Meet Jon, Solutions Architect/Prince George-based POD Manager

We’ve shared a lot about why we value a POD support model and how it functions. In the past, we’ve highlighted Roman Rapoport, a Calgary-based POD Manager and Ty Lalande one of our Vancouver POD Managers. In this month’s employee feature, we sat down with Jon Paulson, a Prince George-based team member to chat with him about the evolution of his career in IT and his role at Nucleus as a POD Manager. 
 
15+ Years in IT and counting… 
 
Jon started his professional career in IT in 2008 as a computer technician. He then pursued numerous contracting positions before accepting a position as the General Manager at a Prince George IT Support company. Jon launched his career in Managed Services in 2017 where he gained experience in the industry, working first as a Systems Administrator and then as a Technical Architect and Team Lead.  
 
Jon joined Nucleus just over one year ago. After learning about an open position and knowing a few Nucleus employees personally, he decided to apply. He has gained experience working as a Team Lead, Solutions Architect and is currently transitioning into a POD Manager role.  
  
What stands out as different at Nucleus from your experience? 
 
What makes Nucleus unique in our sector is our capacity and employee retention. We have a large team that is well-managed and organized. A lot of our staff have been at Nucleus longer than five years which is unusual in an industry where two or three is the norm. The long-term staff have a deeply vested interest in our supporting our clients, mentoring colleagues and helping nurture a positive workplace culture. 
   
What is a typical day like as a POD Manager? 
 
Every day is busy. In our industry the pace is fast no matter what Managed Service Provider you work at. In my past roles, I had to wear a lot of hats but now I have a very focussed role. The bulk of my job will be working with my POD; reviewing, assisting and mentoring. Our team is made up of employees with a range of technical skills so teaching is a big part of what I do and I love seeing my colleagues strengthen their technical skills. 
 
I am also an escalation point for technical support issues, so I spend a good deal of my time solving problems. I am problem-solver by nature; the more challenging the issue, the better. However, I really enjoy doing things well. Technology should be set up well from the onset; business leaders and their staff shouldn’t have to experience unnecessary recurring technical problems. At the end of the day, the customer experience with technology should be awesome and my focus is doing the best we can to deliver better IT.  

What do you love most about your role at Nucleus?

I enjoy working with a variety of clients on different projects, learning new skills and tools. Technology is constantly evolving in every sector we work in so there’s always something new to learn. 
 
I am most passionate about delivering great customer service. In our industry, persistent technical issues require a great deal of work to get to the root cause. Sometimes issues require us going onsite and escalating the issue. I recall one incident where a clients’ Microsoft Teams Room kept dropping. With many of our clients operating hybrid environments; video conferencing is a must for day-to-day operations and collaboration. Something as simple as fixing that issue long-term, made my day.  
 
What tools/applications could you not live without in your role? 
 
Connectwise is our industry standard line of business software and I use all the Microsoft 365 tools to stay organized. In the POD manager role, I will rely heavily on BrightGauge to monitor our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). My most critical KPIs are our Customer Satisfaction Score, new documentation created and response time.  
   
What do you love most about working at Nucleus and what is your favourite perk?  
 
At Nucleus, I have the opportunity to grow professionally and constantly refine my role. We have six PODs and each POD has a manager, so I have a built-in peer group. We share challenges, knowledge and insights and grow together.  
 
We have a few perks that I love but the coolest one is birthdays of. Getting your birthday off is awesome and it’s expected so you don’t have to feel guilty taking it off.  
 
Tell us about Jon! 
  
How do you balance work/life? 
 
I enjoy spending my time outside of work with my family. I am a father of three children. From Judo, to swimming lessons, to gymnastics and piano my kids keep me on my feet and I love every minute of it. 
  
What do you enjoy about living in Prince George? 
 
Prince George is an underrated Canadian city. In just 15 minutes you are in the wilderness and a one hour flight you can be in Vancouver. It’s not too big or too small. And there isn’t much traffic here so getting around is fast.  
 
Interested in working on a POD at Nucleus? Visit our career page for open positions or reach out to us!