A little bit about Nate
My name is Nathaniel Pahlow, pronounced Paylow. I have no clue why either. I asked my great-grandmother and the mystery lives on. What is not a mystery is what I love to do. I learn, build, and make ideas real. Most days are a mix of family time with my wife Alyssa and our two kids, Rose and Sage, and late-night sessions writing code or refining a new concept. Sometimes that looks like an offline “island” box for rugged use. Sometimes it is a statistics pipeline that turns raw data into decisions. I am always hunting for the next thing to build, especially on computers, and I keep chasing the simple goal of making useful tools that help people.
I'm also a silly dude
I keep things light. When I’m not building data pipelines for the Air Force, I’m connecting with the team and boosting morale.
The Timeline
1993
Nate Pahlow was born!
I was born in May, and I guess that makes me a Taurus?
1997
Quake 2
Dad let me play Quake 2 on his awesome computer that weighed about 2 tons.
2001
First time touching a terminal
My dad introduced me to the terminal in Doom, teaching me how to activate cheat codes.
2002
Learned MS Office under my dad’s guidance.
Created my first presentation on the Green Bay Packers, created my first spreadsheets, and designed in VISIO
2004
Softmodded my Xbox to delve into how games functioned.
This was my introduction to hexadecimal, data structures, and programming concepts—thanks, Halo 2!
2011
Enlisted in the Air Force as a 2R0X1 (Maintenance Management Analysis).
The recruiter called it a "computer job," and I was all in.
2012
Arrived at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, as a Database Manager.
I spent countless hours resetting passwords and troubleshooting database issues—my first taste of IT work.
2013
Transitioned from Database Management to Analysis.
Excel spreadsheets became my world, sparking a curiosity about problem-solving with technology.
2015
Developed the Automated Statistical Analaysis Program (ASAP)
Created the first ever automated statistical testing pipeline for aircraft maintenance data.
2017
Moved to Las Vegas
Joined the Shadow Operations Center at Nellis AFB, where i first learned about Docker, Python, Web-Apps etc.
2020
Curriculum developer and instructor for Data Analysts in the Air Force
Certified instructor and course developer
2022
Embedded Systems Architecture
Self taught myself the arduino board, bread board, and how to interact with it, ended up making an offline security system in my house to defend my pantry from my hungry daughter (she would feed my dogs chocolate lol).
2023
Won 1st place at the Bravo Hackathon as the Lead ML Engineer
Awarded with: 1. Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, "Sensor" - Spectrum, Sonar, video, etc. 2. "Effects Chain" – Joint All Domain Command and Control Shooter and Effects 3. Special Operations Impacts 4. Hacker’s Choice 5. Data Scraper/Labeler/Curator/Creator runner up 6. Best Combatant Command Use Case - (Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command, etc.) runner up
2024
Moved to Whiteman AFB
Manager of 5 sections - Engine Management, Documentation, Analysis, Scheduling and Database Management