• Benjamin Steffes-Lai Photography

    Hey, I'm Ben!

     ►  IT Specialist
     ►  Software & Database Developer
     ►  IT Project Manager
     ►  Photographer
     ►  Digital Marketing Consultant
     ►  UAS Operator Advanced Ops
     ►  X-Ray Fluorescence Operator
     ►  Wilderness Pedagogue

    based in the beautiful Yukon Territory, Canada.

     

Who Am I?

My name is Benjamin Steffes-Lai, born in Duisburg, Germany in 1985.

I'am an IT Specialist with over 10 years of experience, have a strong work ethic, a hobbyist Photographer/Videographer, Transport Canada certified UAS Operator for Advanced Operations including a completed UAS search and rescue training course, National Resources Canada certified X-Ray Fluorescence Operator and a certified wilderness pedagogue.

After working for 10 years in the IT sector in Europe I left Germany in December 2017.

Back then I already enjoyed spending my vacations to go on multi-day hiking trips, expeditions, multi-day sled dog tours and various other adventures in the remote wilderness of northern Scandinavia. For me it was the perfect contrast to my life in Germany where most areas have a very high population density. After a while I felt it was time for me to change something fundamentally because living in a crowded area was not the way I wanted to life anymore.

If something doesn't make you happy, you have to change it. So I quit and sold everything I had in Germany, bought a plane ticket to Vancouver, arriving there with just one backpack, bought a car and drove up the Alaska Highway in the middle of the winter 2017 to the Yukon. After spending my first winter in a remote wilderness lodge in the southern Yukon, I was sure that the Yukon is the right place for me to finally combine my work life with my personal preferences of being able to easily access wilderness anytime I want.

After my first Yukon winter I moved even further north to Dawson City, where I lived and worked for 2 1/2 years. I really enjoyed my time in this remote community but also wanted to take the opportunity that came up for me in October 2020 to move to Whitehorse, while still working for the same company I worked for in Dawson. Being here in Whitehorse for almost one year already, I finally feel home with having the perfect mix between a bigger city and remote wilderness.

Now it's been almost 4 years since I arrived in Canada and the Yukon ... time really does fly so fast. I received my permanent residence in May 2021 and I'm very happy with the good and balanced life I was able to create myself here. I'm already looking forward to the adventures to come.

Experience

Work Experience

IT Support Technician 04/2018 - 05/2022
IT Manager Systems and Business Intelligence 06/2022 - current
GroundTruth Exploration Inc. in Dawson City & Whitehorse, YT, Canada
www.groundtruthexploration.com

  • Providing on-site and remote tier 1 to tier 3 technical support to offices, home offices and remote exploration operations, as well as tier 4 technical support for clients
  • Managing, maintaining, repairing, tracking, provisioning and ensure timely availability of hardware and software assets, as well as technical geology equipment, radio equipment and satellite communication equipment
  • Managing, maintaining, securing and troubleshooting SAN, Windows & VM Ware Server, Windows/MacOS/iOS/Android Devices, IoT Devices and Network Infrastructure
  • Planning, monitoring and execution of internal IT Projects
  • Hardware and Software procurement, planning and sourcing
  • Planning and developing of software, as well as scripts based on company needs. Implementation of these into the existing company environment.
  • Administration and Maintenence of cloud based services
  • Coordination of IT service contractor
  • Planning and execution of IT related training modules
  • UAV Surveying & Mapping, creation of professional orthomosaics, point clouds, 3D models and maps
  • Digital Marketing (SEO, Analytics, Advertisement)
  • Creation of Print, Web and Video Marketing Material using Adobe Creative Cloud Suite

IT Specialist 01/2012 - 11/2017
Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein Europe (PVH Holdings GmbH & Co KG) in Düsseldorf, Germany
www.pvh.com

  • Providing tier 1. and tier 2. IT support for offices and retail locations in central and eastern Europe
  • Technical User- and Accountmanagement incl. Training
  • Use of ticketing systems to manage, classify and process support enquiries.
  • International Mobile Device Management for iOS Devices
  • Purchase and deployment of required Soft- and Hardware
  • Implementation, configuration and maintenence of AV devices
  • Planning, approval and support of technical equipment for company events. Coordinating external service provider.
  • Intranet Development (Sharepoint, PHP, JS, CSS, MySQL)
  • Certified First aider and fire safety team member

IT Consultant09/2010 - 12/2011
eData Systems GmbH in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
www.edatasystems.de

  • IT Projectmanagement for printing centers
  • Datastream manipulation of print data for an output of more than >50.000 mailings per day
  • Creating documentation and training material
  • Consulting and Training
  • Application Development (Java, CGI, JavaScript, PHP, HTML)

IT Specialist for Application Development 08/2009 - 08/2010
WOMA GmbH (Kärcher Group) in Duisburg, Germany
www.woma.de

  • Design and development of Webpages to display IBM System i ERP data while remaining focused on client needs.
  • Provided tier 1. and 2. IT support to non-technical personnel
Education

Education

Letter Grade: A
3 Years - Technical College / Apprenticeship
Bertolt-Brecht Technical College in Duisburg, Germany

As a specialized computer scientist in software development, you will design and implement software projects according to the needs of customers. The analysis and planning of IT systems is as much a part of your job as the training of users.

Letter Grade: B
3 Years - Technical College / Apprenticeship
City of Mülheim an der Ruhr Technical College in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany

As an Information Technology Assistant, you develop, install, configure and maintain IT systems and develop software. You design, build and administrate networks and databases, create software for the automation of processes or monitor computer-controlled production processes.

Letter Grade: B
3 Years - Technical College / Apprenticeship
City of Mülheim an der Ruhr Technical College in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany

In principle, the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences entitles you to study any subject at any university of applied sciences, or equivalent subjects at other higher education institutions.

Letter Grade: Passed
1 Year - Advanced Training
Natur- und Wildnisschule Teutoburger Wald / NUA NRW in National Park Eifel, Germany

Learnscapes are defined as “places where a learning program has been designed to permit users to interact with the environment”. Their purpose is to promote and extend environmental awareness, by presenting biodiversity as the basis for environmental conservation and ecologically sustainable development.

Photography

Where can you find my photos?

Photography Feed




Videography




More videos are available on Youtube - Benjamin Steffes-Lai Photography


Get in Touch

Contact

Whitehorse
YT, CA