Brightfind Is Named One of the 50 Best Places to Work by Washingtonian Magazine

The Washington Metro area is home to 16 Fortune 500 companies, 100,000 small businesses, and many thousands more medium and large companies. Some have as many as 80,000 employees. Given this, it’s pretty impressive that Washingtonian magazine chose Brightfind as one of the 50 best, in terms of places to work.

How did Brightfind, a small, two-year old start-up, child of Syscom Services, manage to earn such prestigious designation so quickly? The Washingtonian chose its winners after a review of more than 8,000 employee surveys, and their choices relied heavily on those scores. So, Brightfind’s employees made the company a winner. 

And Brightfinders do indeed feel that the company is something special. Kelvin Ward, Associate Creative Director at Brightfind, feels that way because of the people. “We’re a group of really smart people, always looking to innovate and excel in the digital technology arena,” said Kelvin. “Every morning I look forward to coming to work.”

Al Osifade, Brightfind’s Manager of .NET Development, also cites the people as the first thing that makes Brightfind a great company. As he explains, “Everyone is really collaborative and willing to help. I also like the Thursday treats and the fridge! And, the leadership team is terrific. I really like how they don’t separate themselves from the rest of the group.”

Jimmy Rogers, a Brightfind Project Manager, agrees that Brightfind is a “flat” company, and not having to go through layers of hierarchy affords everyone the freedom to pursue and work on things that interest them, and the result is new and better ways to solve problems. “Brightfind has a collaborative, helping spirit. It’s not just a ‘go in and do your job from 9 to 5’ kind of place.

According to Nina Amato, a Senior UX Designer at Brightfind, “It’s a combination of things that make Brightfind a great place to work. Its flexible options, such as a condensed work week are wonderful. I love having alternate Fridays off. But it’s also that Brightfind encourages employees to take risks with their work. That’s empowering. And we have a really good team and a strong sense of team and a welcoming and warm environment. Plus, we get to work with the latest software and have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects and try new things.”

Sandra Dumas, a long-time Brightfind employee and member of the Front-End Development team, agrees that it’s a mix of things, such as the balance between autonomy and responsibility that enables employees to stretch and grow, and being able to follow new paths and gain new skills of interest that make Brightfind a unique and wonderful place to work. “And,” she said, “I get to play catch every afternoon in our big, open space!”

For Pete Grillot, a Brightfind Front-End Developer, it’s the room for creativity that Brightfind allows that makes it a great company to work for. “Everyone’s on board with new technologies.” Justin Schweiger, Senior Project Manager, agrees. “We get to do autonomous work. We have variety, lots of different projects, and a totally open environment for working on them. Not to mention the cool celebrations where you get massages and cake, and Wednesday afternoon beer breaks!

How did Brightfind, a relatively new, relatively small company, beat out all those other places, large, medium, and small for the Washingtonian’s Best Places to Work award? Tanuj Joshi, a Brightfind Back-End Developer, summed it up nicely. “Flexibility, the opportunity to be creative about my work, the novel-driven approach, and the free lunch every other Thursday. That’s why I think Brightfind is a great place to work.”