Life in the Swimlane with Nick Jones, Service Design Architect

Welcome to the “Life in the Swimlane” blog series. Here we will feature interviews with Swimlaners to learn more about their experience. This series will give you a preview of Swimlane, our culture, and the people who keep us going.

Hey, I’m Nick Jones, one of the North America Delivery Managers for Swimlane. My pronouns are They/Them. I’ve lived in the Front Range of Colorado all my life, growing up on a small farm outside of Boulder and now living in Denver proper with my partner Ashley (they/them) and our neurospicy family of 3 kids (ages 6-13), 3 cats, and a corn snake. I also have 2 adult kids who are making their way in the world.

I’m a little unusual for an IT person, my degree is in Philosophy with a Minor in Mathematics from UC Denver (though I haven’t done any hard Math for years). And I may pursue a Masters in Divinity in the next couple of years.   

What does your job entail?

I joined Swimlane in 2021, and at this writing have been here for just over 3 years. I’m one of two Delivery Managers for North America. I supervise a team of Professional Services Engineers and an Architect delivering implementation services to our clients. I handle hiring, onboarding, and mentoring of my team. I also help scope new projects and assist in customer escalations. Basically, I’m there to make sure that customer projects are delivered successfully and help my team show up as their best selves to do that work.

What do you enjoy most about working at Swimlane?

I love the company culture. I love how we support our people. We continue to lift up good people and give them a shot. We acknowledge in real ways the contributions that our people make. We go to bat for our teammates. For me, it’s all about the people.

What excites you most about your work? 

I love creative problem solving. I love helping people be successful. I love trying to simplify the complicated and delivering a well executed project that provides value to the people who will use it.

What do you like to do when you aren’t working?

I enjoy hanging out with my family at home playing games. I love going for long drives or adventures in the mountains. I’m currently teaching the young ones how to play D&D and having impromptu drum circles. Learning Bass guitar and slowly getting back into shape.

Are there any clubs, volunteer/awareness groups, or social movements you’re passionate about?

I’m vocal about mental health and trying to remove stigma around it. I am passionate about LGBTQ+ rights and am a queer trans non-binary person. And I try to use my privilege to support and uplift the voices of marginalized people.  

What’s are some fun facts about you many people may not know?

Bits of Trivia about me:

• I played piano for 11 years.
• I’ve done a Triathon
• I’ve been paid to research the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead
• I practiced Kung fu for many years
• I’ve been a Financial Advisor
• I’ve been a Penetration Tester
• I’ve helped run a polytheistic church
• I’ve made chainmaille (armor and jewelry) professionally

Your motto or personal mantra:

“Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

Three words that best describe you:

Kind, brilliant, chaotic.

What Swimlane core value resonates with you the most?

Honesty and integrity in “All the Things”.

What type of impact do you want to leave on our industry?

I want to help develop a whole swath of diverse capable security-minded people who change the face of the industry. I want to give a whole new generation of people from every background the tools and the opportunity to level the playing field, to excel in Technology and in Cybersecurity specifically.