Thirteen hops from the helpdesk to leading a $400M program. Let’s route your next career hop.

IT careers rarely move in a straight line, and mine is proof — thirteen hops in total, weaving from helpdesk support into systems and network administration, then engineering and data center architecture, through SQA and into software/hardware product development, before finally arriving at a $400M program with AMD. Uplink is IT career and technical-management mentoring with Diko Maybalian, for people tracing that same route. Stuck on a hop? An hour with someone who's already mapped the path can save you months of trial and error.

Let’s talk — the first hour is free Trace every hop →

13

Hops on one route · 1997 → now

$400M

GPU program owned at AMD

200+

Engineers led at peak

7

Data centers · NA & APAC

Your mentor

Diko Maybalian has made every hop on this route.

The advice comes from the field, not the textbook — earned in seats you might be sitting in right now.

hop 01–04Helpdesk, corporate training, and network engineering
hop 05–08Data center operations and IT teams across two continents
hop 09–11Enterprise QA, product, and six years running his own forensics firm
hop 12–13Technical program management at Samsung and AMD
AMD Samsung Electronics Dell Technologies
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Before you book

The questions people ask first.

$Is the first hour really free?

Yes. Afterward we decide together whether another conversation would help. No obligation.

$Do I need to already work in IT?

No. Switchers are welcome — this route started in desktop support and corporate training, not networking.

$What if I only have one question?

Totally fine. One thirty-minute call is a complete engagement, not a sample of something bigger.

$Do you only talk to friends of friends?

No. If someone forwarded you this link, that’s introduction enough — just say who sent you.

$Can I check back in later?

Yes. Some people book once; others check in every few months as their situation changes.

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Who am I?

You don’t need a title to belong here — matching one of these is enough.

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How it works

Start with one free hour. Then decide what’s useful.

01

Send a note

Tell me where you are and where you’re trying to get to. A resume helps, but isn’t required.

02

Talk it through

One free hour on your actual next move — in person if you’re nearby, video if you’re not. No obligation after.

03

Stay in touch

Some people need one call. Others check in every few months as things change. Either is fine.

Send a note — no forms to fill out first.

A few lines about where you are and where you want to get to. I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right person to talk to.

Let’s talk — the first hour is free {{ email }}

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The full route

Every hop, in order.

13 hops · 1997 → present · newest first


13

Sr. Program Manager

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) · Texas

Owns the GPU sustaining program for a single mega-data-center customer — roughly $400M in revenue — coordinating silicon, platform, software, benchmarking and applications engineering from milestone to end-of-life.

12

Technical Program Manager, AV R&D (Contract)

Samsung Electronics America · California

Built a biometric data-collection program for distracted-driver ML from nothing — lab, hardware, budgets, vendors, and standups spanning US and Russia teams.

11

Owner & Engineer, Computer Forensics

Digital Forensics & Data Recovery Firm · California

Founded a data recovery, forensics and eDiscovery practice. Profitable in year one; grew to three people serving 300 customers, including studios and law firms.

10

SQA Manager → Product / Program Manager

Network-Attached Storage Manufacturer · Texas

Led 60 QA engineers across three global teams and cut the QA cycle from three months to four weeks; promoted to lead 200+ engineers shipping OEM firmware on 361K active NAS devices.

09

Senior Software QA Engineer, Enterprise Storage

Dell Technologies · Texas

Tested enterprise tiered storage over multi-path iSCSI and FC; lead tester for multi-path IO and failover in virtual environments.

08

Regional IT Manager

Semiconductor Manufacturer · Texas

Ran a 15-person global team — 400+ servers, seven data centers, NA and APAC — through three mergers, an acquisition and a divestiture.

07

Data Center Operations Manager

Real Estate Software / MLS Provider · California

Consolidated 300 physical servers to 45 physical + 55 virtual ($275K saved), negotiated $1.5M off vendor contracts, and architected a co-located production data center and its DR plan.

06

Senior Network Engineer

Real Estate Software / MLS Provider · California

Two years in the network seat before moving up to data center operations at the same company.

05

Pre/Post Sales Engineer (Contract)

IT Value-Added Reseller · California

Scoped infrastructure for clients pre-sale, then stayed on through implementation.

04

Network Engineer

Bio-Medical Electronics Manufacturer · California

First infrastructure work in a regulated manufacturing environment.

03

IT Program Manager

Non-Profit Grant-Making Foundation · California

IT programs for a grant-making foundation — a first taste of the non-profit world.

02

Network Administrator

Digital Advertising Startup

The dot-com years, from the inside.

01

Desktop Support & Corporate Trainer

J.D. Power · California

Consumer market research. Where the route starts.