Top Talent like Mike are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specialized talent, while giving talent more flexibility and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Mike Blake

DevOps & Infrastructure Engineer
Southampton, England, GB
VMware
Microsoft Exchange
PowerShell
Azure DevOps
SharePoint
Microsoft Teams
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts
Experienced Cloud Architect Specializing in Azure and Infrastructure Modernization
I've been working in IT for 20 years, working my way up from 1st to 3rd line engineering, then architecture. I've never been satisfied following a step-by-step guide to setting something up, I must understand how things work, and why. This has led me to deeply explore many technologies on both Microsoft and Linux platforms. I have followed the industry’s transition to “Cloud first” offerings throughout my career and have stayed current with advances in modern engineering and architecture. My experience with legacy bare metal and virtualised IaaS infrastructure underpins my deep understanding of their contemporary PaaS and SaaS replacements. This evolved knowledge makes me especially good at working on modernisation or migration projects. I’ve always been a strong proponent of innovation in infrastructure deployment, starting with wide scale automation using Saltstack, Group Policy and VMware image management, then as the technology has advanced, Azure ARM, Terraform, and IaC as part of a CI/CD pipeline. With extensive expertise in cloud architecture, particularly with Azure, I excel in IT infrastructure modernization and migration projects, leveraging both Microsoft and Linux platforms. Notable achievements include designing a new Azure Front Door based WAF service, optimizing cost savings over 1 million per year, and implementing a resilient Exchange infrastructure with 100% uptime.

Work History

Q

Infrastructure Designer

QuilterNov 2020 - Mar 2022 • 1 yr 5 mosDesigned multiple datacenter and office migrations, leveraging Azure, VMWare and Zerto. Designed adoption of Azure IaaS and PaaS. Designed platform for Infrastructure as Code, including Azure DevOps and GitHub.
A

IT Architect

Aptum ITFeb 2015 - Oct 2020 • 5 yrs 9 mosPlanning and implementation of migration to Office 365, including authentication, email, storage, SharePoint and IM/VOIP (Teams). Full IT system integration for acquired company, including domain, Exchange services, workstations and network integration. Seamless Microsoft tenant migration, including transfer of all Exchange, Teams, OneDrive and Planner data, including message history using only PowerShell (and graph API) scripting.
P

Senior Systems Engineer

Peer1 HostingFeb 2011 - Feb 2015 • 4 yrs 1 moExchange 2010 solution design and implementation (100% uptime since deployment). VMware multisite cluster design and implementation (14 global datacenters). Windows and Linux template configuration and documentation. Network optimisation and monitoring. Juniper firewall advanced configuration (15 global data center sites running active/active dedicated fiber connections with backup VPN). Website hosting and configuration, including php and .Net. SQL server standalone and cluster installation, optimisation and maintenance.

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We've distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea's AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company's niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea's fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team's capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We've combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that's unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Experienced Cloud Architect Specializing in Azure and Infrastructure Modernization
I've been working in IT for 20 years, working my way up from 1st to 3rd line engineering, then architecture. I've never been satisfied following a step-by-step guide to setting something up, I must understand how things work, and why. This has led me to deeply explore many technologies on both Microsoft and Linux platforms. I have followed the industry’s transition to “Cloud first” offerings throughout my career and have stayed current with advances in modern engineering and architecture. My experience with legacy bare metal and virtualised IaaS infrastructure underpins my deep understanding of their contemporary PaaS and SaaS replacements. This evolved knowledge makes me especially good at working on modernisation or migration projects. I’ve always been a strong proponent of innovation in infrastructure deployment, starting with wide scale automation using Saltstack, Group Policy and VMware image management, then as the technology has advanced, Azure ARM, Terraform, and IaC as part of a CI/CD pipeline. With extensive expertise in cloud architecture, particularly with Azure, I excel in IT infrastructure modernization and migration projects, leveraging both Microsoft and Linux platforms. Notable achievements include designing a new Azure Front Door based WAF service, optimizing cost savings over 1 million per year, and implementing a resilient Exchange infrastructure with 100% uptime.

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call

Top Talent like Mike are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specialized talent, while giving talent more flexibility and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Mike Blake

DevOps & Infrastructure Engineer
Southampton, England, GB
VMware
Microsoft Exchange
PowerShell
Azure DevOps
SharePoint
Microsoft Teams
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts

Work History

Q

Infrastructure Designer

QuilterNov 2020 - Mar 2022 • 1 yr 5 mosDesigned multiple datacenter and office migrations, leveraging Azure, VMWare and Zerto. Designed adoption of Azure IaaS and PaaS. Designed platform for Infrastructure as Code, including Azure DevOps and GitHub.
A

IT Architect

Aptum ITFeb 2015 - Oct 2020 • 5 yrs 9 mosPlanning and implementation of migration to Office 365, including authentication, email, storage, SharePoint and IM/VOIP (Teams). Full IT system integration for acquired company, including domain, Exchange services, workstations and network integration. Seamless Microsoft tenant migration, including transfer of all Exchange, Teams, OneDrive and Planner data, including message history using only PowerShell (and graph API) scripting.
P

Senior Systems Engineer

Peer1 HostingFeb 2011 - Feb 2015 • 4 yrs 1 moExchange 2010 solution design and implementation (100% uptime since deployment). VMware multisite cluster design and implementation (14 global datacenters). Windows and Linux template configuration and documentation. Network optimisation and monitoring. Juniper firewall advanced configuration (15 global data center sites running active/active dedicated fiber connections with backup VPN). Website hosting and configuration, including php and .Net. SQL server standalone and cluster installation, optimisation and maintenance.

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We've distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea's AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company's niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea's fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team's capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We've combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that's unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Pangea empowers fractional work across the world for marketing and design roles.