W. Andrew Kirkman

Broadcast Systems Technologist
Covington, KY - Drew@DrewKirkman.com

Summary

I'm an experienced broadcast and information technology professional with focus on AoIP networking, studio air chain, RF transmission plant, and automation. I have performed repairs and preventive maintenance on high power FM broadcast transmitters, configured IBOC/HD Radio broadcasts, and managed Microsoft 365 hybrid environments as well as hyper-converged virtualized infrastructure.

Experience

Director of Engineering

Hubbard Radio Cincinnati, LLC - Cincinnati, Ohio
January 2024—present

Oversee the technical operations of four FM radio stations in a large media market
Manage departmental operations and capital budgetary needs, expenditures, and forecasts
Identify, analyze, and troubleshoot technical issues related to studio and transmission operations in a timely and effective manner
Collaborate with the cluster general manager and other department heads to develop short-term and long-term objectives, goals, and action plans
Study and plan for station engineering needs, such as software and equipment purchases and staff development
Develop an effective engineering department by providing mentorship and guidance to engineering staff with applicable training, evaluation, and daily contact
Provide hands-on support to IT and engineering staff as needed
Maintain current familiarity with rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission and ensure all stations are in compliance with the same at all times
Served on planning committee for 2024 Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference

IT Broadcast Technologist

Hubbard Radio Cincinnati, LLC - Cincinnati, Ohio
June 2021—January 2024

Maintain 4-node VMware vSphere + vSAN hyper-converged virtualization cluster
Install, configure, and maintain Cisco networking equipment for business and radio production networks
Support radio production software such as RCS Zetta, RCS GSelector, and VoxPro
Configure and support Axia Fusion, Studio Engine, iQx, xNode, and Telos VX broadcast audio equipment in 12 studios and 4 tracking rooms
Support backend radio production equipment: Sage Digital ENDEC, Comrex ACCESS, GatesAir Intraplex IP-Link 200, Omnia.9, Omnia VOLT, Omnia 8X, Omnia VOCO 8, 25-Seven Systems PDM, Telos Z/IP One, Telos Z/IPStream R2
Maintain and support Nautel GV and Harris Platinum Z solid-state FM/HD transmitters, and Harris HPX tube-based FM/HD transmitters
Manage configuration and operation of 3rd and 4th generation HD Radio equipment
Perform regulatory clerical tasks: review station logs; ensure operation within FCC compliance rules
Served on planning committee for 2023 Midwest Broadcast & Multimedia Technology Conference

Additional Experience

LAN Administrator and System Support Services

Campbell County Schools - Alexandria, Kentucky
September 2017—June 2021

School district: 5500 users, 9 sites
Managed Active Directory objects for one domain in a forest of 174
Administered Office 365 tenant in a hybrid cloud configuration
Managed ~30 highly available Hyper-V virtual machines
Maintained onsite and offsite backup data with Veeam Backup and Replication
Maintained base images and task sequences for OS deployment in Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager
Managed software updates with PDQ Deploy and PDQ Inventory
Managed Avaya IP Office Server Edition telephony environment
Maintained and configured Extreme Networks networking equipment at all sites (SecureStack B-Series, Summit, ExtremeWireless, Enterasys S4 core chassis)
Oversaw migration of switching infrastructure from legacy Enterasys SecureStack devices to ExtremeXOS-based Summit switches
Automated the management of student Active Directory accounts based on enrollment data from the Infinite Campus SIS using Windows PowerShell
Integrated data and telecom services in the course of merging an independent school district with the county school district
Worked to introduce data interoperability between LOB applications based on data entered in system of record (Infinite Campus SIS) by writing helper scripts and SQL queries against a Microsoft SQL Server instance
Designed and implemented centralized multicast IPTV distribution system to replace analog cable TV distribution racks at remote sites

Information Technology Specialist II

Henry County Public Schools - New Castle, Kentucky
October 2013—August 2017

School district: 2300 users, 20+ servers, 1200 workstations, 6 sites
Managed Active Directory objects for one domain in a forest of 174
Provided file and print services for all users using Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016 SMB
Built new Windows Hyper-V failover cluster with 2 VM hosts and 1 storage host using Microsoft iSCSI target on Windows Server 2012 R2 over 10GbE
Managed 20+ highly available Hyper-V virtual machines
Developed proficiency in Windows PowerShell
Deployed Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager districtwide for OS deployment, software management, and configuration baseline enforcement
Backed up all important data using System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)
Supported district's MS SQL 2012 server for use by finance department applications
Maintained and configured Extreme Networks networking equipment at all sites, including SecureStack C-Series switches and Enterasys SSA core
Implemented secure 802.1X wireless access for district-owned devices using ADCS and Windows NPS
Supported BYOD environment with network vendor's access control solution in tandem with Windows NPS RADIUS server
Implemented monitoring systems using The Dude and Cacti to receive and respond to outage alerts in a proactive manner
Worked with vendors to design, procure, install, and configure Avaya IP Office PBX telephone system to be used districtwide
Managed 700 Chrome OS devices using Google's G Suite for Education
Served on committee to plan and implement 1:1 technology initiative

Help Desk Technician

Owensboro Public Schools - Owensboro, Kentucky
July 2012—September 2013

High school: 1200 users, 1300 workstations, 1 site
Responded to student and staff help desk tickets in a 1:1 environment
Mentored high school students seeking experience toward a potential IT career
Assisted faculty with troubleshooting Windows PCs, projectors, and other classroom tools
Escalated tickets to district technology department as needed
Assisted district technology staff in organization, rollout, and collection of student assets at year beginning and end
Applied OS images to Apple machines using DeployStudio
Assisted with setting up and operating audiovisual and stage equipment for performances, productions, assemblies, and gatherings

Technology Consultant

Myriad CPA Group (now Alexander Thompson Arnold PLLC) - Owensboro, Kentucky
June 2013

CPA firm: 50 users, 12 servers, 40 workstations, 3 sites
Designed and implemented Hyper-V failover cluster with 2 VM hosts and 1 storage host, all on Windows Server 2012
Assisted technology director with implementing twin Remote Desktop server VMs with round robin access via Remote Desktop Gateway
Implemented User Profile Disks for users on Remote Desktop servers
Migrated data on all servers to new storage appliance running FreeNAS
Implemented UniTrends backup solution for all servers with a local copy on premises and offsite replication target
Performed V2V operation of VMware guests to Hyper-V hosts
Installed and configured MS SQL Server 2012 for use by business applications

Technical Support Specialist

Myriad CPA Group (now Alexander Thompson Arnold PLLC) - Owensboro, Kentucky
October 2009—July 2012

CPA firm: 45 users, 40 workstations, 9 servers, 3 sites
Managed Active Directory domain
Migrated firm from Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 R2
Installed, configured, and maintained on-premises Exchange 2010 server; migrated all user mailboxes from SBS 2003 Exchange server
Provided file and print services to all users with Windows Server 2008 SMB and Nexenta Core Platform (OpenSolaris kernel with Debian userland)
Configured secondary file server to use ZFS with a raidz3 pool and wrote script to automatically manage and send ZFS snapshots to offsite backup
Supported Remote Desktop server for all users on Windows Server 2008 (non-VDI)
Maintained and configured Linux-based HP thin clients at all user workstations
Managed Linux virtual servers on VMware ESXi 4.1
Hosted firm web site and intranet site on premises using CentOS and the LAMP stack
Installed and configured ESVA virtual appliance for filtering spam and virii from incoming mail
Supported business applications such as CCH ProSystem fx Tax, ProSystem fx Engagement, ProSystem fx Practice, Thomson Reuters Creative Solutions Accounting, and FileCabinet CS
Planned and executed integration of data contained within business applications as part of 2011 acquisition and merger of smaller firms
Designed multi-site network using MikroTik RouterOS infrastructure
Worked with vendors to install WAN connections and integrate telephone services
Designed and implemented unified IP telephone system for all firm offices using Asterisk and PBX In A Flash

Network Technician

Tri-State Datacom Inc. - Henderson, Kentucky
April 2009—October 2009

Technology service provider: 2 staff, ~150 clients
Installed, configured, and maintained wireless point-to-point links for SMB and local government agencies with MikroTik infrastructure
Managed VMware ESXi servers used in hosting mail services for clients
Part-time position concurrent with employment at The Computer Guys

Computer Technician

The Computer Guys LLC - Owensboro, Kentucky
March 2009—October 2009

Computer repair business: 3 staff, ~200 clients
Configured new PCs for individuals and businesses
Set up home and small business networks
Removed malware from home and small business PCs
Transitioned clients from web development and hosting firm to new billing and support environment (this business assumed all clients from previous position when the company closed)
Part-time position concurrent with employment at Tri-State Datacom

Lead Programmer/Server Administrator/Network Technician

Common Technologies LLC - Owensboro, Kentucky
May 2006—March 2009

Web development, hosting, and business technology services: 3 staff, ~25 clients
Managed CentOS LAMP and Windows 2003 WIMP web hosting servers using OS native methods (RDP and SSH)
Supported client-facing control panel software such as Plesk 8 and DirectAdmin
Wrote backend code and logic behind dynamic portions of customer web sites using PHP and MySQL
Examples of larger projects: lookup of wheel and tire products relevant to vehicle given year/make/model; complete automated solution for resellers and dealers of a custom cabinetry manufacturer to build and submit jobs for quote
Built site-to-site VPN networks for clients using Endian Firewall and later IPCop firewall distributions

Volunteer Work

Sad Bee, Inc. d/b/a Hive13

Cincinnati, Ohio
2018—present
Hive13 is a 501(c)(3) community workshop and makerspace where people can meet and build things.

Member — 2018-present
Elected Officer — FY 2019-2020, FY 2020-2021, FY 2021-2022

Certifications

Certified Broadcast Technologist (CBT)

Society of Broadcast Engineers — October 2023-January 2029 — Cert ID 27012

Google - Chrome OS IT Administrator

Google Inc. — 2019-2022 — Cert ID 13156108

CompTIA A+

CompTIA Inc. — 2017-2026 — Cert ID H43JM4SH13VESJ29

Microsoft Technology Associate: Networking Fundamentals

Microsoft Corp. — August 2015

Apple Certified Support Professional 10.7

Apple Inc. — July 2012

Hurricane Electric Certified IPv6 Sage

Hurricane Electric — 2012