Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in Carroll, IA, attended the Raikes School from 2014-2018, majoring in computer science with minors in business and math.
Can you share about your career path?
I first got involved with Buildertrend as a freshman intern on the Design Studio project they were sponsoring, and decided to accept the summer internship they offered as a result. I had a great experience, and learned a ton about how businesses truly operate, and how developers and other roles fit into that. After a fantastic internship experience with Hudl my sophomore summer and the following school year, I was offered the chance to help build Buildertrend’s summer internship program during my junior summer. There was a group of about 20 peers that I helped mentor and manage as we worked on various business efforts from around the company.
Upon leaving the Raikes School, I joined Buildertrend full-time and began working on the financial portion of the platform. This involved supporting the tools and views that our clients use to manage their cash flow. I also helped build out integrations with other financial tools, like sending information to different accounting systems and collecting payments online.
Over time, I progressed to leading efforts as a senior developer, before eventually making the jump to architecture. In my current role as a software architect, it is our team’s responsibility to help shape the technical side of the platform, and to make sure that all the individual puzzle pieces that each team is working on fit together in the end.
What do you enjoy most about your position?
In architecture, one of my duties is to stay ahead of the rest of the development department in terms of tooling, technologies, and techniques, so exploring new tech to see how it might be useful, or setting up new patterns that teams should be following is always enjoyable. Probably one of the best parts of my job is mentoring other developers, either by getting the chance to teach them something brand new, or to work through a problem together and hear the excitement in their voice as they start to see the solution unfold in front of them. It’s just a feeling that never gets old!
What skills from the Raikes School have served you well?
The one skill that I always go back to is communication. It was drilled into us through all those classes, group presentations, and sponsor meetings. The ability to tailor your message to your audience is something that can only be learned through practice. It can be really difficult to close the gap between the technical side and the business side, especially when they aren’t speaking a common vocabulary. The unique situations we were in through Design Studio and other classes really honed that ability, and now I always feel confident that I can speak effectively to everyone in the room.
Can you share a favorite Raikes School memory?
I’ll never forget the nights before our homework assignments were due in our computer science class of freshman year. The lounge was packed with everyone trying to get just that one last piece working before turning in the code (and printing out the paper copy). It was rough getting through those assignments, but just knowing that everyone was right there with you made it alright. Those nights were when we really banded together. While it wasn’t that great in the moment, looking back, it was an awesome community to be a part of!
Three fun facts about Daric Teske
- I smoke a mean pulled pork.
- I love 3D modeling and printing - I have both a traditional filament printer and a resin printer.
- I am currently serving as the president of the Habitat for Humanity Young Professionals group in Omaha. We're always looking for new members!
