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Ricardo J. GowdieBook a Call (opens in a new tab)

Network security engineer · Fayetteville, NC

I build and secure networks that stay up.

I'm a network security engineer. I've worked in IT since 2009 and in enterprise networks since 2017, and I take on consulting and freelance projects. Need your network locked down? Let's talk.

Credentials

Credentials

  • In IT since 2009
  • 9+ years in enterprise networks
  • 2,000+ devices supported

Certifications

  • ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
  • Fortinet NSE 1, 2 and 3
  • Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
  • Information Security Manager (NCTVET)
  • Data Protection (University of the West Indies)
  • Cisco IT Essentials
  • Claude Certified Associate Foundations (Anthropic)

Education

  • BSc (Hons.) Information Technology, University of Technology, Jamaica

Recognition

  • 2026

    Top Performer

    eClerx

  • 2025

    Staff of the Year

    Scientific Research Council

  • 2019

    Top Performer

    Sutherland

What I work with

Tools and platforms I work with.

Network

  • Fortinet FortiGate
  • Cisco
  • Ubiquiti UniFi
  • SD-WAN
  • VPNs
  • VLANs and segmentation
  • DNS and DHCP

Monitoring

  • Wireshark
  • FortiView
  • Auvik

Identity and cloud

  • Active Directory
  • Entra ID
  • Microsoft 365

Systems and automation

  • Windows Server
  • Linux
  • Hyper-V
  • PowerShell
  • Ansible
  • Docker
  • ServiceNow

Standards I know

Standards I know

  • ISO 27001
  • NIST CSF
  • Jamaica Data Protection Act

Case summaries

Results from recent projects.

All case studies
  • Segmentation

    14-VLAN network segmentation

    I designed a 14-VLAN segmentation architecture and paired it with Fortinet firewall controls and remediation.

    Identified vulnerability exposure dropped by approximately 60%.

  • Performance

    Network redesign and wireless optimization

    I led a network redesign and wireless optimization, including access point placement and channel planning.

    Overall network performance improved by approximately 50%.

  • Uptime

    Failover cluster and Microsoft 365 migration

    I led the move to a three-host Hyper-V failover cluster on SAN storage and the migration from Exchange to Microsoft 365. I coordinated vendors, service providers, and internal teams through each upgrade and rollout.

    Approximately 40% better service uptime and approximately 90% less email downtime.

Let's talk

Need someone who can secure and support your network?