Part of the WTIA’s mission is to grow a strong and sustainable workforce, which means we’re passionate about keeping local talent plugged into our state’s technology industry. In addition to our job board, every Wednesday we’ll be keeping you connected to Washington’s job market with the latest in local hiring news.

 

Alibaba, the Chinese Amazon, Might Pick Seattle for U.S. HQ

Seattle PI | Staff | Apr. 1

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Alibaba-the-Chinese-Amazon-might-pick-Seattle-6172445.php

“Alibaba, the e-commerce giant based in China, may establish a U.S. headquarters in Seattle, the company, which opened an office in Seattle last year, might want to set up a headquarters in Amazon’s hometown for the easy of recruiting staff and for rents lower than in such tech hubs as San Francisco…The Wall Street Journal notes that Alibaba is the world’s largest e-commerce site, by some measures. ‘Alibaba is the most popular destination for online shopping, in the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market. Transactions on its online sites totaled $248 billion last year, more than those of eBay and Amazon.com combined,’ The Wall Street Journal reported.”

Latest local job postings for Alibaba are pending.

 

Anti-Business? Seattle and State Near the Top in Jobs at Small Firms

Seattle Times | Jon Talton | Mar. 31

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/anti-business-seattle-and-state-near-top-in-jobs-at-small-firms/

“Washington state ranks No. 2 nationwide and Seattle is No. 4 among cities in job creation at small businesses, according to a new study from Paychex, which provides payroll, benefits, insurance and human resources outsourcing to small- and medium-sized firms, and the research company IHS… Seattle and Washington benefit from the small-business ecosystem surrounding aerospace, exporting and logistics, as well as tourism. There’s the start-up expansion here. And an ethos that values and patronizes small businesses.”

 

Tech Startups Finding Homes Outside Silicon Valley

Investopedia | Brett Relander | Mar. 31

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/033115/tech-startups-finding-homes-outside-silicon-valley.asp

“Seattle is rapidly evolving into a serious competitor for Silicon Valley in its ability to attract tech ventures. In fact, with more than one thousand Google engineers working in Seattle, according to The New York Times, it is the second-largest Google home base outside Silicon Valley. Other big name tech giants that call Seattle home, or at least have offices there, include eBay, Amazon, and Facebook. When Seattle Mayor Ed Murray recently opened GeekWire Startup Day 2015, he touted numerous factors that make Seattle the ideal locale for starting a company, including the region’s diversity and livability.”

 

Porch.com Moves to Former Zulily Space in Sodo, Could Grow to 600 Employees

Puget Sound Business Journal | Rachel Lerman | Mar. 29

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/03/porch-com-moves-to-former-zulily-space-in-sodo.html

“Porch.com is moving its pack of home improvement developers and team to Sodo, to a building formerly occupied by Seattle online retailer Zulily. Porch is doubling its office space to 50,000 square feet with the move. The company will begin moving employees in the next couple weeks, and will be fully moved by June…Porch will occupy two floors in the Cobalt Building initially, and has the option to expand to the entire 122,000-square-foot building. If Porch takes the option to expand to the whole building, the company would have room for more than 600 employees. The fast-growing home improvement software startup now has more than 350 employees packed into 27,000 square feet in the Eastlake neighborhood. The company has grown rapidly in the last 18 months — Porch had 25 employees when it launched a year and a half ago.”

Latest local job postings for Porch.com

 

HBO Plans Major Expansion of Seattle Office

Seattle Times | Sanjay Bhatt | Mar. 26

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/hbo-plans-major-expansion-of-seattle-office/

“HBO has inked a lease for 112,000 square feet at Hill7, a big jump from its current office space in Metropolitan Park East, officials said Thursday…Since opening a Seattle office in 2013, HBO has gone from about 8,000 square feet to more than 25,000 square feet at Metropolitan Park East at 1730 Minor Ave…’We are expanding our Seattle footprint so we can further tap into the local talent,’ HBO said in a statement. ‘The plan is to grow off of our current 90 employees in the area of technology as well as create additional positions that will support a variety of departments throughout HBO.’”

Latest local job postings for HBO