Open to opportunities

Nikolce Jolakoski

@nikolcejolakoski

Message

I lead cyber defense operations, incident response, and security engineering for financial services infrastructure.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I'm looking to lead cyber defense and security engineering work that strengthens incident response, cloud security, identity governance, threat detection, and enterprise resilience.

I lead Cyber Defense at Center Bank, directing incident response, threat detection, vulnerability management, and security engineering for critical financial-services systems.

I've helped establish the organization's Azure security foundation through secure networking, Azure Firewall, FortiGate virtual firewalls, VPN connectivity, RBAC, and cloud controls. I also partner on IAM maturation and AI security governance using Microsoft Purview, Proofpoint, and Fortinet.

Across Centier Bank and Arc of Northwest Indiana, I've strengthened endpoint, network, email, and identity security while supporting enterprise infrastructure. Earlier, I redesigned a network that saved $25K annually and improved performance.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Cyber Defense Team Lead

Current

Center Bank

Jan 2026 - Present (8 months)

Lead and mentor Cyber Defense analysts while providing technical leadership across incident response, security engineering, and enterprise security initiatives. Coordinate incident response activities and direct threat detection and security monitoring efforts.

Incident Response Threat Detection Security Monitoring Vulnerability Management Security Engineering Network Segmentation Azure FortiGate RBAC IAM Microsoft Purview ProofPoint Fortinet Security Architecture Executive Reporting

Current

Security Engineer

Current

Centier Bank

Jan 2024 - Present (2 years 8 months)

Manage endpoint protection solutions and configure enterprise security infrastructure. Administer multi-factor authentication, data encryption, email security, and respond to security incidents.

Endpoint Protection Security Infrastructure MFA Remote Access Data Encryption Email Security Incident Response Cloud Security Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Backup And Recovery Security Monitoring

Infrastructure Engineer

Centier Bank

Sep 2016 - Jan 2024 (7 years 4 months)

Configured and administered enterprise security infrastructure including network security controls, authentication systems, and threat detection platforms. Managed endpoint protection and centralized security logging.

Network Security Endpoint Protection Security Logging Monitoring Backup And Recovery Mobile Device Management Troubleshooting Server Provisioning Systems Analysis

System Administrator/Lead IT Technician

Arc of Northwest Indiana

Jul 2015 - Sep 2016 (1 year 2 months)

Redesigned network saving $25K per year and increased performance. Administered Windows servers and Active Directory, supported WAN across four centers, and provided end user support to over 200 users.

network design Windows Server Active Directory WAN end user support IT Procurement Inventory Management Vendor Management