Nick Davis
ABOUT
Technology, music, and a career built the long way around.
I came into technology through dial-up support, not a straight career path.
I have always liked figuring out how things work, especially when the answer is buried somewhere between the technology and the people using it.
My first real technology job was troubleshooting modems, TCP/IP, Unix, and desktop systems for people calling in from all over the country. I could not see their screen, so I had to listen carefully, ask good questions, and work from the fundamentals.
From there I moved through systems administration, technology publishing, television, consulting, healthcare software, and platform engineering. At different points I was also a bartender and trafficked banner ads at Travel Ad Network. None of it was part of a tidy plan. It was work, and it put me in rooms with all kinds of people.
I spent years touring as a drummer while running a small managed-services business from the road. Later, I was responsible for healthcare systems that could not go down, and then global SaaS platforms spread across clouds, regions, and time zones.
The titles changed over time, but the work stayed familiar: understand the system, keep your head in the game when things get messy, explain what is happening in plain language, and help the people around you get better at what they do.
THE SHORT VERSION
SUPPORT
Dial-up, Unix, networks, and learning to listen
MEDIA
Explaining technology without making it stupid
THE ROAD
Touring, bartending, consulting, and working under pressure
HEALTHCARE
Production systems where availability mattered
PLATFORMS
Cloud, data, reliability, and leading teams
THE LONG WAY AROUND
Systems first
I learned on physical machines, networks, operating systems, and early internet infrastructure. That foundation still helps me understand where modern systems fail, how they scale, and what matters when they get complicated.
Media and the road
Writing, television, touring, and bartending made me comfortable with people – from all walks of life – changing plans in the moment, pivoting on a dime, and being under pressure. It taught me to stay clear, useful, and calm when things changed quickly.
Platforms and people
As the systems got larger, the people side became more important. My job became about creating clarity, building high-trust teams, developing people into leaders, and making sure the team could operate without heroics.
OUTSIDE WORK
Music
I have played drums in bands for most of my life. A good band is a small, live system: everyone listens, adjusts, and keeps the thing moving.
Audio + electronics
I record music and build microphones, preamps, and compressors. Signal flow is another way I think about complex systems.
Archives
I preserve and digitize old cassettes and VHS tapes. It is slow, careful work, and I like saving things that would otherwise disappear.
I have taken an unusual route, but it has been mine.
The common thread is curiosity, responsibility, and a real attachment to the people I work with. I like understanding difficult systems and leaving them – and the team around them – in better shape than when I found them.