Your systems should
run.
Not ruin your day.
Expert-Vetted server administrator and cloud architect. I stabilize fragile infrastructure, resolve critical failures, and bring clarity to chaos — usually within the first 48 hours.
Services
What I Do
I solve the problems that keep business owners up at night — the ones where you need someone who's seen it before and knows exactly what to do.
Infrastructure Stability
Servers crashing, slow performance, unexplained downtime. I find the root cause and fix it — then make sure it stays fixed.
Security & Incident Response
Hacked sites, malware, vulnerability remediation, PCI compliance. I contain the breach, clean the infection, and harden the perimeter.
Cloud Architecture
AWS and GCP migrations, cost optimization, auto-scaling. I design infrastructure that grows with your business without growing your bill.
Email Deliverability
SPF, DKIM, DMARC configuration. Blacklist removal, inbox placement, sender reputation repair. Your emails actually reach the inbox.
Process
How I Work
A structured, predictable approach. No guesswork. No surprises.
Assessment
I start with a focused review of your systems. No bloated audits. Within hours, you'll have a clear picture of what's broken, what's at risk, and what to fix first.
First Wins
Before any long-term plan, I deliver tangible results in the first 48–72 hours. A resolved vulnerability, a recovered server, a performance fix you can feel.
Ongoing Stability
Once the fires are out, I help you build systems that don't need firefighting. Monitoring, hardening, documentation — the infrastructure becomes an asset, not a liability.
Engagements
First Wins
Every engagement starts with a clear, defined deliverable. Here's what you can expect within the first 48–72 hours.
Server Triage
Full health check of your Linux server. Identify resource bottlenecks, security gaps, and misconfigurations. You get a prioritized action plan.
48–72 hrsHack Recovery
Identify the breach vector, clean the infection, patch the vulnerability, and harden access. Documented and explained.
48–72 hrsPerformance Audit
Diagnose why your site or application is slow. Database, caching, server config, application layer — pinpoint the bottleneck and fix it.
48–72 hrsEmail Rescue
Audit your DNS records, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and sender reputation. Fix deliverability issues so your emails reach the inbox.
48–72 hrsCloud Migration Plan
Evaluate your current hosting against AWS or Google Cloud. Produce a migration plan with cost projections and architecture recommendations.
48–72 hrsEmergency Response
Site down? Server compromised? I respond immediately, diagnose the root cause, restore service, and prevent recurrence.
48–72 hrsTrack Record
Proof & Experience
198 projects. 6,400+ hours. 100% job success. Here's what clients say.
Steven is a Gem. Simply put, Steven is the most knowledgeable IT person I have ever met. He helped me navigate through a very delicate situation that threatened to shut down my business completely. Without Steven, I probably would have had to close down my business and let my people go. He has a DEEP working knowledge of servers and server admin as well as WordPress and many other tools. He is EXTREMELY Professional and a great communicator. I will hire Steven again.
We were very fortunate to find Steven during a very stressful transition of our company. His knowledge, experience and calm composure taking on an extremely complex home grown system, and finding additional talent to fill gaps, was extraordinary. We really put him in the pressure cooker. Our family business was at stake and he saw us through the storm. I cannot recommend him enough as someone who will do everything humanly possible to make sure success is the only option.
Steven is the best freelancer I have ever hired (and I have hired very many in various venues). Whipsmart, committed, and conscientious, I am utterly blown away by the quality of his work, and of his funny, personable manner. Highest possible recommendation.
Steven was the best, most qualified consultant I've worked with in the past 20 years. I'm the director of development of a software company — and we reached out to Steven to help us with our Cloudflare failover setup. He did an outstanding job. In addition, we asked about several other topics and Steven was able to address those as well. He was a real jack of all trades — and we would certainly reach out to him again.
I had two choices. Keep pulling my hair out and hacking away at the keyboard for hours, days and weeks — or go to Upwork and get help. I found Steven Clarke and am glad I did. Steven ran rings around all of them. He is kind, efficient with his hourly charges, available, communicative, listening and other good words. Next time I have a tech problem, I've got one single number to call — his.
Steven is a joy to work with. I was extremely impressed with how he handled our project in such a calm, quick, and effective manner — educating along the way and patiently answering questions. His level of expertise, professionalism and attention to detail is first-rate. I plan on hiring him again in the future and would urge anyone considering his services to do the same.
Mr. Clarke has skills that far exceed those of the professional design firm based out of Chicago that I hired to build my site originally. He is a true WordPress expert and was in constant communication throughout the process. I can't recommend him enough, and this is exactly the reason why I love Upwork.
Steven is AMAZING!! We had an issue with our server being down and within 5 minutes we had an expert ready to bring it back up!! Steven is super knowledgeable and really has the skills to tackle any server related issue. He is fast and was extremely responsive when we needed him (day or night). If you need someone reliable Steven should be your go to.
Steven answered within minutes to my request for help, even though he had a busy Sunday in front of him. He was able to explain the problem in a non-techy way and did not make me feel foolish for not being able to fix it myself. His communication was fast and outstanding. He fixed the issue in minutes but made sure to circle back several times. Worth every penny; I would hire him again in an instant!
Look no further because Steven is a total rockstar! He assisted quickly with a security issue and also provided useful suggestions to help mitigate in the future. Amazing communication and response time during a critical time of need. You can tell that he really cares about helping people. Highly recommended!
Steven is knowledgeable, professional, communicates extremely well, and most important to this project — he was readily AVAILABLE. Whenever there have been questions or concerns, he was right there to address them and successfully resolved the issues that others could not. I am very grateful that I found Steven and will definitely be working with him again. He's a PROBLEM SOLVER!
With over two decades of working with numerous developers and server specialists I can sincerely say Steven is one of the most knowledgeable and efficient I have ever worked with. Highly recommended.
Fully insured with $1,000,000 in professional liability coverage.
Approach
What Makes This Different
Most freelancers react. They log in, poke around, try things, and hope something works. That approach costs you time, money, and sleep.
I work differently. Every engagement starts with a structured assessment. I identify the root cause before making changes, explain what I find in plain language, and execute with a clear plan.
Calm, methodical execution under pressure. Two decades of experience applied with discipline — not panic.
Guesswork and trial-and-error troubleshooting
Structured diagnosis — root cause identified before any changes
Disappearing after the initial fix
Ownership and accountability through completion and beyond
Jargon-heavy updates that create more questions
Plain-language communication written for business owners
Structured. Predictable.
Professional.
You shouldn't have to wonder whether your infrastructure is going to hold up. You shouldn't have to chase your freelancer for updates or explanations.
When we work together, you'll know exactly what's happening, why it matters, and what comes next. Every time.