The PowerShell Podcast

Principal Security Consultant and community favorite Jake Hildreth returns to The PowerShell Podcast to talk about building smarter automation, leveling up through community, and creating tools that solve real problems. Andrew shares his “stop trying so hard” theme for the year, how working smarter applies directly to scripting and security, and why getting involved with others is one of the fastest ways to grow in your career.

The conversation dives into Jake’s recent projects including Deck, a Markdown-to-terminal presentation tool built on Spectre.Console, and Stepper, a resumable scripting framework designed for long-running workflows that can’t be fully automated end-to-end. They also explore presentation skills, avoiding “death by PowerPoint,” and why security work requires constantly re-checking assumptions as threats evolve.
 
Key Takeaways:
• Work smarter, not harder — Whether you’re scripting or building a career, small sustainable improvements beat grinding yourself into a corner.
• Resumable automation is a game changer — Stepper helps scripts safely pause and resume, making real-world workflows more reliable when humans or flaky APIs are part of the loop.
• Community turns into real momentum — Contributing, asking questions, and sharing feedback builds skills, friendships, and opportunities faster than trying to learn alone.
 
Guest Bio:
Jake Hildreth is a Principal Security Consultant at Semperis, Microsoft MVP, and longtime builder of tools that make identity security suck a little less. With nearly 25 years in IT (and the battle scars to prove it), he specializes in helping orgs secure Active Directory and survive the baroque disaster that is Active Directory Certificate Services. He’s the creator of Locksmith, Stepper, Deck, BlueTuxedo, and PowerPUG!, open-source tools built to make life easier for overworked identity admins. When he’s not untangling Kerberos or wrangling DNS, he’s usually hanging out with his favorite people and most grounding reality check: his wife and daughter.
 
Resource Links:
• Jake Hildreth’s Website – https://jakehildreth.com
• Jake's GitHub - https://github.com/jakehildreth

Andrew's Links - https://andrewpla.tech/links

• PowerShell Spectre Console – https://pwshspectreconsole.com/
• PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ
• PowerShell Conference Europe – https://psconf.eu
• PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit – https://powershellsummit.org
• Jake's PowerShell Wednesday – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdV6Qecn9v0
The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rFeoTKLerkA

Newly minted Microsoft MVP David Sass joins The PowerShell Podcast to talk about PowerShell notebooks, terminal tooling, and making automation approachable for teams that are hesitant to touch the console. David shares how he uses Jupyter/PowerShell notebooks as a practical “click-to-run” interface for colleagues, helping them safely run approved automation while keeping the logic documented, repeatable, and under source control.

The conversation also dives into incident response automation, David’s journey from SharePoint engineering into security, and the surprising ways PowerShell can be used across Windows, cloud, and even Raspberry Pi lab clusters—while still staying focused on knowledge-sharing and building systems that don’t depend on one person.
 
Key Takeaways:
• Notebooks can remove friction for teams — combining documentation, code, and saved output creates a safer way for others to run automation without needing deep PowerShell confidence.
• PowerShell scales incident response workflows — David explains how notebooks can log in, pull incidents, enrich data, and even auto-close noise, reducing UI-click fatigue for analysts.
• Teaching makes you promotable — sharing knowledge reduces dependency on you, strengthens the team, and makes it easier for a business to grow your role without risk.
 
Guest Bio:
David is a Microsoft MVP and highly skilled SharePoint Guy who is focusing on Automation, Compliance, Security, Operational Excellence, Quality Assurance and hacking the unexpected out from the technology stack.
 
Resource Links:

David’s link hub – https://davidsass.io/

Andrew's links - https://andrewpla.tech/links

PowerShell Spectre Console – https://pwshspectreconsole.com/

PowerShell Wednesdays – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=PowerShell+Wednesdays

PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ

ClockworkPi (the handheld device shown/discussed) – https://clockworkpi.com

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y03EJYpZczo

Matthew Gill joins The PowerShell Podcast to talk about what it means to be a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) and how SRE thinking changes the way you approach automation, reliability, and problem solving. Matthew and host Andrew Pla break down core concepts like SLAs, SLOs, and SLIs, and why reliability through planning matters more than rushing straight to the keyboard.
 
They also dig into why PSFramework is worth the dependency for enterprise-grade logging and configuration, how community mentorship (including Fred Weinmann’s impact) can fast-track growth, and why books like The Phoenix Project are game-changing for understanding DevOps culture and constraints.
 
Key Takeaways:
• SRE is software engineering applied to operations — focus on measurable reliability, proper planning, and balancing change with stability using concepts like SLAs, SLOs, and SLIs.
• PSFramework can eliminate “reinventing the wheel” — especially for logging and configuration handling, giving enterprises proven patterns and integrations without custom-built fragility.
• Community is a career multiplier — mentorship, learning in public, and teaching others are some of the fastest ways to build confidence and advance your PowerShell journey.
 
Guest Bio:
Matthew Gill is a Site Reliability Engineer and is the Co-Director of Content for the PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit. He has been a problem solver, systems administrator, and scripter for nearly 20 years. From working in the United States Marine Corps, education, radio, and currently the private sector, the majority of Matt's experience has been focused on solving problems in a variety of interesting and creative ways.Resource Links

PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit – https://powershellsummit.org

The Phoenix Project (Book) – https://itrevolution.com/product/the-phoenix-project/

The Unicorn Project (Book) – https://itrevolution.com/product/the-unicorn-project/

PSFramework – https://github.com/PowershellFrameworkCollective/psframework

Matthew Gill’s Blog – https://therealgill.com

Andrew's Links - https://andrewpla.tech/links

PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ

PowerShell Wednesdays – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=PowerShell+Wednesdays

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vkOLsjsPvYo

Distinguished Software Engineer Ryan Spletzer joins The PowerShell Podcast to talk about building a long-term career in tech through curiosity, continuous learning, and strong community connections. Ryan shares how PowerShell helped shape his path from early work in SharePoint, automation, and identity management to leading AI initiatives at Autodesk, where his team built an internal ChatGPT-style solution using Azure OpenAI before enterprise ChatGPT options existed.

They also dig into AI-assisted coding, mentorship, and how foundational software engineering skills still matter more than ever. Ryan offers practical guidance for using AI tools responsibly, overcoming imposter syndrome, and growing by learning adjacent domains like authentication, networking, and data engineering.
 
Key Takeaways:
• AI is a force multiplier for experienced engineers, but mentorship is critical to help early-career engineers learn how to ask the right questions and avoid “blind troubleshooting.”
• Breadth matters as you level up. Understanding adjacent domains and collaborating well with others becomes a key differentiator at senior and staff levels.
• PowerShell remains a career accelerator. Ryan explains how PowerShell led him into infrastructure automation, identity, and modern auth—and why it’s still his go-to tool for quick, high-impact scripting today.
 
Guest Bio:
Ryan Spletzer is a Distinguished Software Engineer at Autodesk, where he works in an internal organization focused on AI, data, and automation. With a background spanning SharePoint development, .NET engineering, identity systems, and enterprise automation, Ryan has spent years building tools that scale across organizations. He’s also a strong advocate for continuous learning and mentorship.
 
Resource Links:

Ryan links - https://www.spletzer.com/about/

Ryan's blog - https://www.spletzer.com/

Andrew's links - https://andrewpla.tech/links

PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ

PowerShell Wednesdays – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1mL90yFExsix-L0havb8SbZXoYRPol0B

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ryZ7OdvCNZo

Jorge Suarez joins The PowerShell Podcast to share his journey into PowerShell, automation, and community contribution. From attending his first MMS conference to building creative and practical PowerShell projects, Jorge talks about how PowerShell became the primary driver of his career growth. The conversation covers his popular Intune Hydration Kit, creative TUI projects inspired by shows like Severance, and how curiosity and experimentation led him to build tools he wished existed earlier in his career.
 
Beyond tooling, Jorge opens up about imposter syndrome, learning in public, and using PowerShell as a force multiplier to automate work, stand out professionally, and think differently about problem solving.
 
Key Takeaways:

PowerShell accelerates careers – Automating repetitive work and forcing yourself to use PowerShell daily builds fluency and opens new opportunities.

Build what you wish you had – Jorge’s projects, including Intune Hydration Kit and multiple TUI tools, came from solving his own real-world problems.

Imposter syndrome is fuel – When managed well, it can drive curiosity, learning, and long-term growth instead of holding you back.

Guest Bio:
Jorge Suarez is an Endpoint Platform Engineer and PowerShell enthusiast. Jorge is known for building creative PowerShell solutions—including terminal user interfaces and Intune automation projects. He’s an active community contributor who blogs, shares code on GitHub, and advocates for learning in public.
 
Resource Links:

Jorge Suarez on GitHub – https://github.com/jorgeasaurus

Jorge’s Blog – https://www.jorgeasaur.us/

Intune Hydration Kit – https://github.com/jorgeasaurus/IntuneHydrationKit

Connect with Andrew - https://andrewpla.tech/links

PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ

PowerShell Wednesdays – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=PowerShell+Wednesdays

The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NEDX_3kDhZQ