Hello, my name is

Jesse Almanrode.

Engineering Leader, Platform & Reliability

I lead teams that make services and platforms easier to operate and more reliable. I still love getting into the details: reviewing a design, writing code or testing a new tool, or tracking down what’s behind a reliability issue.

Resume
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About Me

JA Computing profile picture

I lead engineering teams working on SRE, platforms, and video services used by millions.

Away from work, I’m an amateur photographer focused on headshots and landscapes. Take a look at my 500px portfolio—and if you’re around Denver and need a headshot, get in touch!

I also own a Jeep. Meet Stormborn!

A few tools and areas I work with:
  • Python
  • Flask
  • REST APIs
  • MongoDB
  • Kubernetes and Helm
  • GitHub Actions
  • SLIs and SLOs
  • Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK
  • AWS and Linux
  • Scrum and Kanban

Experience

Sr. Manager: Software Dev/Eng - Comcast
May 2022 - present

I lead the SRE and Advanced Troubleshooting team (5 direct reports). Before that, I led two teams across platform engineering and CI/CD (8-10 direct reports).

  • Raised Stream Quality Index (SQI) from the 70s to over 90 by finding root-causes of low-quality sessions and following fixes through production.
  • Lead investigations into SLO misses and playback problems across video platform.
  • Rebuilt VIPER’s Spinnaker platform on managed services and made it fully redundant.
Manager: Software Dev/Eng
May 2018 - May 2022

I joined full-time to lead Linear Operations (6 directs, 6 indirects), then took on Alternate Content Operations too (6 directs). The teams supported more than 30,000 live channels across partners in the US, Canada, and Europe, including ad insertion and sports blackouts.

  • Moved the IP linear video packager from VMs and Puppet to Kubernetes and Helm, with Prometheus/Grafana monitoring and ELK logging.
  • Helped launch a software-based sports blackout product and two syndication platforms.
  • Started an SRE team that automated operational work and moved monitoring to an SRE model.
Sr. Dev/Ops Engineer - Apex Systems
Sep 2015 - May 2018
  • Led IP linear operations across Comcast X1 and syndication platforms, covering video transcoding, packaging, and delivery.
  • Built the Python command-line toolkit the team used to monitor, troubleshoot, and maintain applications.
Principal Infrastructure Engineer - Level 3 Communications (formerly tw telecom)
Apr 2014 - Sep 2015
After Level 3 acquired tw telecom, I developed applications for the UNIX/Linux and storage teams to support integration and merger of the companies.
Sr. Unix Administrator
Jan 2014 - Apr 2014
  • Deployed and managed an Infoblox DDI grid and also wrote applications to support user-friendly ways of updating DNS records.
  • Built Python/Flask full-stack application to automate monthly Linux security patching, backed by MongoDB on AWS EC2.
  • Developed full-stack self-service LDAP tools and APIs in Python.
Unix Administrator
Jan 2012 - Jan 2014
I led the UNIX team’s development work, automated Red Hat VM builds on VMware and AWS, and brought in version control and an agile workflow for team scripts.
Sr. Systems Specialist - Cabela's
2002 - 2012
I started as an intern and worked my way up to Mac OS Desktop, Mac OS Server Support, and the Linux Server Administration team.

Education

2004 - 2007
Associate of Arts: Information Technology: Computer Programming
Western Nebraska Community College
GPA: 3.9 out of 4.0

Accomplishments:

  • Member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
  • Member of both Dean’s and President’s Lists (differnet semesters)

Extracurricular Activities:

  • Student Tutor in: Biology 101, JavaScript, and C++
2004
High School
Shema Accademy of Home Learning
GPA: 4.0 out of 4.0

Projects

SSHreader
Python OpenSource
SSHreader
A Python module for multi-threading ssh connections.
Homepage
iblox
Python Infoblox OpenSource
iblox
A Python module for interacting with Infoblox API.
Homepage
PickleJar
Python OpenSource
PickleJar
A Python module for managing multiple pickled objects in a single file.
Homepage
Lazy Hippo
Python OpenSource FFmpeg
Lazy Hippo
A Python CLI for performing simple video edits via FFmpeg
DoppelSort
Python OpenSource MachineLearning
DoppelSort
A AI-developed Python tool for finding and matching faces.

Certifications

Red Hat Certified System Administrator (Expired)
RHEL 6–7
Red Hat Certified Engineer (Expired)
RHEL 6–7

Get in Touch

My inbox is always open. Whether you have a question, a project idea, or just want to say hi, I’ll try my best to get back to you!
Mail me