Security
- Vulnerability management
- Incident response & DR
- Microsoft Sentinel (SIEM)
- Microsoft Defender
- GRC & compliance
- DLP
- Conditional access & MFA
- IDS/IPS
- Network & server hardening
Charlotte, NC · Remote
Dominique Gowens
Security & Cloud Engineer
Thirteen years building and securing enterprise environments. Currently leading security engineering at the National Institute of Building Sciences — vulnerability management, incident response, and cloud security architecture across hybrid AWS, Microsoft 365 and on‑premises estates.
- 13years in IT
- 10,000+users migrated to M365
- HybridAWS · M365 · on‑prem
About
I started in cloud and identity engineering — Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, PowerShell automation, and large enterprise migrations — and moved into security engineering, where I work across vulnerability management, incident response, cloud security architecture, and governance, risk and compliance.
Most of my work lives in hybrid environments, where cloud and on‑premises systems have to be secured as one estate rather than two. That means the practical end of security: conditional access and MFA that people will actually tolerate, patch and vulnerability programmes that close real gaps, detection and response that produces signal instead of noise, and audit evidence that stands up when someone asks for it.
Outside the day job I build — homelab infrastructure, automation, and lately web applications under the 9Dime name. I also make content about technology, and I'm working toward AWS and Security+ certification.
Experience
-
Security Engineer (Lead)
National Institute of Building Sciences · Remote
- Enterprise security across a hybrid estate — AWS, Microsoft 365, on‑premises and endpoints.
- Vulnerability management and remediation across cloud, on‑prem and endpoint.
- Incident response and disaster recovery — plans, runbooks and live drills.
- Cloud security architecture in Entra ID, Exchange Online, SharePoint and Teams: DLP, conditional access, MFA and policy enforcement.
- GRC and federal compliance — retention, encryption, IAM and audit logging.
- Detection and automation with Microsoft Defender and Sentinel; network hardening and IDS/IPS.
-
Cloud Engineer
Michael Baker International · Remote
- Azure cloud solutions including virtual desktop infrastructure.
- Microsoft 365 administration — Exchange Online, SharePoint, Teams.
- Led on‑premises to Azure and Microsoft 365 migrations.
- Backup and recovery; PowerShell and VBScript automation; performance and security optimisation.
-
Systems Engineer → Systems Administrator → Systems Analyst
Hendrick Automotive Group · Charlotte, NC
- Led the migration of 10,000+ employees to Microsoft 365 — Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive.
- Ran on‑premises Exchange, Active Directory, DNS and DHCP at the same scale.
- Security and compliance policy; backup and disaster recovery; system audits.
- PowerShell automation; managed the Slack workspace with Okta and Webex integration.
- Earlier: requirements analysis, technical specification, feasibility and cost‑benefit work.
-
Research & Development / Technical Support
Vital Media · Charlotte, NC
- Data centre operations and remote‑hands support for Peak 10 customers.
- Break‑fix on Windows servers and network hardware; backup generator upkeep.
Skills
Security
Cloud & identity
Automation & platform
Certifications & education
Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
AWS Certification
CompTIA Security+
Education
- B.S. Information Technology — Security Colorado Technical University
- A.A. Computer Information Systems Central Piedmont Community College · Charlotte, NC
Get in touch
Open to conversations about security engineering, cloud architecture, and interesting problems. I read everything that comes through here.