Meet Nicholas Cottrell, a Technical Services Program Manager at MongoDB. He joined the company in 2017 after being familiar with its products through his experience with object databases and machine translation projects. Initially working as a Consulting Engineer, he transitioned to a Technical Services role due to the need for better work-life balance, which allowed him to spend more time with his family. In this role, he assists customers with applications and databases in deployment, diagnosing complex systems and solving issues. Cottrell's career has been supported by MongoDB's culture of taking responsibility as a group, encouraging engineers to share ideas and implement solutions. He also appreciates the company's flat organization and responsiveness from management. Recently, he released his book "MongoDB Topology Design: Scalability, Security, and Compliance on a Global Scale," which aims to assist large enterprises managing MongoDB in-house or in cloud instances. The book was inspired by questions raised during consulting engagements and training sessions, and Cottrell received support from MongoDB's developers and management throughout the writing process.