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.

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.