

Martyn Drake has built a distinguished 29-year career in systems administration and IT infrastructure, spanning internet services, film production, and video game development. Beginning his professional journey in 1996 as Technical Manager at Albatross Networks in Norwich, Martyn spearheaded the creation of a regional ISP from scratch. This foundational role involved building dial-up/web hosting infrastructure using Caldera Linux, developing custom Windows networking tools, and establishing early peering agreements with major providers like U-NET – achievements that laid the groundwork for his future technical leadership.
Transitioning to visual effects, Martyn spent six years (2002-2008) as Production Systems Engineer at The Moving Picture Company (MPC), supporting Oscar-winning VFX work on films like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life. He managed complex infrastructure including 1,000+ Linux render nodes and 500+ artist workstations, while implementing enterprise-grade security through Juniper/Fortigate firewalls and IPsec VPNs connecting global film studios. His 2008 role at Imagineer Systems saw him set-up the hardware and software for a new VFX finishing system and configure the new Mac-based build system for Academy Award-winning Mocha tracking software as well as producing promotional content that was showcased at NAB 2008.
In gaming, Martyn currently serves as IT Infrastructure Engineer at Supermassive Games (2023-present), where he maintains critical infrastructure for AAA title development. Key achievements include helping migrate services to AWS, implementing MASV file transfer systems, and developing Ansible automation for deployment processes. His earlier role at KPS (2017-2023) involved optimizing SAP Hybris e-commerce platforms across cloud environments while transitioning company infrastructure to Microsoft 365/Azure AD.
Throughout his career, Martyn has demonstrated exceptional technical versatility:
- Infrastructure Architecture: Designed and maintained systems handling petabyte-scale media assets in film and gaming pipelines
- Security Implementation: Deployed Zero Trust frameworks using Entra ID SSO and modernized VPN solutions (Ivanti Secure Connect/Wireguard)
- Cloud Migration: Led transitions to AWS/Google Cloud while maintaining hybrid infrastructure with VMware/ProxMox
- DevOps Practices: Implemented CI/CD pipelines using TeamCity/Octopus Deploy and infrastructure-as-code through Ansible
His current focus at Supermassive Games involves balancing legacy system maintenance with emerging technologies, ensuring reliable infrastructure for ongoing game production while implementing next-gen security protocols and backup solutions. This career trajectory – from pioneering ISP infrastructure to supporting cutting-edge entertainment technologies – showcases Martyn unique ability to adapt core systems administration expertise across evolving technical landscapes.