When Josh Van Harn joined engineering consulting firm RapDev two-and-a-half years ago, he considered himself a pretty seasoned engineer, having spent more than two decades in the field. However, the principal engineer told Built In that he reached new levels of productivity thanks to RapDev’s culture, which prioritizes collaboration without conditions and autonomy.
“I’m not tied down by procedures,” said Van Harn. “There is trust that we make the best decisions we can at the time we make them.”
In addition to helping employees reach new heights, a company’s culture can also directly impact their career trajectory.
Weston Engelstad initially joined Braviant Holdings’ business intelligence team, and during his first year on the job he honed his programming skills thanks to the fintech company’s culture of knowledge sharing and mentorship. That led to opportunities to work with, and eventually join, Braviant’s data science team.
Continue reading to hear more from Van Harn, Engelstad and two other tech workers whose careers have been impacted by joining companies with strong cultures — all of which are hiring.
RapDev’s team of site reliability and DevOps engineers help enterprise companies launch projects and digital transformations on the ServiceNow and Datadog platforms.
Describe RapDev’s culture in one word.
Progressive, which to me is a combination of autonomous, casual, challenging and nimble. We are all that at RapDev. A great example of this is when we are presented a challenge by a client. We can build a proposal that addresses the challenge, working directly with those who can contribute, regardless of where they sit in the organization and without needing approval to involve them. And when we build, our engineers work with the client and adapt the design according to customer insights to ensure we deliver the best solution.
How long have you been with RapDev, and what professional growth or development have you seen in that time?
I considered myself seasoned in my field when I joined RapDev two-and-a-half years ago. However, I have come to realize how much more I can get done because I can interact with anyone, anywhere in the organization.
“I feel empowered to make decisions every day and ask questions.”
If there’s room for improvement, we don’t point fingers. Instead, we review, discuss and agree on what we learned, making the next engagement more successful. I feel empowered to make decisions every day and ask questions, make suggestions and consult with my coworkers, whether it’s part of my daily work or not.
Companies use Monte Carlo’s data observability platform to manage the quality of their data and monitor and remediate incidents.
Describe Monte Carlo’s culture in one word.
Speed! We move fast, and with that comes an opportunity to make and learn from mistakes quickly. I’m congratulated and celebrated for deprioritizing things to focus on what matters most for the business. I appreciate that all teams are united behind a common goal: making our customers as successful as possible by developing the best data observability platform. Everything at MC is incredibly fast-paced, fun and challenging, and the work we’re doing is much more exciting when you can feel that the entire company is aligned.
How long have you been with Monte Carlo, and what professional growth or development have you seen in that time?
I have been with Monte Carlo for a little under two years and have grown more over the past 21 months than at any other point in my life. The fast-moving environment constantly challenges me to identify and solve new and exciting problems.
“I feel empowered to challenge myself to do more.”
Our CEO always says that we need to earn the right to have problems to solve, and this mindset has given me opportunities to take on projects outside my role’s immediate scope. I feel empowered to challenge myself to do more, and I know I have the support of an incredibly talented and hard working team of people around me.
Pilots use ForeFlight’s mobile app to manage nearly all aspects of flying, including flight planning, monitoring weather and managing checklists.
Describe ForeFlight’s culture in one word.
The word that exemplifies our culture is “joy!” Our product mission is to enhance the safety and joy of flying, but beyond that, we specifically list joy among our departmental objectives. We realize this objective through our prioritization of celebrations, incredible work-life balance and our industry-leading memes.
How long have you been with ForeFlight, and what professional growth or development have you seen in that time?
ForeFlight inspired me to transition to engineering manager, and it has been the most rewarding three years of my career.
“ForeFlight inspired me to transition to engineering manager, and it has been the most rewarding three years of my career.”
I’ve learned how to build passionate and pragmatic teams that thrive in ForeFlight’s convivial and low-ego culture. It’s a privilege to facilitate the creation of durable code that engineers will enjoy working on for years to come.
Braviant Holdings uses machine learning technology to provide alternate assessments of credit worthiness to give consumers with non-prime credit access to personal loans.
Describe Braviant’s culture in one word.
“Connected” is the best descriptor. Braviant is a relatively small company, and because of this there is a strong level of collaboration and teamwork here. One of the things I appreciate most is that when I work on a big project, most of the people in the company know about it. And when those projects come to fruition, the entire company hears about it! We have a monthly state of the business meeting where team member accomplishments get shout-outs and cheers. Seeing your work highlighted in this way and getting support from fellow employees is incredibly rewarding.
It is also not uncommon to have stakeholder and planning meetings with multiple C-level team members. Having so many opportunities to showcase and build upon your work with the most experienced employees in a company is very rare, and yet it seems to be a common occurrence at Braviant.
How long have you been with Braviant and what professional growth or development have you seen in that time?
I’ve worked at Braviant for more than three years, and in that time I’ve had tremendous professional growth and development. I spent my first year learning from experts in business intelligence and data engineering, which caused my technical and programming skills to skyrocket.
Utilizing the skills I gained in that first year along with my background in mathematics, I was eventually able to start working with and then join the data science team where I now build models that have a big impact on company growth.
“What fueled my career growth is the fact that everyone at Braviant is exceptionally talented, supportive and willing to share their knowledge.”
What fueled my career growth is the fact that everyone at Braviant is exceptionally talented, supportive and willing to share their knowledge. This was invaluable to me in the earlier stages of my career, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience I’ve gained here.
