Firewalls & First Steps Into Project Management
Securing North Carolina’s Prison Network While Discovering a Passion for Project Management
What started as a technical engineering role turned into my first true project management experience. As Lead Engineer and Project Manager, I was responsible for deploying 65 firewalls across North Carolina’s prison system—a critical initiative to enhance security, improve network visibility, and reduce bandwidth strain.
With the project behind schedule, I took ownership of planning, execution, and stakeholder coordination, breaking the deployment into two parallel workstreams. I personally handled complex on-site installations, while overseeing remote deployments by guiding technicians step-by-step. I built tracking systems, managed timelines, and delivered weekly reports, ensuring alignment with state officials and technical teams.
Key Contributions:
✔ Successfully managed deployment of 65 firewalls across North Carolina prisons, improving security and bandwidth efficiency statewide.
✔ Developed structured project tracking and reporting tools, allowing for real-time performance monitoring and resource allocation management.
✔ Discovered a passion for project management, transitioning from engineering to leading IT infrastructure initiatives full-time.
This project finished on time and met all security and performance objectives, but more importantly, it set me on the path to becoming a full-time project manager.🔗 Looking for a project manager who combines technical expertise with structured execution? Let’s connect!
Brian Keys - IT Project Manager 