Damaso Cardenales

IT leader with 18+ years of progressive experience across infrastructure, systems administration, IT operations, team supervision, cloud technologies, and cybersecurity. Career experience spans healthcare, higher education, commercial, and government environments. Brings a systems and infrastructure foundation together with current cybersecurity leadership, providing a practical understanding of how to operate, modernize, secure, and sustain enterprise technology.

ITS Security Engineer at Alivia Health (2024-04 – Present)

• Lead enterprise cybersecurity operations in a healthcare environment, partnering with IT Operations, IAM, application teams, Compliance & Privacy, vendors, and leadership to protect critical technology services.
• Manage security and governance across Microsoft 365, Azure, Entra ID, Intune, and Microsoft Defender, with responsibility spanning identity, endpoint, cloud, and Zero Trust controls.
• Lead the vulnerability management program and coordinate remediation across servers, endpoints, applications, and infrastructure with technical owners.
• Direct security investigations and incident response, including containment, remediation, validation, and executive or stakeholder reporting.
• Develop operational procedures, technical standards, change documentation, and controls aligned with healthcare requirements and recognized security frameworks.
• Work with infrastructure teams on system hardening, patching, cloud modernization, monitoring, access controls, and operational resilience.

Security Administrator at Ponce Health Sciences University (2022-02 – 2024-04)

• Defined and executed institutional cybersecurity strategy while working across infrastructure, cloud, and IT operations to strengthen security and service resilience.
• Led security aspects of cloud migration and hybrid infrastructure initiatives and implemented NIST and CIS controls across enterprise environments.
• Managed vulnerability assessment and remediation efforts in coordination with systems and infrastructure personnel.
• Designed disaster recovery and business continuity plans to improve institutional preparedness and recovery capabilities.

Support Services Supervisor at Ponce Health Sciences University (2021-01 – 2022-02)

• Supervised IT operations and Service Desk personnel supporting multiple campuses, serving as an operational link among users, technical teams, and institutional leadership.
• Managed day-to-day service delivery, priorities, escalations, and coordination with infrastructure teams to maintain reliable technology services.
• Supported staff development and performance while ensuring work was completed according to institutional procedures and service expectations.

Systems Specialist at Ponce Health Sciences University (2019-04 – 2021-01)

• Managed server infrastructure, virtualization, enterprise systems, and patching lifecycle in support of institutional IT operations.
• Monitored enterprise systems for availability, security, and compliance and participated in troubleshooting, maintenance, and infrastructure improvements.

IT Professor at Columbia Central University (2019-01 – 2019-04)

• Delivered IT and cybersecurity instruction aligned with industry standards and practical enterprise technology requirements.

IT Manager at DynCorp International (2017-12 – 2019-01)

• Managed multi-site IT operations in a high-security environment supporting mission-critical organizational requirements.
• Oversaw technology operations and implemented MFA and identity security improvements to strengthen access to enterprise systems.

Systems Administrator at CSRA (2017-05 – 2017-12)

• Administered Microsoft Server infrastructure, supported enterprise systems, resolved vulnerabilities, and maintained operational availability.

MBA in Digital Marketing – National University College

BS in Computer Sciences – Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico