron

• Ft. Worth, Tx

• Senior Engineer

  • 1984 - 1988

  Responsible for the development of real-time communications systems that communicated between an OpenVMS cluster, Silicon Graphics IRIS, and an Evans Sutherland visual system. Some of the communications utilized TCP/UDP over ethernet, other communications took place over high speed parallel lines. In some cases, I developed device drivers for these devices as they were shipped from a vendor with no software. Most of the software was developed to support the V22 Osprey ASW (anti-submarine warfare) for the Marines and Navy. Developed a flight recorder for mil-std 1553 bus communications for the AHIP helicopter (Army) using a PDP11. Developed a real-time push button display system which interfaced with a voice recognition system from TI simulating a voice command cockpit. Designed and developed (under the direction of Aerospace scientists) the entire package of Composite (graphite) flaw and crack analysis programs using at Bell and Boeing by scientists testing the reliability of composite (versus steel) wings/airframes. Recognized as the company expert on real time flight simulation over networks, and OpenVMS Internals. Show less



ITT Federal Systems

• Edwards AFB, Ca.

• Computer Analyst

  • 1984 - 1985

  Responsible for developing time history reduction/analysis software to analyze/plot rocket propulsion attributes for the Space Shuttle and Hyper Velocity Missile. This software was mostly FORTRAN on CDC Cyber systems. Responsible for developing time history reduction/analysis software to analyze/plot rocket propulsion attributes for the Space Shuttle and Hyper Velocity Missile. This software was mostly FORTRAN on CDC Cyber systems.



United States Air Force

• United States
• Defense and Space Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Computer Programmer

  • 1979 - 1983

  Responsible for rewriting a wide variety of utilities (UFTAS – Uniform Flight Test Analysis System) used to do everything from data reduction to plotting on a calcomp plotter. Specific USAF projects assigned included the B1 Bomber, F15 IFFC, LanTern, ALCM, and the AFTI F16. Recognized as the division expert on Fortran V, and conducted training sessions for other personnel. Received 5 letters of accommodation involving work done on the A-10 Worthog, AFTI F16 (Voice Command), F15 IFFC (Anti-Satellite) , Lantern (Night Vision) and ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile). Offered a Civil Service position in the Ridley Mission Control Center before being discharged. Show less