Infrastructure should be boring. Getting there usually isn't.

Dear Corporate Tools Team,

I'm applying for the IT Infrastructure Manager position because the job description reads like it was written by someone who actually understands what infrastructure work looks like from the inside - not just as a checklist of buzzwords, but as a real picture of the work.

The mix of data center operations, Linux hosting, open-source technology, networking, infrastructure leadership, and customer-facing systems is the kind of work I enjoy most and have intentionally built my career around. My background includes Windows Server, VMware and VxRail environments, Active Directory, DNS, VPNs, firewalls, RDS/FSLogix, backup systems, networking, hardware lifecycle work, and supporting business-critical infrastructure across multi-site environments. I've handled migrations that take longer than planned, systems that were more haunted than documented, and vendor conversations that somehow require three meetings to answer one question.

In my current role, I work on the State of Minnesota's Windows Server team, supporting enterprise server infrastructure across a large, multi-agency environment. That role has sharpened my appreciation for scale, standards, change control, documentation, and the importance of clear ownership when many teams and systems are involved.

Before that, I supported infrastructure across production and office environments, including servers, networking, wireless, firewalls, backups, security tooling, Office 365, printers, and the occasional mystery device everyone swears has always been there. I also led or helped drive major modernization efforts involving VMware clusters, VxRail, infrastructure upgrades, and projects tied to growth and acquisitions.

Outside of my day job, I run BlitzIT - a managed IT and web services business where I work directly with customers. I scope projects, explain options, manage expectations, coordinate vendors, document solutions, and support everything after it goes live. That combination of technical execution and customer communication is something I have had to build deliberately, and I think it is what separates infrastructure people who just keep things running from ones who actually move the needle.

I have also built and operate SaaS applications. StruxFit is a fitness training platform running on Docker, PostgreSQL, Nginx, and GitHub Actions with structured workout programming, staging and production workflows, backups, and custom progression logic. 1Lynk is a multi-tenant link management tool I built to solve the “nobody knows where anything lives” problem that shows up in almost every organization I have worked with. Both are real, running, and maintained by me.

I also built this TrevorKruse.com application page specifically for Corporate Tools because the job posting had actual personality, and a normal pasted-in cover letter felt too forgettable. It is a small example of how I approach work: understand the goal, build something useful, make it clean, make it deployable, and add just enough personality that it does not feel like corporate wallpaper.

I'm drawn to Corporate Tools specifically because the role involves real infrastructure leadership - not just ticket-based support work. The combination of data center operations, hosting, open-source tooling, team ownership, and customer impact is the kind of environment where I do my best work. I'm the kind of person who documents the weird stuff, automates the repeatable things, and tries very hard to leave systems less cursed than I found them.

I'd be glad to talk more. My background is documented above, my projects are real and running, and I have opinions about config management that I'd be happy to share.