Meet Our Team – Quick Q&A with Dustin Dvorak
Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?
- Born and raised in Fort Worth, TX
- Programming computers for over 30 years
- Bible Student in college at Dallas Baptist University where I also studied Linguistics, Math, and Computer Science
- Served as a Communications Officer in the United States Marine Corps where I led the top 3 emergency response communications teams for the Pacific Theatre Area of Operations based out of Okinawa, Japan including Operation Tomodachi in 2011
- Consulted in Energy, IT, Telecom, and Non-Profit
- Executive MBA from TCU in 2015
- Co-founded Element8 Internet in 2015 and led the technology department as CIO/CTO through multiple iterations up to a 200bn capital raise with Digital Alpha Fund in 2023
What caught your interest in COS Systems?
- While consulting for PRIME Fiber, I met COS’ CTO Sajan and CEO Mikael as a customer.
- Quickly impressed with the teamwork, culture, and sophistication of the WE and FSM platforms.
- The emphasis on automating business processes and operations in telecom, along with open access and interoperability, very much align with my own vision for my life’s work.
What are your goals for the coming months?
- Wrangle the Customer Success Team Projects (and all associated Task-bunnies that tend to multiply rapidly!)
- Increase team-wide efficiencies from Customer Feedback to Product Engineering
- Make friends with my new teammates!
Why should people contact you and press the “connect with Dustin” button?
- I can help with the entire software stack and development lifecycle, from managing infrastructure to writing code, pull requests, and documentation.
- I am an expert in Strategic/Operational/Tactical planning.
- I think in terms of force multiplication and greatest impact (probably because I am naturally lazy, so I want an AI that just does my entire job for me!)
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
- I have a diverse range of interests, including computers, math, science, theology, and history.
- Built my first computer at the age of 6 and my first Hello World program at 8!
If you could swap jobs with anyone at COS Systems for a day, who would it be and why?
- Every single team member in a rotating round-robin to understand their needs, pain-points, and workflows.
- Mikael because he seems like a lot of fun – so I would want to be his assistant for a day.
- Jessica/Fannie/Spencer because they all know so much about their respective roles.
- I don’t want to ‘swap’ jobs with Regian for a day – just hang out and play D&D with him all day while working alongside him on support tickets!
What’s your go-to productivity hack when things get busy?
- Focus is key; only do the next right thing.
- Slow is smooth; smooth is fast; fast is lethal.
If you could instantly become an expert in one new skill, what would it be?
- Functional neurology and chiropractic care; this has been a life-changing treatment in my own well-being as a combat veteran and I would love to serve other veterans as well as missionaries and the persecuted church around the world.
- Within my current role and career path – I would love to become an expert in the toolchains for AI/ML as well as DSLs.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long workday?
- I love spending time with my wife, mother, and two girls!
- I enjoy training our new puppy Montana.
- Watching anime – IYKYK – enough said.
Lastly, what’s one word your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?
- Ridiculous!
Welcome aboard Dustin!
