In this episode, Chief Technologist John Janek talks with Christi Porter, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, and Ashley Crute, Associate for Innovative Work Based Learning Initiatives at the Virginia Talent and Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) on the latest DevCast episode. The conversation highlights the significance of the internship experience for students in the state.

Ashley discusses V-TOP’s mission to provide high-quality internships for Virginia students, emphasizing the program's role in career readiness, finding opportunities, and resources for employers. Christi shares insights into Dev Technology's successful internship program, highlighting our focus on mentorship, professional development, and company-wide investment in intern success. The discussion also touches on the upcoming Virginia Intern Day, a celebration of the state's top employers for interns, which aims to emphasize the importance of internships in shaping students' future careers.

The conversation concludes with resources available for both employers and students through V-TOP and Dev Technology Group's plans for continued engagement and recruitment, as well as celebrating the company as a 2025 Top Employers for Interns.

Join Chief Technologist, John Janek and Technical Director for Digital Security, Niroop Gonchikar, as they discuss the concept of Zero Trust and its practical applications in cybersecurity. They explore its application across various environments, emphasizing the philosophy behind constant authentication and authorization to enhance security. The conversation includes insights from Niroop's experience at the Zero Trust Summit, where government agencies and vendors discussed their progress and challenges.

They highlight the importance of making security easy for users, leveraging AI, maintaining continuous delivery and monitoring, and the evolving complexities of modern digital environments. The discussion also touches on the necessity of mentoring, community, and systemic understanding in developing secure codes and systems.

Join Chief Technologist John Janek and Darryle Stephens, a program manager at Dev, discuss the integration of AI tools in program and project management. The conversation delves into the practical applications of AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and how it can enhance efficiency in day-to-day tasks like meeting transcription, scheduling, and research.

Darryle shares his journey of adapting to using AI tools, the benefits observed, and the potential future advancements. John and Darryle also address common concerns and misgivings about AI, emphasizing its role as a tool that augments rather than replaces human capabilities also touching on prompt engineering. Darryle concludes the conversation by sharing practical advice for colleagues and others on embracing and exploring AI tools to save time and enhance productivity.

Join Chief Technologist John Janek and special guest John Ferry, President of Trenchant Analytics, LLC on the latest DevCast episode. In this episode, Ferry shares his transition from military service to government contracting and elaborates on the challenges and strategies in government contracting. He also highlights the importance of understanding both users and customers and navigating the complexities of public sector procurement. Touching on industry conferences, Ferry shares his candid advice for getting the best return on investment attending events and shares strategies and the idea of changing your approach to generate a better experience.

He also speaks to the necessity of creating meaningful products amid the shift from services to products and introduces his initiative, the GovCon Chatham House, a forum for candid industry discussions. The conversation concludes with touching on the GovCon community and the significance of mission-driven work in the public sector.

Join Chief Technologist John Janek and Cheryl Casas, an application developer at Dev, as they talk about the AWS re:Invent 2024 Conference held in Las Vegas on December 2-6. In this episode, Cheryl shares valuable insights and lessons learned from the conference including the vendors and innovations that help support her work on the cloud team at Dev. She also highlights the positive experience of being able to connect with technologists from all over the world and participate in the women in technology community events. John and Cheryl also discuss the challenges of navigating the vast event and the significance of AWS hosting these large technical conferences.

John and Cheryl touch on the importance of continued learning opportunities in the tech community and how these types of conferences are valuable to help support mission success. The conversation underscores the importance of sharing knowledge within one’s company and community.

Join Chief Technologist John Janek, Senior Director Becky Crane, and Technical Director for Digital Identity and Biometrics Niroop Gonchikar discuss legacy modernization and AI. They explore the nuances of transitioning from mainframe systems to more modern technology solutions. They highlight how legacy systems are a critical part of the information technology infrastructure including strategies for modernizing systems to support business functions and prioritizing collaboration among stakeholders.

John, Becky, and Niroop also touch on the potential impacts of AI in aiding these modernization processes and how these tools can be continuously explored to deliver value to our government customers. Listen to their conversation to hear more.

Join Chief Technologist John Janek, Senior Director Sam Hale, and Principal Application Architect Jay Merrifield talk about their roles on the program and technical side of Dev Technology’s mission delivery work for the government. Sam discusses program management and strategies for exceeding expectations by design, sharing insights on proactive contract transitions, Dev’s workforce management strategy, and the importance of cross-collaboration. Jay speaks on the technical components of delivering rapid and reliable solutions in a complex government tech environment, while highlighting the benefits of innovative technologies to help improve delivery and automation. Together, they highlight the importance of building trust, transparency, and clear communication both within teams and with stakeholders to achieve mission success.

Join Chief Technologist John Janek and Chief Operating Officer Ryan Madden as they talk about the culture at Dev Technology, our people, community initiatives, and what it’s like to work at the company. Ryan also dives in on this idea of being Hungry, Humble, and Smart and how it shows up within the Dev culture and why we look for it when it comes to potential candidates. It is also reflective in our company mission –Exceeding Expectations by Design which is a core part of the Dev Technology mission. Listen to the conversation as Ryan and John share more about what we look for in potential candidates, practical advice for job seekers, and what makes Dev so successful when supporting our clients.

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