about

the short version

mike is a systems engineer with over a decade of experience architecting solutions that bridge technology and human connection, specializing in simplifying complex systems, empowering teams, and crafting seamless employee experiences.

the longer version

i’ve worn a lot of hats. theater kid, retail manager, audio engineer, IT admin, and now technical lead. on paper, that might look like a winding path. for me, each step was preparation for the next.

theater taught me how to stand in front of a room and not flinch. retail taught me how to connect with people quickly and figure out what they actually need. audio engineering taught me how to work with creative, opinionated clients and still deliver something they loved. by the time i landed in IT, engaging with people wasn’t something i had to learn. it was the thing i’d been practicing my entire career.

that background shows up in everything i do now. i build systems and automations, sure, but i also try to make the experience of using them feel… light. a little fun, even. technology doesn’t have to be dry and serious all the time. and honestly, people pay more attention when you can make them smile in the middle of a workflow change.

i don’t have a catchy name for how i work. it’s more of a gut check: is this easy to use? would someone understand this without being told how? if the answer is yes, i’m probably on the right track.

what that looks like in practice

i’ve built zero-touch enrollment workflows, migrated device fleets and identity providers, deployed passwordless authentication, and built ai-powered tools that tell you when things go right (not just when they break). those projects were fun. some of them were bucket list items.

but my favorite wins aren’t sometimes about the engineering. they’re the ones where we needed hundreds of people to do something on their laptops by Friday, and instead of writing a dry knowledge base article, i wrote something that made them laugh. and then they just… did it. all of them. by Wednesday.

no follow-up. no tickets. no “hey, i saw the email but what does it mean?”

i think about that a lot.

beyond the keyboard

i frequent Mac admin meetups and speak at conferences about the things i’m building and the way i think about building them.

i’m also a husband and a dad. when i’m not at a keyboard, you’ll probably find me on a bike, on a mountain, or on the couch doing crosswords with my wife.

i live in Seattle, WA.