Career Spotlight: James Valero, Sr. Cloud Solutions Engineer
Do you like computers and coming up with solutions to problems? Then, you might be interested in a role as a Cloud Solutions Engineer.
Cloud Engineers are responsible for performing the technical duties associated with cloud computing. This can involve anything from designing cloud software and systems as well as creating their architecture, to implementing and maintaining them.
Sr. Cloud Solutions Engineer, James Valero, shared with us some insights into his career and words of wisdom for those who want to follow the same path.
Q: What do you do day-to-day?
A: Typically, I work on automation tasks to monitor and ensure system stability. When issues are found, I come up with solutions to notify teams through automation.
For example, when too many connections occurred on our customer’s backend website, which could mean potential attacks, I developed a Shell script that would monitor the number of connections that we received.
When my script found that we were at 80% capacity, it sent out a notification, such as giving our team a call, to let us know to check out the website to see what was happening. This has prevented our customer’s backend sites from going down by helping us catch issues early.
Q: What is your career background?
A: I studied Computer Information Systems at Cal Poly Pomona. During college, I worked part-time as the school computer lab manager and an IT Specialist for the California Federation of Teachers, where I did various IT support and some web development. After I graduated, I got a job as a Blackberry (yes, those were the “it” phones back then) Administrator and Web Developer for Lennar Corporation. Then, a couple of years later, I landed a role as Internet Systems Administrator for Hot Topic, Inc., where I was for nine years, working myself up to Unix Engineer. After that position, I studied AWS through a self-paced online training program and got hired as Sr. Linux Systems Administrator, now Sr. Cloud Solutions Engineer, for CSS, a company that specializes in mortgage securitization platforms.
Q: What steps should students take to follow your career path?
A: A lot of steps (kidding!). I’ve been interested in computers as early as 9 years old. I would tinker with and break my computer to learn about it. Then, I assembled my own computer when I was 16. So, for me, I knew early on that I was going to study computers. I took roles that were in the IT field and as new technologies emerged, like AWS, I pursued in learning it. Whenever you have the opportunity to learn something new in your field of interest, take it. What you would notice in my career is that the companies I worked for gave me new opportunities to move up in my position because I consistently took on challenges to expand my knowledge. It was a mutual benefit - helping myself and the company grow.
Q: tips for getting a job like yours?
A: Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you’re not sure about something. Expect (and be willing) to continuously learn because technology is always evolving. Learning doesn’t stop after school or higher education. In my case, I’ve grown so much in the workplace studying on my own as well as learning from colleagues.
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