With a burgeoning tech community and an excellent quality of life, the city of Buffalo was the perfect place for Sparq to open a development center in 2021. We talked to Buffalo Development Center Director Natascha Thomas to learn more about the city, our colleagues and how we’re getting involved in the community.
Big City Amenities, Small Town Feel
While Buffalo’s population isn’t huge, it definitely has big city offerings. It has tons of parks and public recreation spots, museums and the third oldest US zoo! If there’s something you’re really interested in, chances are Buffalo can provide that for you. Natascha adds, “Something else that makes Buffalo great in my opinion is the freeway layout. You can get anywhere in the city in under 30 minutes!”
A Well-Rounded Group of Colleagues
Our Buffalo Development Center currently has 40 colleagues and it continues to grow. They represent many of our practice areas including Digital Engineering, QA, Web, Database and others. Natascha says, “Our Buffalo colleagues are consultative and transparent. They want to add value for our clients and aren’t shy about sharing their opinions when it’s needed.”
Attracting Local Talent
Buffalo is committed to retaining their graduating tech talent, so they’ve set up programs to connect employers with emerging talent. RSI is partnering with Tech Buffalo, an organization that connects new grads and non-traditional hires with businesses for employment opportunities. Natascha adds, “We know that non-traditional colleagues are often incredibly successful in our organization, so we’re happy to be working with Tech Buffalo so we can keep adding diverse talent at RSI.”
When talking to our colleagues about what makes Buffalo great, Natascha says that they’ll always tell you it’s the culture. “The city has so much to offer with its great schools, history and cultural events. No matter what interests you, you can find your outlet here in Buffalo.”
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If you manage a team, you already know that this experience can be as challenging as it is rewarding. At Sparq we have different management roles and one of the most essential is the Tech Lead position. In addition to being seasoned developers, Teach Leads need to be able to mentor up and coming talent. One of the ways they do that is by utilizing soft skills. In this article, Delivery Lead Rodrigo Trelles explores the most important soft skills to be a successful Tech Lead.
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In this article, Technical Lead Pablo Carballo shares how automated testing practices have made his team's work more efficient and diverse.
Inside the Minds of Digital Innovators: Highlights from OctoTalks Podcast
Creating exceptional digital experiences involves a blend of creativity, strategy and technology. Octobot, a company that was recently acquired by Sparq, hosted a podcast that delves into these elements by showcasing the visionaries who dream up and build these experiences. In this blog post, we want to share some highlights about the conversations and invite you to give it a listen!