David C. Brown
Professional Summary
Senior Cloud & Security Architect with 25+ years of experience building zero‑downtime operational platforms, Zero‑Trust security frameworks, DevSecOps, and AI‑governance programs, for high‑frequency trading and e‑commerce firms. Proven ability to translate business objectives into scalable, cost‑effective technology roadmaps—cutting deployment time by 90% and reducing incident risk by 42% while maintaining 99.99% uptime. Passionate about continuous learning, I stay ahead of emerging trends in cloud, DevOps, and data‑ethics to deliver measurable ROI and sustainable growth.
Continuing Education
- DataCamp Courses: AI Ethics, Generative AI Concepts, Large Language Models Concepts, Understanding Machine Learning, Understanding Artificial Intelligence
- Coursera Courses: Machine Learning I
- LangeChain Courses: Foundation: Introduction to LangGraph
- Books: AI Engineering, Designing Machine Learning Systems
Professional Experience
Crown Awards
Hawthorne, NY
Information Technology Consultant
June 2025 – Present
Implemented NeuVector Security Platform across our Kubernetes clusters, strengthening security posture and accelerating the transition to a Zero‑Trust architecture.
Re‑architected the database layer by migrating from an Active‑Passive MySQL cluster for our microservices infrastructure to a three‑node load-balanced Active‑Active‑Active Galera cluster, achieving zero‑downtime OS and application updates and raising uptime from 99.9% to 99.99%.
Pioneering the company’s first AI governance framework by authoring comprehensive usage policies and architecting on-premises AI controls, to achieve zero third-party exposure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and confidential corporate information.
Chief Technical Officer (CTO)
June 2018 – June 2025
Architected & deployed a Kubernetes‑based platform that utilizes DevOps workflows, slashing the infrastructure footprint by 45% and cutting deployment time from 45 minutes to 5 minutes while promoting Infrastructure portability.
Designed & executed a Zero‑Trust cybersecurity strategy that protected endpoints (SentinelOne), automated updates (NinjaOne), email (Mimecast & DMARC), network (isolation & filtering), and users (MFA & security‑awareness training), cutting incident risk by 42 % while maintaining 99.9 % business‑critical uptime.
Spearheaded the post-Wayfair e-commerce tax compliance initiative by deploying Avalara AvaTax to automate state and local tax collection; achieved 100% compliance across all taxable jurisdictions, reduced audit exposure by an estimated 99%, and established a full audit trail to ensure readiness in the event of an audit.
Pioneered an internal automation and microservices programs that eliminated 35% of manual order‑processing tasks, built custom Python scripts and applications, and introduced visual order‑flow dashboards—boosting throughput by 28% and cutting the order‑acceptance‑to‑shipment cycle from 4–24h to an average of 4h (minimum 2h).
Reorganized the software‑development team by recruiting a senior architect with deep expertise in Salesforce Commerce Cloud (formerly Demandware) and Java / JavaScript / Python‑based custom architecture, then onboarded high‑quality engineers to deliver a premium e‑commerce experience, build internal tooling, and launch new services that elevated overall quality of service and operations.
Director of IT
December 2014 – June 2018
Cut $120k from the annual operating budget by internalizing key services, automating outsourced workflows, and renegotiating a portfolio of third‑party contracts
Re‑engineered the software development lifecycle (SDLC) to stabilize release cadence, improve QA rigor, and formalize repeatable procedures—enabling faster, higher‑quality deployments for future projects.
Migrated the legacy web storefront to a robust Salesforce Commerce Cloud (formerly Demandware) e‑commerce platform, delivering a modern, scalable shopping experience that boosted page‑load speed by 35%, cut cart‑abandonment rates by 16%, and improved site reliability by 8%.
Modernized the shipping workflow by migrating from a custom RPG‑based engine on IBM i (AS/400) to ProShip, cutting maintenance effort by 40%, boosting on‑time delivery by 12%, and enabling multi‑carrier support with streamlined international duties handling.
Transformed the organizational culture to a “company‑first” mindset, realigning talent with strategic priorities by conducting a targeted workforce review, selectively retaining high‑performing employees, and recruiting new hires who embodied the desired values—resulting in a 25% increase in employee engagement scores and a 15% rise in cross‑functional collaboration.
Senior Systems Architect
May 2014 – December 2014
Designed and deployed a high‑availability, low‑cost on‑prem private cloud that recouped its investment in 14 months, generating budgetary savings that fully offset the transition from outsourced to managed‑infrastructure. Launched a PCI‑DSS Compliance program that strengthened security, built industry and consumer trust, and shielded the company from regulatory penalties and business‑risk exposure.
Parity Energy Inc.
New York, NY
Senior Infrastructure Engineer
March 2008 – May 2014
Designed and deployed a multi‑datacenter, high‑availability infrastructure platform that underpins a high‑frequency options‑trading startup utilizing a cluster of low-cost KVM hypervisors.
Assumed ownership of a Samba‑based MSP enterprise infrastructure and engineered a full migration to Windows Active Directory, implementing multi‑site replication and hardening security controls, which cut authentication‑related incidents by 30%.
Executed a 48‑hour rapid migration of the brokerage, corporate‑operations, and software‑development teams to remote‑operations during the Sandy Hurricane disaster, enabling uninterrupted company activity as NYSE and Nasdaq resumed trading while the primary office building remained closed.