A Boston software engineering firm has unveiled 75 new jobs for its new development centre in Belfast, which will offer salaries averaging more than £40,000.
Rapid7, which specialises in security solutions, has already recruited 30 new employees at its new technology hub, where they will be designing and building software for the firm’s 3,000 global customers.
The recruitment of the team of ICT specialists marks a £3m annual boost to the Northern Ireland economy in an investment that has received a grant of more than £500,000 from Invest NI.
The new positions will be filled over the next three years and placements will also be offered to university students in the coming months.
It is the tenth company to invest its resources and set up business in Northern Ireland since the start of April this year, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster confirmed yesterday at Invest NI headquarters.
The new posts will involve the creation of on-premises software and cloud-based services to help expand the firm’s customer base in Asia and Europe.
Staff will also partner with other Rapid7 software teams based in North America in a bid to grow the firm’s overall operation, which already serves nearly 3,000 enterprises and government agencies in more than 78 countries.
The company’s free products are also downloaded more than one million times a year.
Chief executive of Rapid7, Corey Thomas, said the Massachusetts firm had been persuaded to set up shop in Northern Ireland following the encouragement of the First and Deputy First Minister Minister during a trade mission to Boston last year.
“We were drawn to Northern Ireland because of the local culture and we were impressed with the excellent business environment – particularly the close working relationship between government, industry and academia,” Mr Thomas said.
He also stressed the firm had been won over by the calibre of our university courses, which produce world-class students with just the right skill-set.
“All the companies we have spoken to who have set up here have had a wonderful experience and I expect we will probably hear of others in the near future,” he said.