Shawn Murray Network Engineer

How long have you been with PFS and what is your current role?

I started in 2024 as a Network Engineer.

What does a typical day look like in your job?

Most days are fairly tame. Typical things like updating rules, equipment updates, looking at logs to see what usage and connectivity looked like the previous night, working on whatever tickets may have come in. Then there are the sprintathons. Those days everything has gone wrong and we are going full speed for as long as it takes to fix whatever is causing the problem not knowing if this will be a few minutes or multiple day fix. I both loath and love those days.

What do you enjoy most about your work here?

There are many things that really make PFS enjoyable to me. First off how can you beat working in the middle of nowhere on a nearly 2 mile deep ice cap? The people that I work with are what really makes it the best. Not just IT but everyone I come in contact with. From my very first day until now everyone is welcoming, friendly, and make you feel like you matter.

What experience or education got you involved with PFS?

I was coming off a project manager contract in February 2024 and by chance when I saw the posting for a network engineer in such a remote place I was immediately reminded of my time in the Marine Corps setting up networks in field camps under tents. This made me excited to be able to build networks in what is probably the harshest environment I could possibly work in. Read about Polar Field going to the ends of the earth. I thought to myself "There is no way I am going to get this job." So naturally I applied. April 23rd I was stranded in Goose Bay Canada for 4 days then April 27th I was running around Summit.

Do you have a favorite memory or project from your time with PFS? If so, can you tell us about it?

I have only been working in the arctic program a short while but being able to set up a remote science project about 3 miles north of Summit Station is the most memorable to me. It was a surreal feeling being in an area where it was very difficult to see the station and realizing how few people have probably been in that location.