Meet the Navanauts: Wes Billman, Principal Software Engineer


Give us the Cliffs Notes of your career, pre-Nava.
My career began as a dishwasher at a cafe when I was 14 years old... okay, maybe that's too far back.
My engineering career really started in electronics helping develop commercial inkjet printers for HP and Kodak. Eventually HP and Kodak dissolved their joint venture and Kodak hired a handful of us to create home printers to compete with HP.
After that I joined NOVO (yes, NOVO, not to be confused with Nava!) At NOVO I led the SW team mostly focused on embedded applications. NOVO did product development and R&D for 3D printers, medical device, robots, DNA sequencers, really anything with motors, sensors, and control systems.
Then I started contracting for a variety of clients while backpacking through Thailand and Indonesia. One of my clients was the Co-Founder of Compass.com. Eventually he convinced me to join Compass where I led their mobile and grew the team from 2 to over 100 engineers and helped the company through a successful IPO in March of 2021. And now I'm here at Nava! :)
What made you want to join Nava?
I initially responded to Nava's email because of how close the name was to NOVO, where I had previously worked. But after getting to know the team and understanding the mission, I was sold. I also really enjoy building successful engineering teams and Nava is a great opportunity for me to utilize my talents to make a real impact on healthcare.
What is your professional superpower?
I'm a builder. I really enjoy building successful teams, architecture, apps, and culture. I'm stoked on the opportunity to do that here with the Nava team.
How would you spend your perfect day?
Wakesurfing with friends
Biggest (non-professional) achievement to date?
I got to play Drums at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland when I was 15. It was part of a European tour I was a part of with our high school jazz band.
Biggest piece of professional advice?
Divide and Conquer. Many business and technical problems are impossible to solve without breaking them down into smaller, bite-sized chunks.
Nava is hiring! Learn more and see available roles here.