Open to opportunities

Christopher McCarthy

@christophermccarthy

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Senior data protection architect specializing in disaster recovery and resilience.

United States

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What I'm looking for

I seek senior-level roles leading data protection and DR programs where I can modernize backup platforms, improve RTO/RPO, mentor teams, and partner with security and execs in mission-critical, regulated environments.

I am a senior data protection architect and 21-year Marine Corps veteran with deep experience designing and operating backup, disaster recovery, and cyber resilience solutions for regulated, mission-critical environments.

I have led platform ownership and modernization initiatives for enterprise customers including FedEx, RGA, and the U.S. Department of Energy, driving large-scale Cohesity multi-cluster deployments, cloud archive integrations, and recovery workflow redesigns.

I deliver measurable outcomes — from building air-gapped cyber vaults and improving backup speeds by an estimated 300% to reducing RTOs from days to minutes — while serving as a trusted technical and executive advisor during high-impact incidents.

I mentor technical teams, document and harden recovery playbooks, and partner with security, infrastructure, and business stakeholders to translate risk into practical, auditable data protection strategy.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Founder & Principal Data Protection Architect

Current

3QA Consulting Co

Oct 2023 - Present (2 years 4 months)

Lead a data protection consulting practice for NYSE-listed enterprise clients, modernizing backup and cyber-resilience platforms and implementing air-gapped Cohesity cybervaults to protect environments exceeding 50,000 assets.

Cohesity Disaster Recovery VMware VSphere Cyber Resilience Postgres ServiceNow

Firefighter/Paramedic

Multiple Departments in TN, CO

Mar 2016 - Jan 2024 (7 years 10 months)

Provided fire protection, rescue, and emergency medical services as a 911 Emergency System Paramedic, leading two-member ambulance crews and managing pre-hospital emergency care.

Emergency Medical Services Patient Care Rescue Operations Team Leadership Crisis Decision Making Crisis decision making

Remote Resident Engineer, Senior Data Protection Architect

Reinsurance Group of America

Sep 2022 - Nov 2023 (1 year 2 months)

Embedded as primary Cohesity expert for RGA, owning multi-cluster deployments (12 clusters, 115 nodes, 6+ PB) and improving backup strategy to reduce RTO from days to minutes while leading incident response during a major cybersecurity event.

Cohesity Incident Response Disaster Recovery VMware VSphere Backup Strategies Vendor Management NetApp Postgres

Enlisted Service (Retired) - Company First Sergeant

United States Marine Corps

Apr 2001 - Nov 2022 (21 years 7 months)

Served 21 years, leading teams up to 200 personnel, managing operations, training, and readiness across deployments and varied billets including intelligence and electronics repair.

Leadership Operations Management Discipline Personnel Management Logistics

Senior Systems Engineer, Enterprise Infrastructure

Consolidated Nuclear Security

Nov 2019 - Sep 2022 (2 years 10 months)

Managed Cohesity backups for ~2,000 systems across six clusters supporting the Y-12 National Security Complex, designing and hardening recovery workflows with a 100% recovery success rate and compliance with federal requirements.

Cohesity Backup And Recovery Disaster Recovery Compliance VMware VSphere Linux Windows

Head of IT, Americas

Global Cloud Xchange

Feb 2014 - Dec 2016 (2 years 10 months)

Sole IT owner for GCX Americas, stabilizing legacy Windows infrastructure, building secure FreeBSD components, and growing regional IT capability while maintaining business continuity with limited resources.

FreeBSD Networking Systems Administration Team Leadership

Unix/Linux Systems Administrator

Raytheon

Nov 2012 - Feb 2014 (1 year 3 months)

Administered 50+ Solaris and Linux systems in classified defense environments, handling clustering, scripting, LDAP/NIS+ integration, and high-priority troubleshooting supporting mission-critical ground station operations.

SUSE Scripting LDAP DNS Clustering