Devin Close
Network Engineer
& IT Consultant
Jersey City, NJ
Results-driven Network Engineer and IT Consultant with 6+ years delivering enterprise infrastructure solutions for municipal, county, and public safety clients across New Jersey. Proven expertise in Cisco Catalyst, Meraki, and Secure Firewall platforms, fiber-optic deployments, and end-to-end IT project management. Currently serving as Interim Director of Technology for the Township of Montclair.
Executive Summary
Enterprise networking, cybersecurity, cloud platforms, and IT leadership — with a focus on keeping municipal and public safety organizations connected, secure, and running smoothly.
Infrastructure Modernization
Lead engineer on Montclair's multi-department network modernization: Cisco Catalyst C9300, Meraki MS150, Secure Firewall across Police, DPW, Water Authority, and municipal facilities.
Fiber & Broadband Deployment
Deployed the full network stack for Bergen County's Phase 3 Fiber connecting 70+ municipalities, and built a town-wide GPON fiber-to-the-home broadband network from the ground up — including design, construction, and ongoing operations.
Operational Leadership
Interim Director of Technology for Montclair: 100% uptime across 24 facilities, 300+ end users. Led cloud migration initiatives, managed enterprise licensing, and produced comprehensive IT transition documentation.
Professional Experience
Network Engineer / IT Consultant at Millennium Communications Group Inc. — East Hanover, NJ — Dec 2022 to Present
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Interim Director of Technology
Township of Montclair, NJ
- Assumed interim IT leadership during CIO vacancy, maintaining 100% service uptime and zero disruption to 300+ end users across 24 municipal and public safety facilities.
- Oversaw daily IT operations spanning Active Directory, server infrastructure, cloud services, wireless networks, and CJIS-compliant cybersecurity monitoring.
- Deployed CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor endpoint protection and Next-Gen SIEM across municipal endpoints via PowerShell scripting for automated mass deployment.
- Implemented Cisco Umbrella DNS-layer security for web filtering and threat protection across Montclair and Kearny municipal networks.
- Executed SharePoint Online migration and site creation for Millennium Communications Group, Town of Kearny, and Township of Montclair — establishing document libraries, team sites, and collaboration workflows.
- Directed SDL Desktop cloud migration from on-premises servers to a Parallels-hosted environment, improving remote accessibility and reducing local infrastructure dependency.
- Administered enterprise software licensing — Microsoft 365 (430 users across G5/G3 GCC tiers), security platforms, and endpoint protection — negotiating a 3-year renewal and optimizing costs. Handled IT procurement via NJ Cooperative Purchasing Alliance and Bergen County Co-Op contracts.
- Authored comprehensive IT Transition Packet including infrastructure documentation, network diagrams, risk assessments, vendor contacts, and strategic roadmaps to accelerate incoming leadership onboarding.
8-Week Interim IT Leadership
Montclair Network Modernization Initiative
Township of Montclair
- Served as lead engineer on a multi-department network upgrade spanning Police, Fire, DPW, Water Authority, Parking Authority, Animal Shelter, Library, and municipal offices across 15+ locations.
- Deployed Cisco Catalyst core and distribution switches, Meraki cloud-managed access switches, Cisco Secure Firewall appliances, and UCS compute platforms with traffic segmentation (VLANs), QoS, and PoE across all sites.
- Managed MDF/IDF closet buildouts, Category 6/6A cabling, comprehensive rack reorganization, and infrastructure labeling.
- Provisioned Datto SIRIS backup and disaster recovery with cloud retention, and deployed Windows Server with Hyper-V virtualization to support Township operations.
24-Facility Infrastructure Map
Technology Stack & Budget
Cisco Catalyst C9500
Core Switching / 40GbE Uplinks
Cisco Catalyst C9300
Distribution / L3 Routing
Meraki MS150
Access Switching / Cloud-Managed
Wi-Fi 6E
Meraki CW9166I-MR / Tri-Band
Cat 6/6A Cabling
Structured cabling across 24 sites
Cisco FPR3105
Secure Firewall / Threat Defense
Cisco CSF220
Firewall / IPS / IDS
VPN Architecture
Site-to-Site & Remote Access
Threat Intelligence
Malware Protection / URL Filtering
Cisco UCS C240-M8L
Rack Server / Hyper-V Host
Microsoft Hyper-V
Virtualization Platform
Datto SIRIS
Backup / DR / Cloud Retention
RAID Storage
Enterprise storage with redundancy
Meraki Dashboard
Cloud network management
SNMP / Syslog
Monitoring & alerting
VLAN / QoS / PoE
Network policy enforcement
Windows Server
AD / DNS / DHCP Services
Cost Breakdown (est.)
Bergen County Fiber Network Deployment — Phase 3
Bergen County, NJ
- Deployed the full network stack for a county-wide private fiber ring connecting 70+ municipalities, public libraries, and housing authorities to high-speed internet infrastructure.
- Built out infrastructure across two data hub locations — Calix OLT systems for fiber termination, Cisco transport and aggregation switches, PDUs, power protection, and compute resources.
- Delivered 10 Gbps symmetric XGS-PON connectivity per town through a redundant 100G ERPS ring with dual head-end hubs for full failover protection.
Bergen County Fiber — Phase 3 Timeline
15-month construction timeline from design through project acceptance, Jan 2023 – Apr 2024.
Cost Savings Calculator
Compare projected costs of a private fiber network vs. traditional leased telecommunications lines.
| Period | Leased | Fiber | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Years | $3.57M | $819K | $2.75M |
| 10 Years | $7.14M | $1.32M | $5.82M |
| 15 Years | $10.71M | $1.83M | $8.88M |
Based on avg. $850/mo leased line cost and $120/mo fiber operational cost per connection, with $4,500 one-time build-out per connection.
Network Automation & Custom Tooling
Custom Development
- Built a Python-based multi-vendor network discovery tool (NETGEAR, Axis) that automates switch inventory and documentation — replacing hours of manual effort.
- Developed PowerShell scripts for infrastructure assessment at Linden Housing Authority and Ansible playbooks for Windows Server and network device configuration at scale.
Managed Services Contracts
Veolia/JCMUA, Linden Housing Authority & Others
- Authored and delivered managed services proposals for Veolia North America / JCMUA — covering Genetec security systems, firewalls, servers, camera switches, and 4G equipment across 9 water/wastewater utility locations with SLA-backed response times.
- Managed block hour IT services contract for Linden Housing Authority covering Cisco VOIP, Cisco LAN infrastructure, Genetec physical security, and Microsoft Active Directory/Exchange environments.
- Defined service tiers with 4-hour remote response and next-business-day on-site SLAs; managed quarterly business reviews, incident tracking, and escalation procedures.
Additional Municipal & Education Clients
14+ NJ Organizations
- Delivered network infrastructure, IT administration, and consulting services to 14+ clients including Town of Kearny, Fort Lee Public Schools, Kearny PD, Bergen County Parks, Asbury Park, Jersey City, Wayne BOE, Ewing BOE, Passaic County, and others.
- Installed fiber connectivity across 7 Bergen County Parks locations with BiDi SFP transceivers for long-haul single-mode links.
- Performed emergency Genetec Directory Server replacement for Fort Lee Public Schools; resolved critical DDN SFA7700X storage failures at Kearny PD for video evidence continuity.
- Managed Genetec security camera systems, door access control, Cisco phone systems, and virtualized server environments across client sites.
Earlier Career
Foundation experience in fiber broadband network deployment, ISP operations, municipal IT administration, and enterprise data center environments.
Network Engineer / Network Admin
Matrix Design Group / Matrix Connected Fiber
East Hanover, NJ · Oct 2019 – Dec 2022
- Built and managed the Petersham, MA town-wide GPON fiber-to-the-home broadband network — overseeing design, construction, hub room buildout, utility pole attachment coordination, and subscriber activation.
- Served as network administrator, engineer, and customer support lead for the residential fiber ISP, ensuring service reliability for the subscriber base.
- Continued supporting the Petersham fiber network through the transition to Millennium Communications Group — maintaining the network, provisioning new subscribers, and handling customer support and billing.
- Designed and implemented secure network infrastructure including routers, switches, firewalls, and VPN solutions for enterprise clients.
- Configured and maintained network devices using Cisco IOS, IOS-XE, and NX-OS across multi-site deployments with VLAN segmentation and VRF.
IT Administrator
Town of Kearny
Kearny, NJ · via Matrix Design Group
- Provided on-site IT administration for municipal operations — managing end-user support, network infrastructure, and system administration.
- Maintained server environments, Active Directory, and network services to ensure reliable day-to-day operations across municipal departments.
Data Center Technician
Citigroup
Rutherford, NJ · Apr 2019 – Sep 2019
- Performed hardware installation, cabling, and maintenance in enterprise data center environments.
- Managed server rack deployments, cable management, and physical infrastructure documentation.
- Supported Tier 1/2 troubleshooting of network and server hardware across multiple data halls.
Technical Skills
A breakdown of the technologies, platforms, and methodologies I work with every day — organized so both technical teams and non-technical decision-makers can see what I bring to the table.
Network Infrastructure
- Enterprise Switching — Cisco Catalyst C9300/C9500, Meraki MS
- Routing Protocols — OSPF, BGP, EIGRP
- Network Segmentation & Traffic Management — VLANs, VRF, QoS, PoE
- Firewall & Threat Protection — Cisco Firepower/FTD, Secure Firewall
- Fiber Networks — GPON FTTH Broadband, 100G ERPS ring, XGS-PON, Calix OLT/ONT
- Wireless Networking — Wi-Fi 6E access points, Meraki MR, site surveys
- Structured Cabling — Category 6/6A, MDF/IDF closet buildouts
- Network Monitoring — SNMP, Syslog, Meraki Dashboard
Cybersecurity & Compliance
- Next-Gen Firewalls — Cisco Firepower/FTD with IPS/IDS and malware defense
- Endpoint Protection — CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor, Next-Gen SIEM
- DNS Security — Cisco Umbrella DNS-layer web filtering and threat protection
- VPN Technologies — IPSEC, GRE, DMVPN, site-to-site and remote access
- Criminal Justice Compliance — CJIS security standards for law enforcement
- Multi-Factor Authentication — Duo Authentication Proxy
- Identity & Access — Active Directory, Group Policy, ACLs
Cloud, Servers & Backup
- Cloud Platforms — Microsoft 365 (G3/G5 GCC), SharePoint Online, Azure, AWS, GCP
- Server Virtualization — Windows Server, Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware ESXi
- Remote Access & VDI — Parallels RAS, Azure VMs with JIT Access
- Backup & Disaster Recovery — Datto SIRIS with cloud retention
- Enterprise Hardware — Cisco UCS rack servers, DDN storage systems
- Video & Access Control — Genetec Security Center, Exacq (Johnson Controls), AXIS cameras
Telecommunications
- Business Phone Systems — Cisco IP Phones, Webex Calling, Cisco CUCM
- Voice Gateways — Cisco ISR4331, T1 PRI trunking
- Analog Integration — Cisco ATA for legacy phone systems
- Call Recording & Compliance — Dubber recording platform
Project & Vendor Management
- IT Budgeting — Procurement, licensing, cost optimization
- Vendor Negotiation — NJ Co-Op, NASPO, Enterprise Agreements
- Stakeholder Communication — Reports, proposals, presentations
- Project Tracking — Milestone planning, Gantt scheduling, status reporting
- Device Management — IBM MaaS360 MDM, Datto/Backupify
- Fiber Network Deployment — OLT provisioning, BiDi SFP, splice management
Automation & Development
- Python — Multi-vendor network discovery (Cisco, AXIS, MikroTik, HP)
- PowerShell — Endpoint deployment (CrowdStrike, SIEM), infrastructure assessment, Azure VMs
- Ansible — Multi-device configuration management at scale
- Terraform — Infrastructure as Code for cloud deployments
- JavaScript / TypeScript — Next.js, React, Node.js web applications
- HTML / CSS — Tailwind CSS, responsive design, accessibility
- Custom Tooling — Inventory collection, Excel report generation
Education & Certifications
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) · Expected Fall 2028
Verkada Sales Professional: Foundations
Verkada · Issued Aug 2025
Expires Aug 2026
Verkada Technical Certificate
Verkada Demo Program · Issued Jun 2024
Certificate ID: 84C1-5993-04EB
Genetec Security Center — Synergis Technical Certification
SC-STC-001-5.13 · Issued Sep 2025 · Valid until Mar 2027
Also certified in Omnicast™ and Enterprise Technical tracks (v5.10 & v5.11)
Exacq Fundamental Technical Training (EXACQ-F)
Johnson Controls / Exacq Technologies · Completed Jun 2025
Video surveillance system design, installation, and administration