Melbourne, Australia — Open to new challenges

Security & identity engineer.
Now building with AI.

I'm Marco — a senior technology & security engineer with 20+ years across Telstra, ANZ, TPG and the Australian Defence environment. These days I'm focused on where automation, AI and good system design meet: removing the complexity that shouldn't be there in the first place.

20+Years in enterprise IT
7Major enterprises
Marco Ventura
Currently @ Telstra
About

Twenty years of making complex systems make sense.

I'm a senior technology and security engineer with a background spanning enterprise infrastructure, identity and access management, networking, cloud technologies, cybersecurity and automation. Over the course of my career I've worked across some of Australia's largest and most complex technology environments — including Telstra, ANZ, TPG and the Australian Defence environment.

My particular strength is working at the intersection of technology, security and business process — understanding how systems actually operate, identifying where complexity or risk has been introduced, and designing practical solutions to fix it.

"Technology should make a business simpler, not create another layer of work."

Lately, that means going deep on how automation and AI can strip unnecessary complexity out of organisations — not as a buzzword, but as the next evolution of the same problem I've been solving for two decades.

  • Identity & Access Management — Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, FIM/MIM, directory synchronisation at enterprise scale.
  • Cybersecurity & Compliance — Essential Eight remediation, security control design, audit & compliance across regulated environments.
  • Automation & AI — PowerShell automation, process re-engineering, and applying AI to remove operational drag.
  • Solution Design & Migration — Large-scale platform migrations, technical consulting, and delivering where there's no out-of-the-box answer.
Experience

Two decades, one thread: fixing complexity.

A condensed look at the roles that shaped it — full history on the CV.

Security Engineering — Senior Engineer
Telstra·Sep 2021 – PresentCurrent
Active Directory SME within Telstra's Internal Identity Engineering team, working across meta directories, HR/AAD/AD synchronisation and Essential Eight remediation. Led the FIM→MIM upgrade (Server 2008→2019) migrating Telstra's production directory assets, and designed custom privileged identity lifecycle solutions alongside a 10+ person cross-functional team.
Active Directory Engineer
TPG·Feb 2021 – Aug 2021
Consolidated Active Directory domains and forests through TPG's acquisition of Vodafone, contracted via NTT Global.
Azure Active Directory Lead
ANZ·Sep 2019 – Feb 2021
One of two Azure AD specialists at ANZ Bank. Delivered multiple SSO integrations and supported offshore teams on both technical delivery and ITIL fundamentals.
Senior Network Specialist
Telstra·2015 – 2018
Consulted to senior Defence officials on the JP2047 wireless networking program, contributing to a network design database used to accelerate delivery timelines.
Technology Consultant
Hewlett-Packard·2012 – 2013
Highest-level AD/DNS/Group Policy escalation for the 10,000+ seat Origin Energy account, plus SA Government, ATO and VicRoads. Custom middleware and reporting scripts adopted into HP's international script repository.
Network & Systems Engineer
Copperwire & IOCANE·2007 – 2012
Cisco & Microsoft infrastructure across law firms, healthcare, finance and aged care — including a 12-site, $700k enterprise wireless rollout for Eldercare.
Selected Work

Some of the more interesting problems I've solved.

A handful of projects that stretched further than "keep the lights on."

Telstra

Modernising Telstra's core identity platform

Led the migration of Telstra's production identity synchronisation platform from FIM to MIM (Windows Server 2008 → 2019), and directed Essential Eight Active Directory remediation with a 10+ person cross-functional team — including custom-built privileged identity lifecycle management.

→ Core identity infrastructure for Australia's largest telco
ANZ

Enterprise SSO at a top-4 bank

One of only two Azure Active Directory specialists at ANZ Bank, delivering multiple SSO integrations while supporting offshore delivery teams on both technical execution and ITIL process fundamentals.

→ Secure, unified access across ANZ's application estate
Hewlett-Packard

AD platform for a 10,000-seat enterprise

Highest-level Active Directory escalation point for the Origin Energy account (10,000+ seats, 1,500+ production servers) at Hewlett-Packard. Built custom reporting and billing middleware that was later adopted into HP's international script repository.

→ Tooling built here scaled globally across HP
TPG

Multi-domain AD consolidation

Consolidated Active Directory domains and forests through TPG's acquisition of Vodafone, delivered remotely for worldwide IT managed services firm NTT Global.

→ Unified identity across a major telco merger
Jetstar Airways
Technology lead for AD, DNS, Group Policy & DHCP — highest escalation point for on/offshore support
Defence
JP2047 wireless networking program — technical consulting to senior Defence officials, Canberra & Melbourne
Eldercare
Designed a 12-site, $700k enterprise wireless network on a 12-month delivery timeline
Skills

What I actually work in, day to day.

Identity & Access Management

Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, FIM/MIM, SAML, SSO

Cybersecurity

Essential Eight remediation, compliance & auditing, security controls

Enterprise Infrastructure

Networking, cloud & corporate security controls, large-scale migrations

Automation

PowerShell, technical automation, process re-engineering

AI & Applied Automation

Using AI-driven tooling to remove operational drag from real workflows

Solution Design

Technical consulting, transformation programs, stakeholder delivery

ITIL Foundation v3
Cisco CCENT (640-822)
Cisco SMB Engineer (642-176)
Microsoft SMB Network Solutions (070-282)
🏎️

Off the clock, you'll usually find me deep in motorsport — I run Marco Melbourne Motorsport on YouTube. Turns out the same instinct that debugs a directory sync issue is pretty handy for picking apart a race strategy.

Let's build something that works.

Open to conversations about identity, security engineering, automation, or where AI actually fits into enterprise IT. Based in Melbourne — happy to chat remote too.