No matter where we work: Javier, Maya, and Lauren on what it’s like to work in tech in the city that never sleeps

Four years ago, in the heart of New York City, we opened our first East Coast office. Since then, it’s become home to a talented, lively group who have relocated from around the world to work in the city that never sleeps. Three of these team members are Javier, Maya, and Lauren. Their journeys to New York may differ but their love for the location is strong.

Javier traveled quite a lot before he ended up in New York. After working in consulting in Europe and Latin America for several years, he was recruited by our Dropbox Dublin office, and eventually moved once more to work in NYC as a Director of Sales. While the team he led in Dublin was composed of 16 different nationalities and just as many characters, he wasn’t sure what to expect of New Yorkers.

“I came here to lead a team I didn’t know,” said Javier. “When people usually think of New Yorkers, they think they’re very hard. But that is not the case inside these walls. Even though it was a different location, the culture, the people, the way of doing things was the same. It’s not what you expect from a NY office. Everyone is very friendly and smiley. We’re all very supportive and very close — while still being competitive in a healthy way!”

Maya, one of our project managers on the data campaigns team, also found the friendly office vibes important in helping her to transition to a new location. She moved to New York after working in San Francisco for two years, one of which was as part of our rotational program for employees straight out of college. While she enjoyed San Francisco, NYC felt a little extra special to her.

“Being in the large (and rapidly growing) San Francisco office was exciting, but it was impossible to know everyone. What’s really nice here is that even if you don’t know everyone’s name, you recognize people, and they’re always smiling and saying hello. It can transform your day!”

“The most interesting part of this office is how many unique coffee chats I’ve had. We’re not tech robots! This office works really hard, but everyone has so many unique hobbies and things they do outside the office, and they bring that energy back here.”

Indeed, the energy of their downtown NYC location is something that everyone at this Dropbox office seems to love. Manager of Enterprise Sales Lauren is a New York native, but she’s found that this particular area holds so much excitement — and, because of its proximity to so many other businesses, potential for building much stronger customer relationships.

“There are tons of startups in the area, so there’s this energy with everyone trying to put NYC technology companies on the map. I’ve been in tech my whole career, but NYC definitely has its own underdog tech flair.”

“As a sales team, we can walk 5 minutes and meet with countless customers. It’s a huge benefit for our team; we’re not getting in the car and driving hours for meetings. You’re really able to build formal and informal relationships with your customers by just walking out the door.”

Want to learn more about how you can be part of our NYC office’s vibrant energy? Check out our jobs page.