Darren Gurrola
Network Support Engineer — Cisco Meraki
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About
Network support engineer with hands-on experience administering and troubleshooting Cisco Meraki environments exceeding 4,000 devices — switches, wireless access points, and security appliances — across defense, aerospace, nuclear power, and multi-site institutional environments. Skilled at diagnosing complex, high-device-count network issues via the Meraki Dashboard, Wireshark packet capture, and ticketing systems, and at communicating clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders to drive cases to resolution. Cisco CCNA/CCENT, Microsoft MCSE, and CompTIA A+ certified, with hands-on experience meeting DoD and NRC compliance standards.
Experience
Network / Security Engineer - Diocese of Orange County - Garden Grove, CA
(2022-08)
Lead engineer for an enterprise-level Cisco Meraki campus network spanning 100+ church and school sites, supporting switches, wireless access points, and security appliances end to end.
- Administer and support 2,000+ Cisco Catalyst, Meraki, and Palo Alto devices, diagnosing and resolving hardware, firmware, and connectivity issues via the Meraki Dashboard.
- Secured remote access and DNS-layer protection by standing up Cisco ASA and Palo Alto firewalls, AnyConnect and site-to-site IPsec VPN tunnels, DUO MFA, and Cisco Umbrella.
- Monitor network health via SolarWinds and perform deep-dive troubleshooting with Wireshark packet captures to resolve complex, escalated connectivity issues.
- Oversee VMware clusters and Windows Server environments; maintain network diagrams, equipment racking, and change documentation.
- Reduced capital expenditure through infrastructure consolidation and vendor negotiation; mentored IT staff on troubleshooting best practices.
- Sustained 100% infrastructure uptime across all managed sites.
Network Engineer - Anduril Industries - Costa Mesa, CA
(2022-01 - 2022-07)
Supported a campus-wide enterprise network spanning 4,000+ Cisco Meraki and Cisco devices, serving as first point of contact for hardware and connectivity issues.
- Ran day-to-day operations and support for Meraki switches, wireless access points, and Palo Alto firewalls, plus Corning ONE SD-LAN controllers and switches.
- Performed advanced network troubleshooting using Wireshark and vendor dashboards, rack-and-stack installations, and maintained network maps and change documentation.
- Mentored junior IT staff and sustained zero unplanned downtime throughout tenure.
Senior Network Engineer - Integral Aerospace - Santa Ana, CA
(2020-01 - 2021-12)
Led Windows Server deployments and migrations across 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2019 environments; oversaw Hyper-V, VMware, WSUS, Azure, Exchange, Office 365, Active Directory, and Group Policy.
- Hardened the endpoint security stack with DUO, Proofpoint, and Webroot; ran Palo Alto firewalls and Juniper VPN.
- Built and maintained Cisco Catalyst and HP ProCurve switches/routers, WLAN access points, and WAN infrastructure.
- Owned Veeam backup and disaster recovery strategy; ensured NIST/DoD compliance and integrated custom manufacturing equipment.
- Redesigned IT processes, ran IT projects end-to-end, and delivered training for internal customers; provided CapEx/OpEx budget guidance.
- Achieved 100% SLA response on service tickets and maintained continuous infrastructure availability.
Network / Systems Engineer - Southern California Edison – San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station - San Onofre, CA
(2019-02 - 2020-01)
Provided Tier 1–3 support for 350+ users across Windows 7–10 desktops/laptops and Office 365 in a regulated nuclear facility environment.
- Administered Windows Server 2016/2019, WSUS, Azure, Active Directory, Group Policy, Veeam Backup, and MDM for Android/iOS.
- Configured and managed Meraki LAN/WLAN networks and Palo Alto firewalls with Global Protect VPN.
- Supported CATIA and AutoCAD software; handled adds/moves/changes and break-fix for workstations, servers, printers, and network equipment.
- Achieved 100% SLA response on service tickets; recommended IT process improvements to management.
Senior Network Engineer / IT Manager - DRD Racing Heads - Santa Ana, CA
(2006-06 - 2019-09)
Owned the company's IT infrastructure end-to-end as sole IT Manager, including Windows Server 2008–2016, Hyper-V, Active Directory, and Cisco Catalyst/Palo Alto network equipment.
- Supported engineering and business operations software including SolidWorks, Mastercam, QuickBooks, and VMware across desktop and laptop fleets.
- Implemented data backup and disaster recovery plans; managed vendor relationships and CapEx/OpEx budget planning.
- Sustained full infrastructure availability over a 12-year tenure while single-handedly supporting all IT operations.
Senior IT Engineer - Coca-Cola Fountain USA - Irvine, CA
(1998-06 - 2006-06)
Delivered on-site and remote IT/desktop support for 300+ clients across 10+ sites, including a fully equipped Mac graphics department.
- Administered Windows NT–2003 servers and Active Directory; managed network support for switches, routers, and VPN.
- Led backup/recovery operations, hardware and software troubleshooting, user training, and new-office IT deployments.
Education
Associate of Science - Electronics Engineering - ITT Technical Institute Buena Park, CA
Computer and Electronics Program - College of the Desert Palm Desert, CA
Microsoft Certified Training - Software Education of America Brea, CA
