Scaling Civic Technology: Transitioning to Civic Technology

Communities across the country need technical expertise that can help them meet the speed of need. Join U.S. Digital Response’s newest series where we go deep into the engineering work behind the hundreds of projects we’ve completed to support communities around the United States.

We’ll highlight the technology we’ve built, the technical (and non-technical) challenges we’ve had to overcome and what we’ve learned. We’ll also highlight the individuals who have contributed to these projects and share how you as a technologist can support public servants in the public interest technology sector.

Transitioning from Big Tech to Civic Tech

Are you considering a career change into civic technology, but not sure where to start or if the move is right for you?

Hear from our panel of talented technical employees who have made the move from big tech to civic tech and how these industries reinforce each other. Careers in the public sector can range from working within government agency teams to organizations who offer support, like U.S. Digital Response. While positions and teams differ across the country, one thing’s for sure: almost everyone is hiring right now.

Our panelists will share their journeys and dive deep into how working in civic technology is different from their previous tech careers, what opportunities are out there, and how to craft a career trajectory that doesn’t pigeon hole yourself into any one industry.

Panelists:

Host: Alex Allain, CTO and Co-Founder at USDR (formerly director of engineering at Dropbox)

- Dave Cole, Office of Innovation State of New Jersey (formerly VP Strategy and Operations at Mapbox)

- Aditya Sridhar, Economic Stability Product Engineer at USDR (formerly software engineer at Check)

- Nadine Levin, former UX researcher volunteer with USDR, Head of Research at San Francisco Digital Services (formerly a Staff UX Researcher at Facebook)