Despite what recent layoffs at Seattle-based companies Amazon and Microsoft might have you think, 54 percent of Seattle companies plan to add new tech roles in the next three months, according to data collected by staffing firm Robert Half.
In CompTIA’s February Tech Jobs Report, Seattle sat on a list of the top 20 metros adding tech job postings. Seattle also topped the 20-company list for job postings change, adding almost 400 more tech jobs in February than in January.
The need for tech talent is real, but it won’t necessarily be found at the tech giants that have so far defined Seattle’s tech scene. Instead, small- and medium-sized tech companies, plus companies in major industries like insurance, healthcare and education, are seeking seasoned tech professionals to join their teams.
At companies like Liberty Mutual, DreamBox Learning, Swiftly and Foursquare, tech talent will find opportunities to take on projects that allow them to flex their skills and better the lives of others while working with open, excited and passionate teams. Built In Seattle sat down with all four companies to find out more.
What they do: Liberty Mutual offers a broad range of insurance products. To embrace its mission of helping people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow, Liberty Mutual has created products, services and technologies to support customers and communities.
Listen and learn: Liberty Mutual’s company culture encourages employees to be open, keep it simple and make things better. Reardon-Gordon identifies deeply with those values; they’re reflective of how she lives her personal and professional lives and how Liberty Mutual works with customers. Reardon-Gordon recently held a session about diversity, equity and inclusion with her team. Because of Liberty Mutual’s cultural values, her team was open about the challenges and opportunities for improvement. “Employees shared a desire for more candid and transparent conversations” around DEI, Reardon-Gordon said. And thanks to the drive to make things better, she internalized their feedback and revised her approach to building an inclusive team.
Flex your strengths: Reardon-Gordon’s team is currently improving how they manage Liberty Mutual’s global retail markets U.S. customer data, including improving how they access data and use the information it yields in digital platforms. “It’s been exciting to deliver a modern cloud-based system and create services to use through this centralized customer profile,” Reardon-Gordon said. “I am a strategic and critical thinker, so a large change-management initiative to modernize aligns with my skills and allows me to flex them through our journey.”
What they do: DreamBox Learning provides personalized math and reading educational experiences for students grades K-8. Its Intelligent Adaptive technology assesses student progress, generates insights for educators and continuously individualizes and adapts the educational experience for students.
For the kids: Modgil was drawn to DreamBox Learning’s mission to radically change how the world learns when she joined less than a year ago. “I saw endless possibilities to fulfill this mission utilizing the amazing data the company has collected,” Modgil said. Since then, she’s been immersed in both the mission and that data. But what truly makes DreamBox a special place to work is its culture. Teams are passionate about helping students learn and grow, and that passion translates to an obsession with the customer experience. Those customers are kids, and every week, anonymous feedback from students lights up a Slack channel. It reinforces their focus on the needs of students. “Regardless of the expertise you have, there is a way to make a meaningful and measurable difference in many learning journeys,” Modgil said.
Testing, 1, 2, 3: Modgil recently worked on an agent-based simulation nicknamed SimBA — Simulations for Better Adaptivity — which allows developers to simulate students progressing through the DreamBox curriculum and test various enhancements to adaptivity algorithms at scale before deploying them. That way, they can ensure a proposed algorithm change meets the hypothesized impact for students of all grades, abilities and levels. The results of these simulations are tabulated and visualized so product and development teams can quickly iterate on new features. “This is a new and innovative way forward to have data-driven applications meaningfully inform product decisions,” Modgil said.
What they do: Swiftly helps retailers own their digital relationships with customers. Swiftly’s retail tools, mobile platform, analytics and Retail Media Network are integrated into a single platform so retailers can accelerate sales and build loyalty while amplifying campaigns.
No office needed: Ashford joined Swiftly after working for an office-first company, and he was curious about onboarding at a fully-remote company. He found out that the onboarding process would be quick and efficient. One-on-ones with leadership, peers and department heads helped him understand Swiftly’s goals and how they are accomplishing them. He was invited to new and recurring meetings on the programs he would lead and had the autonomy to lead them once he got a grasp on the initiatives. “Using modern tools like chat and email, effective meetings and good leadership communication, Swiftly has built a proficient culture of remote work where super bright team members are trying to change the retail digital landscape,” Ashford said.
Transformative for stores and consumers: Ashford is helping to transform Swiftly’s retailer platform from single-retailer focused — “think a one-on-one relationship between a mobile app and a retailer like Family Dollar” — to a multi-brand model. He’s leading a program to launch a new convenience store digital brand that will help thousands of small and midsize stores take advantage of digital advertising, coupons and loyalty programs. On the consumer side, customers can score new discounts and deals at places they regularly shop. “This was a technically challenging project, and required active listening to the multiple parties involved, succinct communication of tasks and action items and compromise between competing technical priorities on the teams’ delivery timelines,” Ashford said.
What they do: Foursquare’s location data and technology enables market analysis, consumer insights, data-driven marketing and more in a consumer app. Its solutions help businesses make smarter decisions, developers create engaging experiences and brand build effective marketing strategies.
Looking back: Hudson fondly remembers the contagious excitement she felt from the team when she joined Foursquare. “Everyone was so genuinely excited about the products we were building,” she said. Their enthusiasm is valued by Foursquare, which boasts a culture centered on learning, curiosity, collaboration and knowledge sharing. “From executives to account coordinators, everyone plays an important role in the company’s success,” Hudson says.
Challenges that further growth: Since joining seven years ago, Hudson has moved up the ladder in her department from an account coordinator to an account director. Each role has challenged her to grow in new ways. She gained confidence in her knowledge of Foursquare’s products and processes, which helped her to show up clients. “I found my own voice in advocating for our products, both internally and externally, and I learned to think more strategically about our clients' needs,” Hudson said. “My latest challenge has been to lead my own team of incredible coordinators and managers through that same journey.”
