Jermal Smith

IT & Security Executive

Jermal
M. Smith

Director of IT & Security for regulated SaaS technology. Zero Trust infrastructure, high-stakes M&A, clean audits, twenty years running.

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Portrait of Jermal M. Smith
20+ years in IT & security
$4M+ annual budget owned
0 unplanned outages, 4-yr M&A
40+ enterprise customers supported

Built it, ran it, survived the audit.

For over twenty years I have built and run IT and security operations, the last decade inside regulated Life Sciences SaaS environments. My defining project was building Sparta Systems' IT and security function from the ground up, then leading it through a four year, multi phase acquisition by Honeywell as primary integration lead. Zero unplanned outages. Zero major audit findings. That record is what kept RFPs, deals, and renewals moving with enterprise pharma and medical device customers who do not tolerate risk.

Outside the day job I stay hands on. I build AI enabled tools myself, including a live agentic recruiting chatbot, a third party risk management platform, and a GRC risk register, applying the same compliance discipline to new technology that I apply to enterprise infrastructure. I do not just approve technology decisions. I understand what is under the hood.

  • Zero Trust architecture & IAM at enterprise scale
  • M&A integration & due diligence, start to finish
  • SOC 2, ISO 27001/9001, HIPAA, GDPR, FedRAMP, NIST, CIS
  • Budget & vendor governance, $4M+ annual, $4–8M procurement
  • Global team leadership across time zones

A career, logged.

Every role below shipped a measurable outcome. Read it the way I read a system log, chronological, evidence first.

2026–present HyrLink Founding Director

Co-developer and technical advisor for an agentic AI recruiting platform, from concept through MVP. Shaped product direction, market narrative, and early stakeholder relationships.

active
2021–2026 Honeywell Senior IT Manager, Director-level scope

Led a blended team of up to 15 across the US, UK, and India. Primary integration lead for a four year M&A: network trust, end user computing migration, and data center workload transition completed with zero unplanned outages. Sustained zero major findings across consecutive SOC 2, ISO 27001, and ISO 9001 audits while remediating 50+ controls.

0 incidents
2018–2021 Sparta Systems Manager, Information Technology

Built Sparta's IT and security function from the ground up, leading a 7 person blended team. Mobilized full remote work capability for 300–400 people across three countries in under four weeks during a business continuity event.

foundational
2015–2018 Sparta Systems Expert Systems Administrator

Architected VMware/Hyper-V virtualization and SAN/NAS environments. Co-developed Sparta's early compliance strategy ahead of the company's formal audit program.

complete
2007–2015 Infragistics Team Lead, Senior Systems Administrator

Led infrastructure and desktop teams. Directed Office 365 migration and early Azure/AWS cloud adoption. Introduced VLAN segmentation and 802.1X wireless authentication for compliance readiness.

complete

What I build when no one asks me to.

Live tools I designed and built independently, applying the same GRC and operational discipline I use at enterprise scale.

HyrLink

live

An agentic AI recruiting and candidate engagement platform. I co-developed the product and a live SLM based candidate chatbot, from concept through MVP.

Vendor Risk Manager

live

A solo-built third party risk management tool for startups that lack a dedicated GRC function, bringing enterprise vendor governance to teams that need it most.

IT Risk Register

live

A solo-built, GRC-lite risk register for small teams without formal compliance tooling. Same risk discipline, none of the enterprise overhead.

Job Tracker

live

An application pipeline dashboard that streamlined my own job search and cut the administrative overhead of tracking submissions end to end.

Outside the org chart.

I serve as a trustee for Our Beautiful Foundation, a nature, civics, and youth program working to build the next generation of engaged, grounded leaders. It is the same long-term thinking I apply to infrastructure, just pointed at people instead of systems.

Visit Our Beautiful Foundation

Find me where I actually am.

This page is the index, not the inbox. LinkedIn is the fastest way to reach me directly.

LinkedIn Message me directly. This is the best way to connect. GitHub Code for HyrLink, the risk register, and other builds. Substack Long-form writing on security, leadership, and AI. Blog Notes and updates at jermsmit.com. Our Beautiful Foundation Nature, civics, and youth. I serve as a trustee.