James Simelus

Professional Profile

I'm a Data Engineer and IT professional with over 20 years of progressive experience designing, implementing, and optimizing enterprise-scale infrastructure and data solutions. My career represents a strategic evolution, transitioning from foundational systems administration expertise into cutting-edge data engineering, creating a unique bridge between operational excellence and data-driven innovation.

Early Career Foundation (2005-2013): I established a strong technical foundation across infrastructure management, network administration, and enterprise systems architecture. At IBM, I specialized in VMware virtualization and PureFlex converged systems, where I designed and maintained complex environments supporting thousands of virtual machines with high availability and disaster recovery capabilities.

Infrastructure Leadership (2013-2021): Building on this foundation, I advanced my focus to large-scale infrastructure optimization at IBM and Veterans United. I led critical initiatives including enterprise virtualization environment design, implementation of automated infrastructure provisioning, security hardening and compliance architecture across enterprise domains, and disaster recovery planning. These efforts improved system reliability and reduced operational costs significantly.

Data Engineering Transformation (2021-Present): Recognizing the convergence of infrastructure and data, I strategically transitioned into data engineering at Veterans United. My systems administration background provides invaluable context for building robust, scalable data pipelines. I now design and implement enterprise-scale ETL processes using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), sophisticated data pipelines connecting multiple enterprise systems, data warehouse and data mart architecture aligned with business requirements, advanced SQL optimization and complex stored procedures, automated testing frameworks ensuring data integrity, and data governance strategies balancing accessibility with security.

Academic Excellence & Continuous Learning: I have completed a Master's degree in Data Science & Analytics from the University of Missouri (May 2025, GPA 3.94), where I've deepened expertise in advanced machine learning algorithms and statistical modeling, big data technologies and distributed systems, data visualization and business intelligence, and cloud computing platforms and scalable architecture. In the near future I am planning on pursuing a Doctorate degree, probably in Health Infornmatics or GIS.

My distinctive career trajectory, combining deep infrastructure knowledge with modern data engineering skills and formal data science education, allows me to architect solutions that are not only technically sound but operationally sustainable. I'm passionate about leveraging technology to transform raw data into strategic business insights.