When Tavish Ledesma was a kid, he already knew what he wanted to be, a computer game programmer. He built his first computer in middle school, took programming classes in high school, and fell in love with solving problems through code. By the time college decisions rolled around, he wanted a hands-on program, small classrooms, and direct access to professors and Oregon Tech checked every box.
“I didn’t want to sit in a giant lecture hall and be one of the masses. I wanted direct access to professors and a hands-on experience.”
That decision paid off quickly. Tavish earned an Intel scholarship that required him to study engineering at an Oregon public school, and it helped open the door to internships and early career momentum. But his Oregon Tech story wasn’t only about academics, it was about community.
He still remembers moving into the residence halls and instantly feeling like he’d found his people. As he settled in, he found more ways to plug into campus. He hosted a radio show on KTEC, worked as a Tech Ambassador giving tours and supporting admissions, and tutored, building skills that would later become key in his career.
After graduating in 2004, Tavish stepped into a full-time role at Intel and stayed for 10 years. Early on, he noticed something missing, connection among young employees. So he built it.
He started a recent college graduate employee group from scratch, created a system to invite every new hire into the community, recruited volunteers, and built programming that blended fun events with meaningful leadership access.
Over time, the group grew to more than 10,000 employees.
That work caught the attention of Intel’s CEO, who invited Tavish to help modernize the company’s culture and global brand to better attract new talent. Tavish wasn’t doing any of this because it was in his job description. He did it because he saw a problem and knew how to build a solution, a very Oregon Tech mindset.
“Find a problem, find a community that’s underserved, and build something to solve it.”
After a decade at Intel, Tavish spotted a college recruiting role at SpaceX. Applied, and within weeks, he was in Los Angeles, employee counts were still small, and the pace was intense.
At SpaceX, he helped lead university recruiting, then built a full-stack automated recruiting platform to help scale hiring, a tool recognized internally for innovation and impact.
From there, Tavish joined Greenhouse in New York, where he designed and launched a brand-new product that went on to generate significant annual revenue. Later, he moved into people technology leadership at Dropbox and eventually landed at OpenAI during an early period of rapid growth.
At OpenAI, he built analytics and operational systems to support scaling, then helped design and launch the intern program and hired the company’s software engineering interns. The common thread across every stop is consistent: Tavish blends technology and people. He builds tools, but he also builds experiences, culture, and connection.
“Every resume is a person. It’s always about people.”
Outside of work, Tavish stays grounded in the same creative interests that have always fueled him. He’s a longtime karaoke regular, a former yoga instructor with an ongoing personal practice, and a lifelong gamer. He enjoys everything from PC gaming to tabletop and card games, and he’s especially excited about the idea of helping grow an Oregon Tech alumni gaming network, a space where Owls can reconnect, build community, and have fun together across generations.