QuarkWorks: Meet the Team Series — Evan Teters
By: Hannah Pratte
Tags: Mobile, Technology, Apps, iOS, Startup

Get to know Evan who joined our team in May and some of the exciting projects he has been working on.

Name:

Evan Teters

Role:

Mobile Developer (Native iOS and Android)

When did you join QuarkWorks and what led you to take on this position?

I started in late May of 2020. While interviewing, I got the feeling that QuarkWorks was a great place to quickly advance my mobile development skills on small teams with exciting projects (this feeling turned out to be correct). When interviewing, I found the team to be very friendly and very eager to learn new things, both qualities that I value extremely highly.

What excites and energizes you about the company?

You could see the above answer for some hints! At QuarkWorks, we are always trying to improve how we are writing software and use the latest technologies to do so. This keeps me learning while I work, and makes every project and feature we implement interesting and exciting.

Also exciting is our work towards developing our own product, but I’m not sure I can say much about that yet :)

What has been your favorite project to work on or are currently working on?

It is tough to decide on my favorite project. I’ve worked on 2 projects in my 4–5 months at the company, and they were both exciting in their own ways. DealTeam is a brand new app, and I really enjoyed being a part of laying the framework for great things to come and building out the core features that would define the app. Handshake is an older app, but it was really exciting to work around video streaming (for virtual career fairs) because video streaming is something that everyone at QuarkWorks is passionate about.

Advice you would give someone working at a startup?

I have found the most valuable thing that can be done while working on any tech project (no matter the size!) is to keep asking questions. Ask questions of your users, your teammates, and your peers in other companies. It is always said that you should keep learning, but the right way to figure out what you don’t know and what you should focus on is to ask! Your users will tell you what they need, and your peers will help you figure out the best solutions.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Wow that is a big question! For one, I am currently working on my Masters in computer science, focusing on computer vision in video streaming applications. That takes up a lot of my outside-of-work time! But there’s plenty more I manage to squeeze in from time to time. I like to listen to podcasts, and I always have my ear to the ground for new things to listen to and learn about. Podcasts lend themselves nicely to another hobby: taking long walks through Columbia’s sprawling trail network. To workout my creativity, I play Dungeons and Dragons with some old friends (virtually, nowadays) and if time permits I run a game or two. I also spend some time practicing and competing in tournaments for the game Super Smash Brother Ultimate, which is a great way to spend time with my brother and tap into a long-dormant competitive side of myself.

If you could be an animal, what would it be?

A sloth. Not because they reflect my personality. Rather, I hold their absolute chill on an unreasonably high pedestal. You can tell they have no worries, and I envy them that.

As ever, QuarkWorks is available to help with any software application project — web, mobile, and more! If you are interested in our services you can check out our website. We would love to answer any questions you have! Just reach out to us on our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.