LTC Joseph Davis was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1996 upon graduation from Marion Military Institute with an associate's degree in art. He served as an Armor Officer in the 155th Armor Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard and later as an Assault Helicopter Platoon Leader in 1st Battalion, 131st Aviation Regiment of the Alabama Army National Guard. In 2002, he completed a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and entered the active Army in 2003. He served as an Assault Helicopter Platoon Leader in 9th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment and Battalion S-4 of 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, deploying in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I and III, respectively. 

Following completion of the Aviation Captain Careers Course, he attended Georgia Institute of Technology from 2006-07 where he earned a M.S. in aerospace engineering (2007).  He then commanded B Co, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, which is the headquarters company for Fort Rucker and the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. He also served as a UH-60 instructor pilot for undergraduate flight training while in company command. In 2009, he was selected for the Army Experimental Test Pilot Program and transitioned to the Acquisition Corp. He completed multiple aircraft qualification courses, acquisition training courses, and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School between 2009 and 2011. He served as an experimental test pilot and Flight Test Division Chief at Redstone Test Center followed by an assignment as the Assistant Product Manager (APM) of the RDECOM Rotorcraft Degraded Visual Environment Mitigation Program. 

Afterwards, he served as the Sensors APM for the Technology Applications Program Office (TAPO) in support of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). His last operational duty position was Deputy Director of the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Requirements Development Directorate. In 2023, he was selected to be an Academy professor (FA47) in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.