Sara Heath

Experience

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  Raytheon Polar Services Company - United States Antarctic Program (USAP)

  Oct 2000 - Jan 2012

  NOC Manager and Sr Systems Administrator

  Led IT&C operations for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) at McMurdo and Palmer Stations, delivering essential infrastructure and network support to remote field camps, including the South Pole Station. Oversaw strategic projects to ensure reliable connectivity and operational continuity, supporting diverse scientific initiatives in marine, atmospheric, and geological research. Collaborated with cross-functional teams to optimize communication and data transfer critical to field operations and remote research in extreme Antarctic conditions.Key highlights include:* Developed, implemented, and standardized virtual infrastructure across the USAP enterprise network, providing technical guidance and training for IT staff.* Engineered specialized architectures tailored to meet the unique needs of remote field camps, aligning with scientific and environmental demands.* Deployed Blade Center technology, SAN environments, and server hardware at the Denver Station data center, leading network design and configuration.* Administered a range of hardware and software platforms (VMware, Linux, MS Windows Server), focusing on domain management, daily operations, network monitoring, and security remediation. Show less

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  Raytheon

  Jan 2012 - Jun 2015

  Sr Systems Integration Technologists II

  Managed global production data centers, development labs, and system and domain operations to ensure streamlined functionality and robust support for CI/CD pipelines essential to weather satellite data processing and global ground station operations. Led cross-functional teams in adopting industry best practices for hybrid cloud development, deployment strategies, and system management, optimizing data flow and enhancing reliability in mission-critical environments.The key highlights of this role include:* Engineered the migration of 28 isolated development environments into a unified domain, consolidating over 3,000 servers to improve security, scalability, and performance.* Modernized data centers, labs, and remote ground stations, enforcing strict security protocols and enterprise standards to support seamless global CI/CD operations.* Directed cross-functional teams in adopting hybrid cloud and remote development best practices, enhancing efficiency and implementing advanced cybersecurity measures.* Optimized the development tool stack, streamlining repository management, validation workflows, and providing support from planning through deployment for productive execution. Show less

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  Forcepoint

  Jun 2015 - Jun 2024

  Oversaw 30+ global data centers, sites, and labs, managing 6,000+ physical hosts, 15,000+ virtual machines, and 2,500+ endpoint systems while ensuring robust compliance with regulatory frameworks such as CMMC, EAR, FedRAMP, GDPR, ITAR, ISO 27001, and SOC 2. Drove alignment of IT service management practices with ITIL, COBIT, and NIST standards, optimizing network performance, systems resilience, and service desk responsiveness to deliver high-performance, reliable support across the enterprise. Strengthened Forcepoint's overall cybersecurity posture through proactive threat management, resilience-building measures, and strategic infrastructure improvements tailored for global scalability. Managed complex, multi-phase projects with cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment of IT and cybersecurity goals with strict regulatory demands for seamless compliance and enhanced risk mitigation.Key achievements include:* Pivotal in a $2.4B divestiture, overseeing secure separation of federal/commercial networks, domains, and assets.* Secured $24M+ in annual savings by consolidating global sites from 32 to 13, reducing data center infrastructure by 45%, and optimizing the development tool stack.* Maintained 99.99% SLA compliance for cybersecurity and IT services, continuously delivering KPIs and performance metrics.* Served as Interim CIO, leading strategic initiatives and ensuring operational continuity.* Onboarded and integrated acquired companies, including tool stack and domain alignment.* Developed security frameworks for cloud and on-premise environments, aligning with corporate policies, regulatory standards, and business goals.* Facilitated security reviews with senior management, communicating risks, mitigation strategies, and improvements to support unified security and compliance with best practices. Show less Architected and deployed a secure, air-gapped, CMMC, EAR, and ITAR compliant federal development domain, establishing isolated environments to uphold strict federal/commercial boundaries and protect sensitive data. Partnered with DevOps to streamline SDLC stages, including CI/CD pipelines, integrating automated security checks, vulnerability scanning, and compliance validation to enhance domain consolidation and accelerate secure, compliant delivery. Guided architecture for development, testing, and automation environments, embedding security, scalability, and efficiency across processes. Implemented continuous monitoring and logging to enhance threat detection, response capabilities, and audit readiness, ensuring resilient and transparent development practices aligned with stringent regulatory requirementsKey achievements include:* Delivered significant cost savings by strategically managing a $6M annual budget, balancing high performance with stringent security.* Supported Secret-level SCIF operations, maintaining robust security protocols to protect sensitive, high-compliance functions.* Designed and unified infrastructure across five business units into a compliant, cohesive CMMC, EAR, and ITAR aligned domain, enhancing both security and operational efficiency.* Administered a complex, multi-layered IT infrastructure, embedding cybersecurity to ensure operational excellence, reliability, and continuous, secure service. Show less

  • Director of Infrastructure

    Mar 2021 - Jun 2024

  • Senior Manager - IT DevOps

    Jun 2015 - Mar 2021
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  Zions Bancorporation

  Jan 2025 - now

  Manager of Cybersecurity Engineering