A US tech firm is set to recruit further staff at its Belfast office next year.
Oregon-based Unosquare set up in the city back in April 2017 and announced plans to create 100 jobs by the end of 2019.
Speaking ahead of his address at Digital DNA yesterday, chief executive Giancarlo Di Vece said the company is on track to have 100 Belfast roles in place this year and forecast further growth in the city in the near future.
“Our original promise was to grow our team to 100 people, but due to our successes we’re examining ways to increase beyond that number," he said.
Mr Di Vece said the quality of staff Unosquare is able to source was one of the main reasons for its continued expansion in Belfast and why the city was chosen ahead of other rival locations as its European base over two years ago.
“As a high-quality software development organisation, top-tier talent is paramount to our success. We looked at six different countries and Northern Ireland was a perfect fit for our vision of a global distributed agile augmentation company that’s committed to generating well-being in every region its works in," he continued.
The tech boss believes that despite the ongoing economic and political uncertainty in the north, Belfast remains a draw for international software companies.
“Belfast has many of the same issues as the rest of the world. Unemployment in software engineering is very low, and salaries are some of the highest in any job vertical in the country. However, Northern Ireland is full of people with big hearts, and companies that offer a purpose beyond simply offering the best salary will easily overcome these struggles."
“Because of this, there’s a lot more opportunity for companies to find success in Belfast than other big tech hubs. Additionally, the local universities based in Belfast are uniquely focused on developing top technology talent, he added.
Mr Di Vece was one of a host of keynote speakers at Digital DNA yesterday. Indigenous companies, such as
medical tech firm axial3D and smart cycle light company See.Sense were also represented at the two-day event in St George's Market.
Digital DNA, now in its sixth year, is Northern Ireland’s biggest tech and digital event.
Founded in 2009 with operations in the US, Mexico and the UK, Unosquare employs over 400 people and has been named on an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the United States in recent years.
