Technology Leader Building High-Performance Infrastructure Teams
About
Strategic technology leader with a track record of building high-performance teams and driving operational excellence
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I'm a strategic technology executive currently directing Technology Operations at CARFAX, where I lead a 21-person engineering unit managing cloud operations, infrastructure, and security functions with $15M+ in annual budget oversight.
Over my 9-year progression at CARFAX, I've consistently advanced through roles of increasing responsibility, building teams, transforming operations, and driving measurable business impact.
My expertise spans AWS cloud governance and FinOps (managing $10M+ annual spend), Zero Trust security architecture, Site Reliability Engineering, and building high-performance infrastructure organizations.
Leadership Philosophy
I believe in building teams through operational excellence, data-driven decision making, and creating cultures of ownership and continuous improvement. My approach focuses on empowering engineers while maintaining strategic alignment with business objectives.
Featured Achievements
Key initiatives and transformations delivering measurable business impact
Zero Trust Architecture
Led enterprise-wide transformation to Zero Trust security model with comprehensive permissions restructuring and phishing-resistant MFA implementation.
Key Impact
- Company-wide security posture improvement
- Implemented conditional access policies
- Phishing-resistant authentication deployed
AWS FinOps Practice
Built comprehensive FinOps practice managing CARFAX's AWS cloud spend with cost optimization, governance frameworks, and landing zone strategy.
Key Impact
- Established cloud cost governance
- Implemented automated cost optimization
- Created landing zone architecture
SRE Transformation
Transformed legacy monitoring function into proactive Observability and Site Reliability Engineering unit with consolidated tooling and improved operational practices.
Key Impact
- Proactive incident detection and prevention
- Consolidated monitoring and observability tools
- Established SRE principles and practices
Data Center Consolidation
Directed multi-year data center consolidation managing significant CapEx and OpEx while minimizing business disruption.
Key Impact
- Successful infrastructure modernization
- Hybrid cloud architecture implementation
- Zero business disruption during transition
Career Journey
9 years of consistent advancement and increasing responsibility
Director, Technology Operations
Leading cloud governance, reliability, identity management, and data center infrastructure
Zero Trust Architecture Implementation
Led company-wide transformation to Zero Trust security model
Manager, Technology Operations
Built and led SRE, observability, and cloud operations functions
Data Center Consolidation
Directed multi-year infrastructure consolidation initiative
Senior Systems Engineer → Lead Engineer
Progressed from individual contributor to technical leadership
Manager, Technical Solutions
Managed application hosting services team
Technical Lead
Technical leadership for application hosting infrastructure
Director of IT
Full IT leadership with P&L responsibility
Tech Stack Galaxy
Interactive visualization of technical expertise and leadership capabilities
Core Competencies
Foundation of expertise
Infrastructure
Security & Identity
Tools & Platforms
Leadership & Strategy
Let's Connect
Interested in discussing infrastructure leadership, cloud strategy, or potential opportunities?
Connect with me professionally and view my full career history
linkedin.com/in/philchristensen →Drop me a message directly via email
phil@philchristensen.com →Currently exploring Director/VP of Infrastructure and Platform Engineering opportunities