Hunting for a new career opportunity in the expansive world of tech can be exhilarating. That said, it’s easy to get lost without knowing where to begin – especially in the sprawl of New York City’s seemingly endless possibilities. Matching mission statements to personal values, studying company backgrounds, and plowing through continuous rounds of interviews can feel like a full-time job before a hiring offer has even been extended.
But when you find that ideal position – whether the fit is thanks to your existing passion for the product or a deep ambition to establish a tech startup’s new frontier – you know.
Luckily for job hunters, tech companies all across NYC are in growth mode this fall. Their open roles encompass a wide range of industries, including product design, telemedicine, digital marketing and fashion. And according to employees, their workplace dynamics are enough to make any job seeker notice.
“Being an avid concert-goer, I was already familiar with DICE,” Dan Leitzell, vice president of content at the live events discovery app, said. “The job posting popped up one day and it felt like the advert was written specifically for me.”
Built In NYC caught up with nine local tech professionals to learn more about the character traits they’re looking for in their next great new hire. Hoping that might be you? Continue your search below.
Waldo is a no-code testing platform that allows anyone to create reliable, automated mobile tests without the hassle of scripting.
Motivation to apply: “I decided to join Waldo because of the team,” Mendonça said. “The people I get to work with every day understand how to inspire me and make me laugh. I knew from very early on that these would be my people. They take their craft seriously but never themselves. I feel grateful that I get to be a part of building Waldo with all these people by my side.”
Ideal team member: “We love candidates with a builder’s mindset. Everyone who joins at this stage has the unique opportunity to help shape Waldo and the direction of our industry. You get to be on the ground floor, laying the foundation for each evolution after us. You get the excitement of being confronted with a novel challenge and the freedom to uncover it each day. You get to grow a company. How much more engaging can it get?”
Codat helps financial service companies access their small business customers’ financial data more efficiently.
Motivation to apply: “Prior to Codat, I was in sales leadership roles at much larger organizations,” Nile said. “I was intentionally looking for an exciting, earlier-stage company for my next move. I focused on a strong existing team, a product ready for rapid scale, and a model where my experience would have an impact. After getting to know Codat’s founders, investors and even a few potential customers, the opportunity clearly stood out as the right option. Since joining, my confidence in the role we’re playing in the market has only been bolstered.”
Ideal team member: “If I had to pick one descriptor that’s common across those we hire, it’s probably ‘useful’ – which, conveniently, is also one of our three core company values, in addition to ‘united’ and ‘unstoppable.’
Our most successful team members have an abundance of curiosity, high business acumen, and a general interest in helping people. There are a great number of awesome tech companies out there with easier, more replicable sales processes. Especially in sales and solution engineering roles, we have to be extremely solution, value and customer-oriented in the impact Codat-influenced data will have on a business.”
Parsley Health is a new kind of digital health company offering personalized medicine services across telemedicine, diagnostics and in-person care. Parsley’s approach blends testing, nutrition, wellness and prevention with conventional medicine.
Motivation to apply: “It was really important to me to work for a company that walked the walk,” Rosenbloom said. “When I stumbled on the Parsley Health opportunity, I quickly learned that this company was out to change the way women think about their health – and I quickly learned how beautifully they bridged healthy outcomes with technology and data to make a real impact on women’s lives. After I started conversations with the leadership team, it was clear that they were the real deal. The legacy healthcare industry of yesteryear is ripe for disruption, and this team has the pieces in place to make that a reality.”
Ideal team member: “At the end of the day, years of experience are attainable by anybody who is willing to learn. Grit and determination, however, are personality traits that cannot simply be taught by past experiences. A startup in the same stage as ours requires tenacious and determined people who have the backbone to see challenges through but have the grace to ensure that our product-market fit aligns with the core company mission. I’m looking for people who want to make a difference, move the needle and have the determination to turn visions into reality.”
Founded in 2014, DICE is a music-focused platform to help fans experience more of the shows they love.
Motivation to apply: “Being an avid concert-goer, I was already familiar with DICE as a live events discovery app and ticketing platform,” Leitzell said. “Some of my favorite venues are on DICE. The job posting popped up one day and it felt like the advert was written specifically for me. Being able to speak to my passion for music and live events every day has been life-changing. I wake up every morning extremely excited to get to work and continue to build on DICE’s global success. The pace of growth has been extremely fulfilling to watch and be a part of.”
Ideal team member: “Passionate and driven. Drive outweighs experience any day. DICE was originally built by music-lovers for music-lovers, and ultimately we’re all fans who are passionate about what we do. And if you couple passion with the drive to constantly move forward, that is one unstoppable force – especially when you’re doing what you love.”
Tapestry is a global house of brands that unites Coach, Kate Spade New York and Stuart Weitzman with a shared commitment of innovation and authenticity defined by distinctive products and differentiated customer experiences across channels and geographies.
Motivation to apply: “Incubating new approaches and changing internal practices is not a quick process, especially when operating in a global business with multiple autonomous functions,” Boddy said. “Culture change requires time, strong advocacy at all levels and fundamentally, proof. Today our culture has matured, led by strong leadership at an executive level. The ever-increasing equity built around our digital functions has fundamentally altered the way Tapestry operates and has pivoted our strategic thinking.”
Ideal team member: “When my design team goes through stages of growth, I am always looking for people to join us who are passionate about products. Being passionate about products, whether it be in a physical or digital paradigm, fosters a culture of curiosity. It enables us to understand our users at a more granular level and to be more robust as user advocates, regardless of organizational position and hierarchy.
In all, the output of a passionate team is a more meaningful and human connection with our users, in turn delivering products, services and experiences that better aid them.”
Known is a digital media agency engineered to meet challenges and opportunities facing marketers today.
Motivation to apply: “I was drawn to the people, how the company described their culture, and the opportunity to continuously learn, build and support the connective tissue among all the functions of the organization,” Glasband said. “It is evident how our values are very much lived and felt throughout the team. Kindness, trust, curiosity and innovation have fostered our employee growth and client partnerships.
From day one, I have been looked to as a thought partner. Building a multi-functioning talent team for the sole purpose of providing the Known employee with the best experience has been incredibly rewarding.”
Ideal team member: “Across Known, we build our community with people who are curious and always looking to solve challenging work together for clients. We surround ourselves with thoughtful, kind and smart people who want to make an impact and show up to do the best work of their lives.
As we grow, it is important for us to maintain and continue to strengthen our culture of being one team, seeing the good, and never stop learning. We get excited to meet people who are just as driven, committed and eager to take on new challenges and to work with our broad range of forward-thinking clients.”
Onna is a knowledge integration platform that allows users to search for information across all of their applications at once.
Motivation to apply: “The opportunity on paper seemed like one I would thoroughly enjoy while simultaneously allowing me to leverage the skills I’d been building over the past few roles,” Starr said. “Additionally, the business opportunity was obvious and the product was one that I could genuinely stand behind.
My experience has been an evolution of my initial assumptions. In addition to the ‘on paper’ promise proving to be true, I have found a team I am proud to call colleagues, a role that enables me to stretch my skills and grow others, and a business opportunity I would have regretted missing.”
Ideal team member: “Have a true, internally-fueled passion for what they do. There’s a multitude of things that a manager, mentor, HR, coach, etc. can do to enable and empower others to grow, assuming they truly enjoy what they do. The one thing nobody can do for another is be their driving force. That must be burning and come from the inside. So that is the one thing I don’t compromise on. Once I find that in a person, I am more than happy to tackle the other details!”
StrongArm Technologies offers a machine learning platform and IoT devices that measure and analyze risk factors of industrial workers on the job to prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
Motivation to apply: “I’ve always been interested in working for startup companies because there is so much value in being a part of something new,” Ralph said. “The power to have a voice and the autonomy to create and see your ideas come into fruition are things I’ve always highly valued. With my experience, I knew I could bring a unique skill set to the company and gain so much from building something incredible here.
Coming from a career path where occupational safety was a major concern, StrongArm’s pursuit of implementing technology to battle against workplace safety was very appealing. Over time, I have learned the culture of StrongArm is a significant part of making the company flourish; everyone here is proud, ambitious and mission-driven. New ideas are welcomed, and you get a quick sense of the family-centered culture.”
Ideal team member: “When growing my team, I primarily look for a ‘self-starter’ attitude in candidates. These applicants tend to be more intrinsically motivated, take accountability and don’t require close supervision. When hiring a self-starter, I feel confident I can trust them to use their own judgement and act on new concerns as they arise. This is crucial here at StrongArm because as we grow, many processes need to be developed or amended and new projects need initiative. Working at a startup isn’t easy and with this mindset, candidates typically are inspired by this challenge.”
Squarespace helps small businesses, artists and more develop professional websites and online stores as well as create branded email campaigns.
Motivation to apply: “I was drawn to Squarespace because of its design-driven DNA,” Man said. “The importance and value of design shines through everything from the work, the culture and the people, which is rare to see in a company of this scale. While many things have changed over the last two years, the importance and commitment to great design still holds true.”
Ideal team member: “A key quality that I look for in a candidate is that they have a learning mindset. One of the best things about our team is that we are surrounded by many different perspectives and expertise. It takes openness and a desire to learn to truly take advantage of that environment and is something we really value at Squarespace.”
