About Me
Hey, I’m Alex Holodak — DevOps Director at Polyarc Games and Founder of Holodak LLC, an IT & DevOps consulting firm based in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
At Polyarc, I lead all developer operations for an award-winning game studio — home to Moss, Moss: Book II (The Game Awards 2022, Best VR/AR Game), and Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss. I own our end-to-end CI/CD ecosystem: Unreal Engine 5 build pipelines, Unreal Game Sync, TeamCity, Octopus Deploy, Perforce Helix Core & Helix Swarm, and multi-platform publishing across Steam, Meta/Oculus, PlayStation, and PlayFab. I also partnered with our Engineering team to design and launch the back-end services powering Glassbreakers, led the studio’s website redesign alongside Creative and Marketing, and drove the formal rollout of AI productivity tooling — including Claude, ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and JetBrains AI — across staff and engineering teams. I keep a sharp eye on cloud and SaaS costs too, continuously optimizing AWS spend and right-sizing license portfolios to eliminate waste across our distributed team.
Through Holodak LLC, I provide fractional DevOps leadership and cloud infrastructure consulting to game studios and tech companies — with a focused specialty in UE5 build pipelines, Perforce configuration, and automated release engineering. Let’s talk.
Previously, I served as Chief Technology Officer at DGDean, a New York-based technology consultancy and AWS Partner. I managed 300+ production servers across AWS and Azure for clients including SingleCare, Energizer Product Holdings, EverTransit, Loeb NYC, and more — maintaining HIPAA and PCI-compliant architectures, directing a 24×7 offshore NOC, and reducing cloud spend by 30% through Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and systematic SaaS license audits across distributed client teams. Earlier, as Senior Director of Systems Operations at EverTransit, I maintained a 99.99% uptime SLA for a real-time transportation platform.
Before that, I was Global Digital Manager (and Production Coordinator) at the NeuroLeadership Institute, managing digital infrastructure across North America and Europe and launching NLI’s flagship website. I’ve also worked as a Patent Paralegal Assistant at Perkins Coie LLP in Seattle, and supported visually impaired veterans through assistive technology with the Veterans Administration.
I earned my B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Sociology from Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since I was 17, when I launched PC Authority LLC, a computer repair shop — my first taste of building something from scratch.
My commitment to community has run just as long: I ran for a seat on the Old Bridge Township Board of Education at 18, and joined Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans through NJPIRG and AmeriCorps in 2007.
I 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
- Game Studio DevOps & Build Pipeline Ownership
- Multi-Cloud Infrastructure at Scale
- DevOps Leadership & Team Management
- AI Tooling Adoption & Rollout
- Cloud Cost Optimization & SaaS License Management
- Compliance-Grade Cloud Architecture
Work Experience
Polyarc
- Owns end-to-end CI/CD pipeline: Unreal Engine 5 BuildGraph, Unreal Game Sync, TeamCity, Octopus Deploy, Perforce (P4, P4 Code Review / Swarm, P4 DAM), and Azure PlayFab
- Manages multi-platform publishing across Steam, Meta/Oculus, PlayStation
- Designed and launched back-end services for Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss in collaboration with the Engineering team
- Led studio-wide formal rollout of AI productivity tooling — Claude, ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and JetBrains AI — across staff and engineering teams
- Manages AWS and Azure cloud environments supporting game backend services and dev tooling
- Drives cloud cost optimization and SaaS license audits to eliminate waste across a distributed team
- Manages all vendor relationships including ISPs, SaaS providers, and colocation facilities — handling procurement, contract negotiation, and ongoing account management across the studio’s technology stack
- IT owner for a 50 person distributed studio — covering helpdesk support, PC building, hardware procurement, and end-to-end repair across remote and on-site staff
- Led studio website redesign alongside Creative and Marketing teams using Webflow
- Leads build management and release engineering for Moss, Moss: Book II (The Game Awards 2022 — Best VR/AR Game), and Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss
DGDean
• Managed 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), SingleCare, ScriptRelief, EverTransit, 3×3 Insights, ACE ComicCon, SingleComm, NKBA, MobiSave, and more.
• Supported web & mobile application DevOps needs, build tools, and cloud infrastructure
• Maintained compliance of PCI or HIPAA across applicable client cloud environments
• Lead complete migrations of established companies to the Cloud with no down-time
• Modernized web application workloads for cloud auto-scaling, fault tolerance, and security best practices
• Managed 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
• Operated 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 worked with Alex to transition some cloud infrastructure that he set up to another organization. I was able to observe Alex’s technical skills and professionalism as we worked together. Alex is highly skilled at creating cloud infrastructure quickly to meet a variety of business needs. He understands both corporate and custom software requirements and works across a large variety of technologies to produce solid cloud solutions. Working with Alex is recommended if you can.”
“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 was a valuable asset to me in his position as Paralegal Assistant. He is a hard worker who focuses not only on the task at hand, but also on the larger picture. He frequently would find faster, more efficient, and more accurate ways of performing various tasks. He knew when to ask questions and when to proceed on his own. On top of being so helpful, Alex was also a pleasure to work with and has become a good friend. I highly recommend him.”
“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.”