Seattle software startup Apptentive raises $3.6M to hire new workers

Casey Coombs | Puget Sound Business Journal | 16 Nov 2016

“Apptentive has raised $3.6 million to expand operations.

The Seattle-based customer engagement startup plans to use the funds to hire new staff.

“We’re opportunistically raising money now to accelerate our sales activities, further develop our product and continue the hard work of building rich communication profiles for over 140 million people every month,” said co-founder and CEO Robi Ganguly. “We’re using the new round to double our engineering, sales and customer success teams.”

Apptentive aims to grow its current head count of 30 to 45 or 55 next year, he said.”

Read more here.

Apptentive job openings.

 

Want To Become A Data Scientist? Where The Jobs Are And What Employers Are Looking For

Rob Sentz | Contributor at Forbes.com | 16 Nov 2016

“As we consider what parts of the labor market thrived in 2016 and what will continue to gain momentum in 2017, it’s hard to miss the demand for data scientists: people who are, according to SAS, “part mathematician, part computer scientist, and part trend spotter” and “straddle both the business and IT worlds” to analyze complex business problems using large datasets.

In this data-dominated era, everything and everyone produces a digital paper trail. If businesses want to gain an edge, they need to be able to tap into those large, elusive data sets to make better decisions about how products are built, markets are found, clients and employees are supported, and sales are generated. Hence the need for data scientists. It has become crucial to employ analysts who can turn all that raw information into actionable insight—so much so that many positions, ranging from financial analysts and computer systems analysts to statisticians and economists, are increasingly engaged in the art of data science.”

Read more here.

 

Developer bootcamp Coding Dojo launches Amazon Alexa training program

Monica Nicklesburg | GeekWire | 15 Nov 2016

“Coding Dojo, a Bellevue, Wash.-based developer bootcamp, is launching a new training program for Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, starting today.

It’s the latest sign of the rising popularity of voice-enabled virtual assistants. Alexa has emerged as the early leader in a market that also includes offerings from Apple, Google, Microsoft and others.

Coding Dojo is adding an Alexa skills module to its 14-week program. Coding Dojo is also launching a YouTube series on building Alexa skills and hosting a hackathon led by Amazon Alexa employees in February next year. The event will be held at Coding Dojo’s San Jose, Calif. campus.”

Read more here.

 

Job Training Program Finds Good Home at Community Colleges

Johnny Magdaleno | Next City | 15 Nov 2016

“With students landing jobs at big-name employers like Google, Airbnb and Twitter, Year Up is one of the few workforce development programs targeting youth from low-income backgrounds that’s generating some real excitement.

And for good reason: It’s working. According to the organization, about 90 percent of its more than 2,500 graduates in 2015 were working full-time or enrolled toward a college degree four months after their yearlong tenure with the program came to an end. Those with jobs secured an average starting salary of $36,000.”

Read more here.

 

Want a job? Facebook is hiring

Anita Balakrishnan | CNBC | 15 Nov 2016

“Over the past month, the company has had hundreds of positions posted in recruiting, sales and marketing, data and analytics, infrastructure, virtual reality and software engineering, with some overlap.

Top categories include:

144 positions posted in recruiting

234 positions in sales and marketing

124 positions in data and analytics

170 positions in infrastructure

138 positions at virtual reality company Oculus

199 software engineering positions.

Though Facebook is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company will be recruiting top talent “both in the Bay Area and beyond,” Wehner said. Postings included New York, Seattle, Tel Aviv, London, Singapore, Boston, Buenos Aires and Paris, for instance.”

Read more here.