David Cruz is the systems software engineer at EWM Realty International.
Describe what you do in one sentence. I enhance our technical presence in our respective markets wherever I can.
Time at current company: Just under two years.
Age: 35
Degree, school: Bachelor of Arts in computer science
Location: Miami, Florida
What do you do?
I am a LEMP (Linux, nginx (pronounced Engine x), MySQL and PHP) developer, database administrator and system administrator. I maximize our agents’ visibility across our various vendors and empower them as much as I can for enhancing their listings.
How’d you end up in real estate tech?
Pure chance! After my previous commitment, I was looked up by our chief information officer. I had other offers on the table, but due to opportunity, freedom, flexibility and a very cozy distance from my condo, I couldn’t say no.
What aspects of real estate are you trying to make better?
The real estate tech community as a whole in South Florida.
What’s your favorite part of what you do?
I love introducing new ideas and implementing them — and just the whole creative process in general.
What products have you had a part in developing in the past?
Migrating our old system from a stand-alone, old dual core box, huffing and puffing along with considerable downtime, to a streamlined four-node, load-balanced virtual system with less than 1 percent downtime was a thing of beauty. It was one of the first things I suggested when I came on board. Not too hard to suggest it, and it just felt great to get us up to spec. Performance was instantly increased tenfold.
What are you working on right now? What are the challenges?
Right now, I am wrapping up our very own Roku channel. The biggest challenge of this was probably trying to convince our administrative staff how and why this would be of benefit to us. I am hoping that the additional exposure will demonstrate why.
Favorite food?
Take-out Chinese.
Favorite video game?
“Metal Gear Solid.”
Favorite city?
Miami.
Favorite band or singer?
Umwelt.
What do you hate about technology?
How dehumanizing it can be sometimes.
What is one thing you would like to fix about the real estate industry?
In our market specifically, I’d like to have some of the same innovations they seem to have out West. Like the Yelp-like service for real estate that is in San Francisco and the tendency to get away from the MLS. I’m jealous!
Do you think technology can change the industry?
I think it already has!
In or out of real estate, is there one problem, large or small, that you would like to solve?
I’d like to make it easier to recycle, or at least make people more aware about how much they can recycle. It’s amazing how many items are thrown away that we take for granted. If everyone curbed their habits a little, it would make a huge difference for the resources and environment that we all share!
Are you a real estate hacker who’s like to participate in our profile series? Email amber@inman.com.
