Adam Johnston — Lead Software Architect & Engineer

Adam Johnston

Lead Software Architect & Engineer

20+ years delivering mission-critical telecom OSS & provisioning systems

adam@johnstoncareer.com | LinkedIn | Atlanta Metro, GA — Remote

Professional Summary

Lead Software Architect & Engineer with over 20 years of experience designing, developing, and leading enterprise-scale OSS and BSS solutions for one of the nation's largest broadband telecommunications providers. Deep expertise in service provisioning, workflow engine architecture, DOCSIS, PON/fiber optics, and VoIP — spanning residential, commercial, and wireless product lines.

Recognized for translating complex business requirements into reliable, cloud-native microservices built on Java, Spring Boot, JBPM/Drools, Kubernetes, and ActiveMQ. Consistently achieves Veracode security scores of 97–100 and leads teams of up to 25 engineers across $3M+ initiatives involving Agile, SAFe, and DevOps delivery models.

Dual master's degrees in Information Systems and Business Administration combined with decades of hands-on architecture leadership position this technologist as the rare bridge between deep engineering execution and strategic enterprise planning. Experienced leading OSS integrations with Calix, Nokia, Cisco, Altiplano, Comcast, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Committed to mentoring, knowledge transfer, and building high-performing teams.

Core Competencies

  • OSS/BSS Provisioning Systems
  • Telecom Workflow Architecture
  • DOCSIS 3.1 / 4.0 Provisioning
  • PON / Fiber / XGSPON
  • VoIP & Circuit Provisioning
  • Wireless (MVNO / 5G Prework)
  • BPMN 2.0 / Workflow Engines
  • Cloud-Native Microservices
  • Kubernetes & Docker
  • Java / Spring Boot (Java 8–17)
  • JBPM / Drools Rules Engine
  • ActiveMQ / JMS Messaging
  • RESTful & SOAP Web Services
  • Swagger / OpenAPI Code-First
  • Oracle / Relational Databases
  • DevSecOps & CI/CD
  • Veracode / SonarQube / Prisma
  • Agile / SAFe / DevOps SDLC
  • Capital Estimation & Budgeting
  • Technical Team Leadership
  • Vendor / Partner Integration
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Multi-Agent Workflow Orchestration
  • Telecom RFP & Proof of Concept
  • OpenRewrite / Source Migration
  • AI Security & Privacy

Key Projects & Achievements

SMP Retirement — $1M+ Annual Cost Savings

Led multi-year initiative to retire Sigma Systems SMP legacy workflow vendor, replacing with an in-house JBPM/Drools engine. Delivered the June 2023 contract milestone on schedule, eliminating software licensing fees and reducing external dependency risk.

Next-Generation Provisioning Workflow Engine (2025)

Architected and built a new event-driven provisioning workflow engine from scratch supporting all provisioning domains, delivering approximately 10× throughput improvement and laying the foundation for AI-assisted agentic automation in 2026.

Cloud CRM — 21-Sprint OSS Cloud Enablement

Led the OSS provisioning workstream of the largest cloud transformation in company history — 21 sprints under extreme deadline pressure, coordinating across OSS, BSS, and Salesforce teams to deliver on time.

Cox Mobile / Wireless MVNO Launch (2022–2023)

Principal development lead for Cox's wireless product entry: redesigned all NDEL and Swap use cases, integrated new BIS APIs, eSIM, T-Mobile and Verizon back-office, and a new CCM model — first wireless provisioning to production.

PON / Fiber & XGSPON Provisioning (2014–Present)

Development lead for residential and commercial fiber provisioning on Nokia XGSPON, Calix, and Altiplano platforms. Delivered 1GIG, 2GIG, multi-gig symmetrical, and 10GIG speed tiers and DOCSIS 3.1/4.0 across the Cox footprint.

Kubernetes & Cloud Infrastructure Migration

Led full platform modernization: Solaris 10 → RHEL VMs → OpenShift → Rancher → Google Anthos. All Core 2.0 provisioning microservices migrated to cloud-native Docker/Kubernetes with automated Jenkins CI/CD pipelines.

DevSecOps & Security Compliance Program

Established automated Veracode, SonarQube, SonarLint, and PrismaCloud container scans across the provisioning portfolio; achieved and sustained Veracode scores of 97–100; led OWASP-standard compliance for all Java OSS services.

XCaaS SOL Integration & Zeebe Workflow Prototype (2024)

Led design and delivery of XCaaS SOL orchestration component; prototyped Zeebe (Camunda 8) to evaluate cloud-native, event-driven migration path from JBPM for next-generation provisioning architecture.

OpenRewrite Enterprise Source Migration (~200 Repositories)

Drove large-scale automated source-to-source code migrations across approximately 200 BitBucket repositories using OpenRewrite with git hooks, enabling disciplined, consistent upgrades at enterprise scale with minimal manual intervention.

Professional Experience

Cox Communications, Inc. 2005 – Present
Lead Software Architect & Engineer — Provisioning Development Team
November 2011 – Present (13+ years)
  • Serve as principal engineer and design authority for all OSS service provisioning, device fulfillment, and delivery platforms supporting residential, commercial, and wireless subscribers on DOCSIS and fiber networks.
  • Lead end-to-end SDLC for up to 8 concurrent enterprise projects; translate business and functional requirements into system architecture, technical design documents, and implementation plans.
  • Architect and implement BPMN 2.0 workflow engines using JBPM and Drools to replace legacy BPEL and vendor-proprietary SMP (Sigma) workflow systems, achieving approximately 10× throughput improvement in 2025.
  • Spearhead cloud-native migration: Solaris → RHEL VMs → OpenShift → Rancher (Kubernetes) → Google Anthos, reducing infrastructure costs and improving scalability across all provisioning services.
  • Lead security compliance program achieving consistent Veracode scores of 97–100; implement automated SonarQube and PrismaCloud container scans in every Jenkins CI/CD pipeline.
  • Direct code reviews, pull request approvals, and architectural governance for up to 25 engineers across $3M+ initiatives; establish coding standards, onboarding programs, and a 20+ video knowledge-transfer series.
  • Drive DevOps transformation: push-button Kubernetes pod deployments, New Relic observability, and Splunk centralized logging across all Core 2.0 provisioning microservices.
  • Deliver Swagger/OpenAPI Code-First service contracts enabling parallel development across BSS, OSS, and SIT teams with reduced integration friction.
  • Represent OSS provisioning in enterprise architecture governance, wireless cross-functional design sessions, and executive-level status reporting.
  • Integrate with major partner ecosystems: Nokia, Calix, Altiplano, Cisco, Comcast, Verizon, T-Mobile, Akamai, MuleSoft, Incognito, TMForum, and CableLabs.
Senior Software Engineer — Provisioning Operations Team
October 2008 – November 2011 (3 years)
  • Acted as Tier 3/4 operations subject matter expert for Cisco BTS and Nortel CS2K telephony auto-provisioning platforms; resolved production middleware and web services outages at the Unix application level.
  • Represented production operations in every SDLC phase to ensure operational readiness was embedded in development from requirements through post-warranty.
  • Administered UNIX, Tomcat, and Sigma Service Broker environments; developed SNMP and syslog monitoring tools for proactive alerting via centralized logging servers.
  • Supported QA, Project Management, Business Analysts, and Development teams for Cox Digital Telephone and High Speed Internet provisioning.
IT Supervisor / Analyst — Provisioning Support Team
August 2005 – October 2008 (3 years)
  • Supervised day-to-day Tier 1 and Tier 2 provisioning support for Cox Digital Telephone and High Speed Internet; managed rotating schedule of up to 10 employees across first and second shifts.
  • Coached and trained local test desks and dispatch technicians; created documentation standards and advanced troubleshooting playbooks for end-to-end provisioning error resolution.
  • Developed Outlook, Excel, and keyboard-macro automation tools that measurably reduced ticket and transaction times; generated performance trend reports for senior leadership.

Technical Skills

Education

Master of Science in Information Systems
Kennesaw State University — Coles College of Business
2009 – 2011  ·  GPA 4.0
Master of Business Administration
Kennesaw State University — Coles College of Business
2009 – 2011  ·  GPA 4.0
Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems
The University of Georgia — Terry College of Business
2002 – 2005  ·  GPA 3.79

Leadership & Professional Competencies

  • Technical Mentorship
  • Developer Onboarding Programs
  • Code Review & PR Approval
  • Capital Budget Estimation
  • Executive Presentations
  • Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Vendor Accountability
  • Release Management
  • Defect & Escalation Management
  • Scope & Risk Documentation
  • HLD / LLD / IF-SPEC Authoring
  • Workforce Planning
  • NDA & IP Compliance
  • Diversity & Inclusion (ERG)
  • Knowledge Transfer Videos
  • Contractor Training
  • Agile Sprint Planning
  • Architecture Governance
  • Multi-Agent Orchestration
  • RFP & PoC Leadership
  • TDD / Refactoring Discipline
  • AI Software Design