About Me

Hi, I’m Nathan Markus — a systems troubleshooter, infrastructure engineer, endpoint architect, and self-hosted tech enthusiast. I grew up in Dubuque, Iowa, fascinated by how things work, and I now live in Chicago, Illinois.

What I Do

  • Tier 3 general support engineer for financial institutions
  • Focused on application packaging (with a strong preference for PSAppDeployToolkit)
  • Experience with Active Directory, Entra ID, and VDI platforms

Every day I solve problems for real users and real infrastructure, always aiming for clarity, reliability, and scalable solutions.

My Philosophy

I’m a believer in:

  • Understanding over guesswork
  • Automation over repetition
  • Self-hosted control over black boxes

That philosophy not only drives how I work, but how I learn — and how I build things like this site.

Projects & Lab

In my free time you’ll find me in my home lab — hosting services, experimenting with self-hosted stacks, networking gear, and the tools that keep modern IT moving. This site itself runs on one of those systems.

Some of my projects include:

  • 5 o'clock Finder - a world-time utility. (It's always 5 o'clock somewhere!)
  • DBQMesh - A community-driven project based on the Meshtastic project, providing off-grid communication solutions for Dubuque and surrounding areas.
    • Website still live, but data is a bit lacking since I took down a majority of nodes I had setup across town when I moved to Chicago.
  • Book of Brian - A satirical website born from a running joke after my dad claimed he was going to start his own religion.
  • Brandon's Sound Check - A very basic static website I build for my cousins Sound and Lighting company.

Outside Tech

When I step away from servers and CLI:

  • I explore the outdoors — hiking and nature (now urban) walks
  • I am an avid YouTube watcher, following a wide range of content.
  • I recharge so I can tackle the next challenge

Credentials

Work:

  • RSM US LLP - MCI (Managed IT, Cloud, and Infrastructure)
    • Jan 2021 - Sep 2022 ● T1 Analysist
    • Sep 2022 - Feb 2024 ● T2 Technician
    • Feb 2024 - Aug 2025 ● T2 Technician, Financial Institution Focus
    • Aug 2025 - Current ● T3 Support Engineer, Financial Institution Focus

Education:

  • Management Information Systems (MIS) — Iowa State University

Let's Connect

If you want to talk tech, projects, or ideas —
Email: me@nathanmark.us
LinkedIn: namark

Thanks for visiting — this site is where I share what I build, learn, and find interesting.