Plygrnd

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Employment History

January 2019 - Present

Security Engineer - Amazon Web Services - United States of America
In this role, I am responsible for responding to and mitigating security issues which potentially affect AWS’s services and infrastructure. This role requires in-depth knowledge of AWS’s internal systems, coding standards, and incident response practices; it is at once a security engineering, customer relationship management, customer service and program management role. I specialize in security research community engagement and coordinated vulnerability disclosure, as part of a small team of experts in this field. I am also responsible for creating tools and processes to streamline my team’s work, and coaching/mentoring my colleagues. Notably, I coordinated AWS’s response to a finding within an AWS service presented at Black Hat Europe 2021.

May 2017 - January 2019

Security Engineer/Security Engineer II - Amazon Web Services - Dublin, Ireland
In May 2017, I was promoted to Security Engineer. I was subsequently promoted to Security Engineer II in December 2018.

August 2016 - May 2017

Associate Security Engineer - Amazon Web Services - Dublin, Ireland
I was hired into AWS’s security operations team in Ireland after working with them during my time in the abuse prevention team.

April 2014 - August 2016

Abuse Specialist - Amazon Web Services - Cape Town, South Africa
I was one of the first members of the AWS abuse investigation team in Cape Town. I helped to grow the team from four to approximately 35 people in two years. In May 2015, I was promoted and became an escalation point-of-contact for the global team. As an email spam/UCE subject matter expert, I developed processes for dealing with email spam originating from AWS. I worked with with external parties, such as Spamhaus and Trend Micro, to foster positive and collaborative relationships.

February 2014 - April 2014

Technical Customer Service Associate - Amazon Web Services - Cape Town, South Africa
Lateral move from retail customer service to AWS customer service. Initially hired into the account and billing team, I stayed in this role for two months before moving to a different role within the AWS customer service team.

August 2012 - February 2014

Customer Service Associate - Amazon.com - Cape Town, South Africa
Hired as a temporary/seasonal contact centre associate during the 2012 holiday season. I was brought on permanently in February 2013. Developed my communication skills and used them to build rapport with Amazon customers across two media (phone and chat). Founding member of the Amazon Locker customer service and engineering liaison team. Developed knowledge content for the Locker team which is still in use today.

February - August 2012

Bookseller - Exclusive Books - Cape Town, South Africa
Selling, recommending and maintaining stocks of books in a busy retail bookshop.

November - December 2011

Baker - Jason Bakery - Cape Town, South Africa
Baker apprentice; assisted in pastry department and main kitchen

February - October 2011

Baker - Caffe Milano - Cape Town, South Africa
Baked bread, pastries and similar, kept control of stock, created new recipes and performed related training for new staff.

January 2009 - March 2011

Deliverator - Call-A-Pizza - Cape Town, South Africa
Casual position at the leading provider of cheese bread in the Mother City. Responsible for transporting said fermented wheat products at unsafe velocities.