How do skills learned as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy translate to Dropbox? Eric Wittig fills us in

At Dropbox, we believe in celebrating our veterans all year long. And every November, in recognition of Veteran’s Day, we put a special emphasis on honoring their service to their country and learning about their unique journeys to Dropbox with our Veteran’s Appreciation Month. We spoke with Eric Wittig about his service as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, how he has applied those skills to his role at Dropbox, and what he’s most excited about for the future of Virtual First work.

How long have you been working at Dropbox?

I’ve been working for Dropbox for almost three years as a Technical Program Manager (TPM) on the Core Systems team.

Where are you located?

Seattle, WA.

Can you tell us a little about your military service?

I was in the U.S. Navy for five years, and spent about four of those as a submarine officer on the USS Pennsylvania, stationed in Bangor, Washington. I was kind of a jack of all trades — I worked as the Electrical Officer, Main Propulsion Assistant, and Tactical Systems Officer. When I got to the sub, we were in the last year of a 2.5 year operation to refuel the reactor; you do this only once at the 20-year mark of a submarine’s life, so it’s a big evolution. We also updated the weapons system, and got to launch a Trident D-5 missile with telemetry warheads on it to test that the system worked, which is basically like launching a space shuttle off your sub. I was standing like 5 feet away from the missile tube when we launched, which is something not a lot of people get to do!

Why should other military veterans apply to Dropbox?

It’s a place where you can have a pretty big impact. You can take your skills from the military and directly apply them to how we’re running the business. There’s not a lot of structure to hold you back; people at Dropbox are very willing to listen to good ideas regardless of where they come from. Military veterans have a different way of looking at things that is uniquely valuable to running a business.

How have you seen your military experience support the skills you’ve needed to succeed at Dropbox?

The TPM role is pretty ambiguous; there are a lot of different roles you have to play, and that’s how the Navy was as well. You get thrown headfirst into the deep end and have to figure out what’s going on and how to make your team more efficient, so my military experience has been pretty relevant.

What was the biggest learning you took away from your military service?

My time in the Navy gave me a pretty good perspective on what is important. You’re just a small part of this amazing team, and it’s usually not life and death. This isn’t a submarine; we’re building software to help people work efficiently, and if we make a mistake, people aren’t going to die. It’s definitely given me a sense of calm under pressure.

In what ways have you felt honored as a veteran at Dropbox?

Individual managers at Dropbox respect military service; especially in my interview process, they valued the fact that I have a technical background and also a strong operations focus from the military. Military service wasn’t something that needed to be translated, it was relevant and useful in and of itself.

Is there a specific time you felt challenged in your role? And how were you supported to overcome that challenge?

I’m challenged on at least a weekly (if not daily) basis as I’m coming up with big plans to drive execution for large groups. You’re working with a lot of really smart people, so you wanna make sure you’re using their time efficiently. I feel like I’m shooting from the hip a lot when I’m coming up with plans, but people are willing to work with me and give me feedback and ways to improve. It’s not a critical culture where I feel like I have to have a perfect answer before I can get people rolling on a plan.

What’s your favorite thing about Virtual First work?

I’m very excited about it because it’s a big culture change and a new challenge. Before COVID-19, I worked in the office every day; I liked coming in and having those defined boundaries. But now that I don’t have that, I really see it as an opportunity for me to grow professionally.

Are there any new hobbies you’ve been exploring during quarantine?

We have a decent sized backyard, so I’ve been getting into archery.

What’s your favorite thing about the Vets@ ERG?

It’s good to have a community of people who understand what the military means and how we can apply that to a tech company. It’s also good to hear how other people have been approaching problems in their groups, and to have a community that understands what you’ve been through.

What do you want other Dropboxers to know about the Vets@ ERG?

Vets can do great work for your team. Hiring vets is a great opportunity to get people with nontraditional backgrounds on your team — the diversity of experience is really useful for running a business, and that’s one of the tenets of our ERG.

Our ERGs are the backbone of our culture at Dropbox. You can learn more about how they support Dropboxers of all backgrounds here.