What makes a great place to work? For these three tech professionals, it comes down to a tight-knit team based on trust and empowerment.
“What stands out most is the balance between intensity and support,” Eric Nagel, senior technical recruiter at military planning company Onebrief, said. “People here work hard, but it never feels political or ego-driven.”
Meanwhile, Rama Mellacheruvu, vice president of engineering at fintech firm Clear, describes his team as a cohesive unit that works hand-in-hand to see each project through.
“The team gives a lot and asks a lot back,” Mellacheruvu said. “You're expected to push boundaries and ownership isn't a word on a values poster here, it's real.”
Chris Martin, founding engineer at verifiable AI platform Kepler, added that working at a mission-driven company is part of the reason top tech talent chooses his employer again and again.
“The engineers here turned down easier, better-paid options to build something they think matters and they're still here,” Martin said.
Built In spoke with all three employees about what makes their team unique and worth joining.
Clear Street is a financial technology firm on a mission to modernize the brokerage ecosystem.
In one memorable line, how would you describe day-to-day satisfaction on your team?
As a vice president of engineering at Clear Street, a financial infrastructure tech firm, I would describe the day-to-day as demanding but also a lot of fun. Right now we're launching self-clearing in Canada, ramping it up for repos, finishing a renovation program, standing up self-clearing in the UK and rapidly expanding our crypto, prediction-market and international capabilities. Any one of those is a multi-year effort for most teams. We're doing them in quarters, with a fraction of the engineers a bank would throw at it.
That works because of what we stand on: a platform built right from the start, modular, event-driven, cloud-native, a product and business team with real industry depth and one long-term vision everyone's pointed at. So nobody's defending their own corner. We lean on each other to hit the goal and that shared intent is what sets us apart.
Eighteen years in, after a big bank and a hedge fund, this is the first time the pressure has felt worth it instead of just exhausting.
Would you recommend working here — and what proof backs that up?
Absolutely. If you've got years in the industry and you're tired of doing things the same old way, or you're fresh out of school and want to learn from the best, there's a spot here for you. The team gives a lot and asks a lot back. You're expected to push boundaries and ownership isn't a word on a values poster here, it's real.
Here's what I mean. We rolled out a change recently that touched every single part of the firm. A rollout that size always has surprises. As we worked through scenarios and issues, the entire firm worked as one team, no turf, no arguing and delivered. It takes a real team to pull that off.
And a real team comes down to how you hire. The strongest signal isn't a survey score, it's referrals. A lot of our hires come through people already here and they turn around and refer to the next wave. I've felt it myself; I've referred several people in, every one is still here and a number have gone on to refer others. When someone puts their name behind a recommendation and watches it pay off, that's about as honest a vote of confidence as you get.
How are you perceived externally right now and what signals support that?
The sharpest signal of how clients see us is what happens when we build something for them. Not long ago we replaced a workflow a client had been running through an established provider, rebuilt the screen they actually work in and ours was faster to use and cheaper to run. We don't ask clients to settle for the way it's always been done.
The other tell is who wants in. We're pulling in people from places they had every reason not to leave and a candidate choosing you over a bigger name is a harder, more honest signal than anything a survey can give you.
Onebrief is a software company for military planning.
In one memorable line, how would you describe day-to-day satisfaction on your team?
Day-to-day satisfaction at Onebrief comes from working alongside people who genuinely care about the mission, about doing great work and about helping each other succeed.
The work moves fast, but that’s part of what makes it rewarding. People are trusted to make decisions, solve problems and take ownership from day one. You can feel the impact of your work quickly, which creates a strong sense of momentum across the team.
What stands out most is the balance between intensity and support. People here work hard, but it never feels political or ego-driven. Teammates jump in to help each other, good ideas are taken seriously regardless of title and strong work gets recognized quickly.
For many of us, the most rewarding part is being surrounded by highly capable people while solving meaningful, real-world problems. There’s a shared belief in the mission and a genuine sense that what we’re building matters.
Would you recommend working here — and what proof backs that up?
Absolutely. One of the clearest signals is how often employees recommend Onebrief to former coworkers and people in their network. That enthusiasm was reflected in an employee Net Promoter Score of 50 earlier this year, placing us near the top decile of companies in our industry.
That kind of employee advocacy comes from working on meaningful problems with a high level of ownership and visibility. Onebrief feels like a company at a genuine inflection point. The mission matters, the problems are difficult and there’s a shared belief internally that we’re building something category-defining in defense technology.
Personally, what’s stood out most to me is that the reality has exceeded the pitch. High performers are trusted quickly here. If someone demonstrates ownership and strong judgment, they’re given room to lead, contribute and make an impact instead of being boxed into a narrow role.
The expectations are high, but so is the opportunity. For people who want meaningful work, real ownership and the chance to help build something significant alongside exceptionally capable teammates, it’s an easy recommendation from me.
How are you perceived externally right now and what signals support that?
Externally, Onebrief is increasingly being seen as a company that’s actually delivering, not just talking about transformation in defense technology. At the same time, it’s becoming a place that experienced people genuinely want to be part of.
The company’s recent Series D raise, $2 billion valuation and acquisition of Battle Road Digital reinforced that Onebrief is building for the long term and continuing to expand its role in operational planning and defense technology at scale. Adoption across major military commands and operational planning efforts has only strengthened that credibility.
From a recruiting perspective, one of the strongest signals is the caliber of people actively reaching out to us. We’re seeing growing interest from experienced operators, military leaders, startup builders and people from leading technology companies who want meaningful work, high ownership and the opportunity to solve consequential problems alongside very capable teammates.
There’s a real sense externally that Onebrief has momentum, but more importantly, that it’s building the kind of team and culture talented people are willing to bet their careers on.
Kepler is developing technology to ensure the information AI platforms provide is verifiably correct.
In one memorable line, how would you describe day-to-day satisfaction on your team?
Hard problems, shipped in days, with people I'd choose to be around.
Would you recommend working here — and what proof backs that up?
Yes, and the proof I trust most is who keeps showing up. A good chunk of this team worked together at Palantir and chose to do it again here; people who could work almost anywhere, picking the same room twice. Hiring runs heavily on personal referral, which only happens when people will put their own name behind the place. We're too small for a formal eNPS, but the honest version is the engineers here turned down easier, better-paid options to build something they think matters and they're still here.
How are you perceived externally right now and what signals support that?
The clearest signal is inbound pull. Anthropic published a piece on how we built Kepler, they don't do that for model-wrappers and respected buy-side names came to us. And it's spreading past finance; people in other industries saw the same trust problem and asked if we could point the platform at theirs. We're becoming the team known for making AI outputs verifiable and it's landing before we've chased anything.
