Chris A. Dennis

texomawaves@tx.rr.com

Summary

I am a Software Development Engineer/Team Lead for XO Communications, Information Technology, Network Management Systems Engineering team. At the present I am heavily involved in development of specialized applications meeting the XO telecom business needs as well as administration and maintenance of many of XO’s core business applications.  My previous career was with MCI as a senior network engineer. I have 20 years of telecommunications network engineering experience.  I have very extensive knowledge and experience on engineering and operational support of DWDM fiber optic, transport, microwave radio, data networks, and anything telecom related.  My focus has been on network management systems integration and administration of these networks.  My experiences include network architecture, systems integration, lab evaluations, deployment, writing application standards and equipment specifications.  I have strong software development skills.  I have 27 years of computer experience, and 7 years of heavy IT experience.

Education

Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, graduate of  The University of Texas at Arlington, December 1989

High School: DeSoto High School, DeSoto, Texas, Graduated 1983 with honors, National Honor Society

Engineering Work Experience

Sr. Engineer/Team Lead, XO Communications (Nextlink), Plano, Texas (June 2000 to present) My job responsibilities are to install, configure and test element management systems (EMS) in the XO network.  Integrate EMS and network elements to the Micromuse Netcool as well as many other Network Management Systems.  Provide EMS or other business application administration and 24X7 technical support for the XO Network Operations - Network Management Center, NOC, Tier I/II Support, and Engineering organizations.  I have written many various web based software tools and developed "homegrown" applications for XO.  Provide ongoing software upgrades and application support.  Implemented Vendor Technical Management process for tracking software issues and planning for future software release upgrades.  Developed network management integration and lab evaluation processes for new technology into the XO network. I developed several applications that discover networks, collect data, build databases, and create reports.  In 2004 I developed a user friendly web based application “Netmax Explorer” which was an application with hooks into several systems (alarming, ticketing, provisioning, circuits, customers, maintenance, etc..) that various organizations use to eliminate “swivel chair” troubleshooting in a one stop shopping application. It is a very popular and heavily used application.  In 2007 I developed a graphical based application that analyzed capacity on the Infinera DWDM network. This Network Capacity Planning tool significantly improved productivity in Sales, Engineering, Planning, as well as Operations.  It enabled XO to sell lightwave services very quickly.  This project received special recognition at the CIO and CEO level as well as the Telecom Industry Association.

Sr. Engineer, MCI, Richardson, Texas (January 1990 to June 2000) Engineered network management application standards for transmission equipment. These standards include master drawing sets, databases, and engineering rules to be used for project implementation. Performed laboratory evaluations focused on system integration test. These tests primarily involved software compatibility as well as environmental, electrical and mechanical testing. Wrote system integration test requirements for various network management systems including element managers (EMSs) and network management layer systems. Wrote network management specifications as a reference for vendors of SONET transmission equipment. Responsibilities included vendor technical management. Received the MCI Commendation Award in November 1992 for solving complex serial monitoring problems, accuracy of evaluations and completeness of standards documentation. Received a promotion to Engineer II in December 1992. Received the MCI SMART award in May 1995 for significant contribution to alarm storm testing, ATM, Diginet and other areas of fault alarm engineering in the MCI network. Received a promotion to Engineer III in June 1995. Received promotion to Engineer IV in December 1996 (now a Senior Engineer I).

Engineer Intern, MCI, Richardson, Texas (August 1987 to June 1989) Monitored fiber optic and microwave network performance. Built and maintained a database history of performance statistics for publishing corporate level reports. Developed software programs to transfer and manipulate data between software applications. Analyzed and solved many various network related problems.

Concentrated Knowledge of Equipment

Management Systems (EMS and NMS)

Power Systems

Miscellaneous / Old Technology

Skills/Experience

Software Development Skills

Protocols/Data Analysis

Management Skills

 

Brainbench Transcript (#5975621)

 

Personal Attributes

 

Activities & Interests

Public Service / Volunteerism: Member of the Murphy Fire Department, firefighter and EMT medical first responder, March 1995 to December 2005

·        Member of the Murphy City Council and planning committee, May 1998 to May 1999

·        Certified EMT Emergency Medical Technician (Texas Department of Health)  - maintain current certification

·        CPR Certified (American Heart Association)

·        Certified Basic Firefighter (State Firemen's and Fire Marshall's Association)

·        Fundraiser Projects for the Oklahoma and Texas Wildlife Conservation – Marine Biologists , Six Old Geezers, Lake Texoma

·        Participation in city wide functions: Murphy Country Fairs, National Night Out activities, block parties and anything to promote public safety.

·        2006, 2007 Fundraiser Projects for the Oklahoma and Texas Wildlife Conservation – Marine Biologists, Six Old Geezers, Lake Texoma