DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

RICHARD J. MUSSELL

IT SPECIALIST (PAQ) CANDIDATE

Technical Case Studies

Operational summaries of technical implementations demonstrating expertise in Systems Acquisition, Operations Research, and Program Management Support

Filter by Domain: All Projects 🔒 Security ⚙️ Automation ☁️ Cloud Architecture

These case studies demonstrate real-world application of IT competencies in federal and government environments, aligned with GS-2210 IT Specialist requirements.

Domain: Information Systems Acquisition

Enterprise Container Orchestration Platform with Automated Lifecycle Management

Date: 2023-06-15
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Mission Objective

Implementation of Risk Management Framework (RMF)-compliant automated infrastructure lifecycle management system achieving system resiliency in support of mission-critical availability (99.9% uptime) and ensuring Authority to Operate (ATO) readiness through automated NIST 800-53 control validation, Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) deployment, and FIPS 140-2 compliant cryptographic modules

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Technical Execution

Technologies: kubernetes , terraform , ansible , prometheus
Compliance: NIST 800-53, NIST SP 800-37 (RMF), NIST SP 800-207 (ZTA), FIPS 140-2, FedRAMP Moderate
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Operational Impact

System resiliency in support of mission-critical availability (99.9% uptime), ATO readiness through automated control validation (100% compliance), 85% reduction in deployment time
KSA Mapping
KSA: INFORMATION SYSTEMS ACQUISITION
KSA: OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
KSA: CYBERSPACE PLANNING
KSA: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Recruiter's Note: This project demonstrates the candidate's ability to Information systems acquisition, Operations research analysis, Cyberspace planning, Program management.
View Full Technical Memo →
Domain: Cyberspace Planning

Zero Trust Identity & Access Management (IAM) Modernization

Date: 2023-09-20
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Mission Objective

Migration of legacy perimeter-based network infrastructure to Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) with Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) integration, achieving 90% reduction in unauthorized access attempts, 100% visibility of lateral movement, and sub-second authentication latency while ensuring Authority to Operate (ATO) readiness through NIST SP 800-207 compliance and automated policy enforcement aligned with Risk Management Framework (RMF) requirements

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Technical Execution

Technologies: okta , active-directory , micro-segmentation , policy-enforcement
Compliance: NIST SP 800-207 (ZTA), NIST 800-53, NIST SP 800-37 (RMF), FIPS 140-3, ICAM Framework
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Operational Impact

90% reduction in unauthorized access attempts, 100% visibility of lateral movement, sub-second authentication latency, 100% compliance with NIST SP 800-207 Zero Trust Architecture standards
KSA Mapping
KSA: CYBERSPACE PLANNING
KSA: INFORMATION SYSTEMS ACQUISITION
KSA: OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
KSA: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Recruiter's Note: This project demonstrates the candidate's ability to Cyberspace planning, Information systems acquisition, Operations research analysis, Program management.
View Full Technical Memo →
Domain: Operations Research Analysis

Automated Continuous Monitoring & Audit Readiness (Cyber Governance)

Date: 2023-12-10
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Mission Objective

Implementation of Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) pipeline replacing manual compliance audits with automated evidence collection for Authority to Operate (ATO), achieving 85% reduction in audit preparation time, 24/7 real-time compliance posture visibility, and 0% 'Critical' findings during external inspections through OSCAL (Open Security Controls Assessment Language) automation and real-time risk scoring aligned with Risk Management Framework (RMF) requirements

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Technical Execution

Technologies: oscal , cdm , splunk , automation
Compliance: NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-37 (RMF), OSCAL Framework, FISMA, FedRAMP Continuous Monitoring
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Operational Impact

85% reduction in audit preparation time, 24/7 real-time compliance posture visibility, 0% 'Critical' findings during external inspections, 100% automated evidence collection for ATO documentation
KSA Mapping
KSA: OPERATIONS RESEARCH ANALYSIS
KSA: CYBERSPACE PLANNING
KSA: INFORMATION SYSTEMS ACQUISITION
KSA: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Recruiter's Note: This project demonstrates the candidate's ability to Operations research analysis, Cyberspace planning, Information systems acquisition, Program management.
View Full Technical Memo →