Miguel Cóias

About

Multidisciplinary professional working across operations, creative production, photography, writing, and technology. Over thirty years of professional experience spanning performing arts in five language markets, technical support and process design at Apple, venue operations management, systems administration, and freelance cybersecurity work. Deeply interested in mission-driven work with genuine human impact — whether that takes the form of humanitarian communications, visual storytelling, open knowledge, or building the systems that make good work possible.

Experience

Technical Specialist

2021 – Present

Apple Soho · New York, NY

Primary coordination and resolution resource for a high-volume technical support environment — ensuring customers move through diagnostic and service pathways smoothly with clear handoff documentation.
Own data accuracy and record integrity across intake, case escalation, and resolution — documenting complex multi-issue cases across English, Spanish, and Portuguese to ensure continuity across shifts and personnel changes.
Design and deliver calibration training for colleagues on diagnostic protocols and quality standards, ensuring consistent execution across the team.
Identify operational bottlenecks and propose practical process improvements across Genius, Creative, and Operations workflows.
Manage participant communications across multiple channels, adapting tone, register, and language to audience — from standard cases to escalated enterprise issues.

Operations Manager

2010 – Present

Iona Bar · Brooklyn, NY

Manage end-to-end venue operations in a lean, autonomous team: staffing, compliance, vendor coordination, inventory management, and scheduling — building systems that work reliably without supervision.
Design and implement operational workflows and staff training protocols; maintain documentation so institutional knowledge is preserved across personnel changes.
Coordinate multilingual participant and vendor communications; manage event outreach and audience engagement campaigns across email and social channels.
Primary communicator between staff, ownership, and external partners — proactively flagging blockers and adapting plans to ensure reliable outcomes.

Media Systems Administrator

2020 – Present

Independent · New York, NY

Independently designed and maintain a personal media server infrastructure on a Mac mini M2: Jellyfin, Plex, Radarr, Sonarr, Prowlarr, qBittorrent, AdGuard, StreamMaster — coordinated via Docker Compose with NFS-mounted Synology NAS storage.
Maintain meticulous operational documentation, debugging logs, and process records — enabling fast recovery from failures and preserving continuity across system updates.
Managed large-scale metadata cleanup project across 2,600+ films, 56 TV series, and 11,000+ books — defining naming conventions, writing automation scripts, and systematically validating data integrity.
Debugged complex infrastructure failures across VPN routing, database corruption, DNS filtering, and metadata conflicts without external support.

Actor · Writer · Director

1996 – Present

Professional — Film, Theater & Television · NYC / International

30-year professional creative career spanning film, television, theatre, and voice-over across two continents and five language markets. Represented by Maude Kaplan Management. IMDb credits.
Coordinated complex productions with defined collaborators, timelines, and quality standards — translating creative vision into operational execution across multilingual teams and international contexts.
Deep knowledge of world cinema across genres, eras, and national traditions — informing editorial judgment and the ability to assess quality across creative domains.

Production Assistant

1997 – 1998

Endemol Portugal · Lisbon, Portugal

Contributed to large-scale television production for one of Europe's leading entertainment companies — gaining formative experience in production logistics and high-pressure creative environments.

Office Manager

1993 – 1997

Seamaster Shipping Agency · Lisbon, Portugal

Managed administrative operations for an international shipping agency in a compliance-critical, high-volume environment — overseeing documentation, government filings, bookkeeping, and records infrastructure.
Promoted from Clerk to Office Manager within two years, reflecting consistent reliability and process ownership.

Education & Training

BA — Interdisciplinary Studies: Media & Writing

2023

City University of New York (CUNY)

Summa Cum Laude · GPA 3.87

Digital Filmmaking Program (201 hours)

2008

Digital Film Academy · New York

Professional Training Program — Film & Television (2 years)

2002

School for Film and Television (now New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts) · New York

American Academy of Dramatic Arts

2001

AADA East · New York

Attended; did not complete

Shakespeare Summer School

1998

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) · London

Voice, movement, stage combat, speech, period dance, sonnets

Business Administration (3 years, no degree)

1990 – 1993

Universidade Lusíada · Lisbon, Portugal

Languages

Portuguese Native

English Bilingual

Spanish Professional

French Conversational

Italian Conversational

Tools & Skills

Photography

Sony A7III, Sony A7CII. Documentary, editorial, and environmental portraiture.

Operations

Process documentation, workflow design, CRM systems, stakeholder communications, staff training and calibration.

Systems & Infrastructure

Docker, Linux, NAS administration, VPN configuration, DNS filtering, metadata management, scripting and automation.

Writing & Communications

Long-form writing, editorial content, multilingual communications, email campaign operations, social media management.