Scottish software firm creating 15 jobs at new £1.35m Belfast hub
TECH company Bitwise is set to create 15 jobs with a new £1.35m software centre of excellence in south Belfast.
The company, which is headquartered in Dunfermline in Scotland, has said the software engineering roles will have an average salary of £45,000.
The new Belfast hub, which is being set up in the Gasworks area of the city, represents the software development and consultancy firm’s first investment in Northern Ireland.
It will sit alongside the software centres Bitwise already runs in Sweden and the Netherlands.
The company’s software can be found across the medical, automotive, aerospace and financial sectors, in the products of some of the largest blue-chip
companies across the UK, Europe and the US.
Economic support body Invest NI offered Bitwise £97,500 toward the creation of the new jobs, which will be at consultant,
senior software engineer and software engineer levels.
Commenting on the move yesterday, the company’s founder and managing director Craig McWhirter said: “In the software sector it is always important to be one step ahead of technological changes.
“We recognise that much of our success is thanks to the strong talent in our existing engineering teams.
“By establishing a new software centre in Belfast, we will increase innovation as we tap into the high calibre of talent in Northern Ireland.
“The support we have received from Invest NI to advance our company has been invaluable.
“The Northern Ireland team will play a key role in contributing towards the growth of the company, growing sales with existing clients and developing opportunities for new clients.”
Derek Andrews, head of international investment at Invest NI, added: “We are pleased to welcome Bitwise to Northern Ireland and offer our support to create roles within the sector.
“This is a leading location for innovative software projects and Bitwise’s presence in the region will help to develop this further.
“Deeming the office as a software centre of excellence highlights the high level of skills and expertise Northern Ireland has to offer and places it as the ideal location for global companies to achieve success.”
Ross Wootton, head of strategic projects at Bitwise and local lead said: “Our software engineers have skills and expertise not readily available from other software services companies.
“Combining this with the local software engineering talent pool provides a fantastic opportunity to grow and develop our team and client base.
“The Belfast team shall integrate with the existing Bitwise teams, working on a range of interesting projects with real engineering challenges.”