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.

 

Watch Out San Francisco, Boston, San Diego: Washington State Launches Life Sciences Recruiting Campaign

Puget Sound Business Journal | Annie Zak | June 30

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/06/watch-out-san-francisco-boston-san-diego.html

“Recruiting top talent to life sciences and biotech companies in Washington state can be a challenge…Now, the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association is launching an initiative to boost hiring efforts. WBBA President Chris Rivera said the organization will start advertising across the country, including in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Boston, to draw talent…Rivera said that in talking to biotech companies here such as Juno Therapeutics, NanoString, CMC Biologics and others, he’s heard that about 30 percent to two-thirds of the higher-level employees come from outside of the state or country.”

 

This App Calls Itself the Tinder for Jobs

USA Today | Jaleesa Jones | June 30

http://college.usatoday.com/2015/06/30/switch-mobile-app-find-jobs-tinder/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories

“What if a right swipe was all that stood between you and your dream career? That’s the premise of Switch, a discreet iOS mobile app dubbed the “Tinder for jobs.” Switch allows users to set up a profile and share their resume. The platform then creates a default, anonymized profile, which shows limited information about the user and is hidden from all companies listed on his or her resume. Candidates’ complete profiles are also withheld from internal HR professionals and hiring managers until both parties swipe right and connect.”

 

Unikrn Raises $7M from Mark Cuban and Others to Create a Global Esports Betting Powerhouse

GeekWire | Tricia Duryee | June 30

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/unikrn-raises-7m-from-mark-cuban-and-others-to-create-a-global-esports-betting-powerhouse/

“The cash being announced will go towards hiring and a marketing budget. Today, it has 10 employees in Seattle (19 internationally), and is looking to hire engineers and has openings for a head up product and a head of marketing. But you won’t see Unikrn ramp up too quickly. “I think based on how it’s scaling, we can generate a very viable healthy business with a small number of people and still keep it growing,” Sood said.”

Latest Job Postings at Unikrn

 

Seattle Cloud Startup SkyKick Raises $10 Million, Plans to Hire 30

Puget Sound Business Journal | Jacob Demmitt | June 30

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/06/seattle-cloud-startup-skykick-raises-10-million.html

“The company, which has doubled its employee count since last year to 70 workers, announced today it has raised $10 million from existing investors. The round was led by former Qwiki COO Navin Thukkaram, angel Investor Tim Ferriss and several strategic private equity investors. That brings the company’s total funding to $17.2 million.”

Latest Job Postings at SkyKick

 

Juno CEO Hans Bishop: the $1 Billion Celgene Deal Could Be the ‘Most Productive’ Collaboration in Biotech

GeekWire | John Cook | June 29

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/juno-ceo-hans-bishop-the-1-billion-celgene-deal-could-be-the-most-productive-collaboration-in-biotech/

“Juno, which employs 123 people, will use the cash infusion to bolster its scientific team and move products into clinical trials faster…’First and foremost, and probably most importantly, it is in the people that we are hiring. I think this will give us a greater potential to hire people with expanded capabilities. We also will hopefully move a bit faster across our pipeline and with manufacturing. And, hopefully as well, as we go out and find more assets that are outside of Juno, we will have greater opportunity to invest in business development opportunities.’”

Latest Job Postings at Juno

 

• REI Outgrows Kent Space, Considers Options for New HQ
• Puget Sound Business Journal | Mark Stiles | June 26

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2015/06/exclusive-rei-outgrows-kent-space-considers.html

“REI is in the very early stages of looking for a place that the outdoor-gear company could grow.

The 77-year-old cooperative employs more than 1,100 people at its Kent headquarters, and is growing at such a clip that it’s moving 280 tech employees to a new office in Bellevue, the company said Thursday… REI owns its Kent headquarters. Kent Economic & Community Development Director Ben Wolters said REI is one of the city’s largest private employers.”

Latest Job Postings at REI

 

Oracle Hiring More Than 100 in Seattle to Take on Amazon, Rapidly Grow Cloud Business

Puget Sound Business Journal | Jacob Demmitt | June 24

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/06/oracle-hiring-more-than-100-in-seattle-to-take-on.html

“He couldn’t share specific employment numbers, but he pointed me to the company’s website, where more than 100 Seattle-area product development jobs are listed, including 56 jobs that went up in the past 28 days. “The proof is in the pudding,” Ketkar added. Oracle, which is based in Redwood City, California, first opened its cloud development center in Seattle last year. It hired 100 workers to start, but had plans to hire hundreds more over the next few years.”

Latest Job Postings at Oracle