About Me
Hi there! I’m Alex Holodak. A cloud guru and entrepreneur from Scotch Plains, New Jersey. I’m passionate about tech, politics, travel, gaming, and emerging businesses.
I’m the DevOps Director at Polyarc Games in Seattle, WA. (Working remotely from New Jersey).
Formerly, I was the Chief Technology Officer at DGDean. DGDean provides end-to-end technology and digital project management services to fast growing start-ups. My role focused on development operations, security, industry compliance (HIPPA / PCI), and cloud architecture. DGDean’s services also include multi-channel development, analytics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). To DGDean’s clients, they are their technology department.
Thanks to a close partnership over the years with Loeb NYC, the premiere New York City start-up factory, DGDean grew to support various successful start-ups covering all business sectors. As an AWS Partner, DGDean leverages the cloud to accomplish amazing results for our clients every day.
In my previous role, as the Global Digital Manager at the NeuroLeadership Institute (a neuroscience-based coaching consultancy), I managed digital systems in North America and Europe, client-facing digital products, and personally built and launched NLI’s website back in 2014. Formerly, I worked as a Paralegal Assistant in the Patent Group for Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle, Washington. Before moving to Seattle in 2010, I was a Legal Assistant in estate planning for the Patel Law Offices in Iselin, NJ. In addition, I worked as Lead Technician and Consultant for SW Unlimited, which specializes in technology needs for people with disabilities. Working with SW Unlimited, we supported the Veterans Administration, helping veterans utilize these vital technologies.
I graduated Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and a minor in Sociology.
With an entrepreneurial focus, at age 17, I founded my first business by forming PC Authority LLC.
As an active participant in local civics, I ran for election to the Old Bridge Township Board of Education in April of 2006 at age 18. My commitment to community service led me to New Orleans to aid in Katrina Relief efforts through NJPIRG and Americorps in 2007.
Specialties: AWS Certified Solutions Architect and Cloud Practitioner. I am proficient in various aspects of computer repair, Windows and Linux: client and server configuration and administration, Mac OS X, network configuration & troubleshooting, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, MS Office, Adobe CC, NetSuite, Atlassian Confluence, Quickbooks, WordPress, Drupal, MySQL, web development (HTML5, CSS, PHP). I type approximately 85 words per minute.
I am experienced in patent procurement, patent litigation, estates, tax law, guardianship, and wills.
I currently live in Scotch Plains, NJ with my wife Amy and our two kids, Jack and Avery.
Personal Information
- Full Name
- Alexander Holodak
- D.O.B
- July 5
- Hometown
- Old Bridge, NJ
- Lives In
- Scotch Plains, NJ
- aholodak@gmail.com
Skills
- Business Owner & Entrepreneur
- 2019 AWS Certified Solutions Architect & Cloud Practicioner
- Windows & Linux Server Administration
- Computer Repair
- CMS Web Designer
- Patent & Tax Paralegal Experience
Work Experience
Polyarc
- Manages DevOps for game studio to help the team build, test, and deploy games like Moss: Book II.
DGDean
• Manages over 300 servers on AWS and Azure for a wide range of clients across multiple industries
• Performed as the Lead Cloud Engineer / SRE for Beeby Clark + Meyler (Energizer Product Holdings), RxSense, SingleCare, ScriptRelief, EverTransit, 3×3 Insights, ACE ComicCon, SingleComm, NKBA, MobiSave, and more.
• Supports web & mobile application DevOps needs, build tools, and cloud infrastructure
• Maintains compliance of PCI or HIPAA across applicable client cloud environments
• Leads complete migrations of established companies to the Cloud with no down-time
• Modernizes web application workloads for cloud auto-scaling, fault tolerance, and security best practices
• Manages Cloud spend regularly, utilizing AWS Savings Plans & Reserved Instances to reduce costs by 30%
• Directed incubator’s 24 x 7 offshore Network Operations Center before implementing PagerDuty for alert automation
• Currently operating Windows Server, Ubuntu Linux, AWS EC2, Cloudfront, RDS, S3, Elasticache, Elasticsearch Service, EC2 Container Services, Cloudformation, Cloudwatch, WAF, EFS, DataSync, Atlassian JIRA, Confluence, Jenkins, Bamboo, Octopus Deploy, Tableau Server, SQL Server, Aurora MySQL, WordPress, Drupal, Sitefinity, DataDog, and more.
• 2019 AWS Certified: Solutions Architect (Associate) and Cloud Practitioner
EverTransit
- Oversaw and managed Microsoft Azure and AWS workloads for EverTransit, a mobile transportation, technology and data management platform.
- Took over project from prior team and implemented server upgrades and improved CI/CD process.
- Maintained 99.99% uptime SLA
NeuroLeadership Institute
- Built and launched new company website and digital product demonstration portal
- Train staff on company’s technology platforms globally
- Provide both internal & client-facing technical support for Mac & Windows, Atlassian Confluence, NetSuite CRM, WordPress, Adobe Connect, WebEx, and audio/video production in North America and Europe
Ashford & Grace Fine Jewelers
Director, IT & Business Development (Colts Neck, NJ)- Researched potential businesses for venture capital investment
- Collaborated with a team to launch 3 new retail locations, doubling the business’s reach
- Analyzed financial, customer, and employee performance data for weekly reports
- Installed, managed, and maintained computers and network systems across all locations
- Managed company websites and social network outreach to attract customers
Perkins Coie
- Reviewed patent office correspondence, prepared response documents, and collaborated with attorney, paralegal, and client to meet deadlines.
- Researched and compiled data which aided attorneys’ in supporting our clients patent decisions and strategy.
- Developed and regularly presented internal technology seminars and demonstrations of software tools to associates, paralegals, and secretaries throughout Perkins Coie offices nationally.
- Conducted training of paralegals in the area of technology and paralegal assistants in both technology and the patent procurement process.
- Worked with system administrators to implement software packages specific to the patent group.
- Accounts included some of the most prominent technology firms in the world.
SW Unlimited
- Onsite IT consulting for the Veterans Administration in the Central NJ.
- In home presentation, setup, and training for visually impaired veterans with Freedom Scientific products that give greater independence.
- Configuration of JAWS, OpenBook, and Magic screen reading software.
- Windows system deployment, recovery, and virus/spyware removal
Parag Patel Law Firm
- Research and application of NJ Estate laws; tax document preparation
- Appraisal coordination with clients for estate purposes
- Application of forensic accounting practices for accurate informal accountings
- Networking office printers, VoIP phones, file servers, and workstations, providing quick and cost-effective improvements to daily office operations.
- Migration and implementation of MailStreet’s Microsoft Exchange service for attorneys, minimizing difficulty accessing e-mail in the office and on the go
Rutgers University – Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
- Deployment of 120 Dell workstations for a university computer lab
- Configured and remotely imaged machine operating systems with Symantec Ghost according to standard University policies
- Successfully launched a new work center for graduate students in a small team under tight time and budget constraints
Community Service Society of New York
- Performed various helpdesk support tasks (computer repair, antivirus, network troubleshooting) in a non-profit, 140 person office environment
- Assisted in Blackberry migration and employee training
- Provided data-related technical support for a New York State voter registration initiative
PC Authority
Founder & Technician (Aberdeen, NJ)- Managed the business and worked with customers in a retail environment
- Handled all bookkeeping, purchase orders, invoices, inventory, and tax preparation (QuickBooks)
- Primary hardware and software technician.
- Repaired computers with fast turnaround time
Education
References
“I am writing this recommendation for Alex Holodak for several reasons, but first and foremost because he will be an asset to any company that he decides to join. I worked with Alex at a start up technology company that dealt with complete corporate infrastructure provisioning through AWS. Alex functioned as the focal point for all the infrastructure build requirements, provisioning and project management. His technical skill set focused on AWS infrastructure, management and problem solving, however by no means was limited to that specialization. He picked up new technologies and programming languages quickly and could coordinate applying that knowledge to achieving results in a fast paced and demanding environment.
Alex’s technical acumen is top notch, however I was more impressed with his leadership skills. He combines end to end accountability for results, fantastic people skills, masterful facilitation and political savvy to lead any team to their fullest potential.
I would highly recommend Alex to any company or business in need for a highly technical leader who understands business.”
“Alex is bright, energetic and extremely hard-working. He would be a valuable asset in any capacity.”
“Alex is an outstanding individual and a total professional. I have worked closely with Alex on various projects and he consistently excels in areas of resourcefulness, ingenuity, effective communication and especially; getting the job done. Alex is a very strong tangible asset that will immediately contribute to the bottom line. I strongly support and recommend Alex.”
“Alex is detail-oriented and competent. He sees the big picture.”