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.

 

Bellevue Startup Raises $6M, Bets It all on Microsoft Cloud

Puget Sound Business Journal | Emily Parkhurst | Apr. 28

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/04/bellevue-startup-raises-6m-bets-it-all-on.html?ana=e_tf&s=newsletter&ed=2015-04-28&u=ilbLUrKrU2/jjJJmX4zKbA08463807&t=1430343760

“A small Bellevue startup announced Tuesday it has raised $6 million from some prominent investors, and it’s putting it all behind Microsoft’s cloud service, Azure. Icertis, which raised a small seed round in 2012, builds software to help companies manage their systems in Microsoft’s cloud platform. New York-based Greycroft Partners and Fidelity Growth Partners India led the round. The company plans to use the funds to grow its marketing and sales departments, as well as to build out its system for large companies that need help managing their corporate contract systems.”

Latest local job postings for Icertis

 

Best Places for Tech Jobs

Nerdwallet| Sreekar Jasthi | Apr. 27

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/best-places-tech-jobs-2015/

“The Seattle metro area, including Bellevue and Everett, is anchored by tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, as well as the region’s aerospace mainstay the Boeing Co., but there’s also room for smaller companies, such as Expedia and Zillow. Meanwhile, Google, Facebook and Twitter all have operations in the area. Among these three cities, 77 of every 1,000 jobs are in tech. Salaries are on the higher end of our list at over $108,000 a year on average. In this Pacific Northwest area, median rent is over $1,100 a month. The region also made our list of Best Places for STEM Graduates.”

 

Bothell Company Develops a Way to Recycle Plastic in Outer Space

Puget Sound Business Journal | Steve Wilhelm | Apr. 27

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/04/bothell-company-develops-a-way-to-recycle-plastic.html?ana=e_tf&s=newsletter&ed=2015-04-28&u=ilbLUrKrU2%2FjjJJmX4zKbA08463807&t=1430343763&page=2

“Tethers Unlimited has won a NASA contract to build technology that will convert waste plastic into precious tools and containers, all while in the weightless vacuum of deep space….Tethers Unlimited also is working on related technology to develop recyclable packing materials so that the packaging used to bring anything to the International Space Station could then find a second life as feedstock for the Positrusion device, said Rob Hoyt, Tethers Unlimited CEO….Tethers Unlimited has been expanding out from its initial mission, which was developing filament technologies to drag no-longer-usable satellites out of orbit. The company now employs 25 people and is looking for additional engineers, Hoyt said.”

Latest Local Job Postings for Tethers Unlimited

 

Is Seattle Silicon Valley’s Next Favorite Stop?

Tech Crunch | Hadi Partovi | Apr. 25

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/25/is-seattle-silicon-valleys-next-favorite-stop

“There’s a misconception that tech companies expand beyond Silicon Valley to reduce costs – because software engineers demand too much in salaries. This is clearly not the case – and in fact, software engineering salaries in Seattle are on average second only to the Bay Area. The more important factor is that there simply aren’t enough high-caliber, experienced software engineers in Silicon Valley to feed the ambitions and growth potential of these companies. And when they look to expand to open a new engineering office, Seattle stands out as the first stop for three reasons…”

 

Amazon’s Headcount Rises to 165K as Microsoft’s Layoffs Take Hold

GeekWire | Blaire Hanley Frank | Apr. 23

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/chart-amazons-headcount-continues-meteoric-rise-as-microsofts-layoffs-take-hold/

“Amazon’s employee base continued its meteoric rise during the beginning of this year, reaching an even 165,000 employees by the end of the first quarter. That’s a 32 percent increase year-over-year, and a 7 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2014, when the company had 154,100 employees. It’s another sign of the tech giant’s continued rise, and is fueled by both growth from its office employees as well as continued hiring for work in Amazon’s 109 fulfillment centers, putting together packages for shipping to customers. Overall, the company had a better than expected first quarter, reporting $22.7 billion in revenue.”

Latest Local Job Postings for Amazon