Austin’s thriving tech scene is home to hundreds of companies hungry for talent. With one of the lowest unemployment rates in Texas, our city seems to have opportunities knocking at the door. Ready for a change? We caught up with five local tech teams hiring now to help you determine if you’re a good fit.
What they do: Some big tech names have gotten behind the machine learning work by CognitiveScale. Since its launch in 2013, the AI startup has gained investor backing from Microsoft Ventures and Intel Capital while strategically partnering with IBM and Deloitte. CognitiveScale develops learning technologies to increase customer engagement, inform decision making and set in motion self-learning business processes.
Why you want to work here: Peace of mind! In addition to free catered lunches every day, CognitiveScale employees can attend weekly yoga classes and meditation sessions. The company also makes giving back a priority by partnering with Communities in Schools, which supports underserved students.
A note from the CEO: “My philosophy has always been to hire adults and treat them like adults," said Akshay Sabhikhi. "Be transparent during the hiring process to all your candidates and make sure you answer all of their questions candidly. When they sign an offer, I want them to be excited and also know that we've covered all the bases beforehand so that they come onboard with confidence. It's on us to provide them with the appropriate runway for their first few months and set them up for repeatable success. We owe that to each person who says yes to the opportunity, and I love watching talent surpass expectations and supporting them with coaching, learning, and a work culture that permits them to be their best selves every day."
What they do: Brightpearl’s retail management platform provides SMB owners with tools to manage their businesses more efficiently. Its solutions automate processes like orders and fulfillment, accounting, inventory, CRM and more. Since its 2007 launch, the company’s client base has grown to 1,200 business in 26 countries.
Why you want to work here: With offices in Bristol and San Francisco, Brightpearl recently expanded to Austin, working out of Capital Factory. In addition to the perks that come from working at the co-working space — cold brew on tap, snacks, killer downtown views — employees get access to 20 PTO days plus 12 paid holidays, share options, 100 percent paid medical and a work environment that welcomes your opinion.
A note from leadership: "With the recent relocation to Austin, Brightpearl has created an opportunity for highly qualified individuals to work with the world’s number one software in its segment. Additionally, we now have a scenario for you to be part of the passionate people who are building a strong culture from the ground up. That alone makes working at Brightpearl so unique.” said Derek Rosenzweig, Head of Global Partnerships. "Although we are growing fast, quality is our priority. Austin has no shortage of talent, but we are careful to protect what makes Brightpearl so special internally and to our customers."
What they do: For companies that rely heavily on video collaboration and conferencing, Vyopta’s platform can help manage the various video vendors they lean on. Through Vyopta’s interface, companies can view and grow user adoption, improve user experience, respond to tech support requests and optimize costs across the various channels used.
Why you want to work here: Weekly — I repeat — weekly bring your dog to work day. Plus, the company offers buffet Tuesdays, beer during Friday all hand meetings, sporadic street fighter tournaments, company-wide fantasy football leagues, continued learning opportunities and team charitable work.
A note from the CEO: “One of the biggest things I love about the team is that we’re eager to learn from each other,” said Alfredo Ramirez. “As our team expands, we gain new ideas and experiences that help shape our culture and improve how we work together. What’s more, we have studied how other amazing organizations (e.g., Atlassian, Netflix, Hubspot) have approached the challenge of building and sustaining a great team and culture. We take great ideas and mix them in with our own personal perspectives to come up with a culture that is true to Vyopta. Our goal is simple: build an organization that can accomplish great things, where we push each other to constantly grow, and where we enjoy working with each other.”
What they do: Launched in 2004, uShip’s online shipping marketplace has served over 3.5 million customers by providing affordable and efficient transport options. Based in Austin, uShip launched its European headquarters in Amsterdam in 2010 and has 11 additional offices across Europe, Asia, North, Central and South America.
Why you want to work here: uShip’s in-house chef preps lunch and breakfast daily for all employees in its state-of-the-art office located off East Riverside near Lady Bird Lake. Additional perks include flexible spending and 401(k) plans, stock options, and an environment where creativity, initiative and bringing your pup to work are encouraged.
A note from recruiting: “Who says work can’t be fun? Not us. Not only is uShip the world’s largest online shipping marketplace, we’ve also got a few tricks up our sleeves to make sure our employees want to come to work every day.”
What they do: AlienVault’s cybersecurity solutions include both open-sourced and commercial offerings to protect their clients against threats. On AlienVault’s crowd-sourcing platform, Open Threat Exchange, members can share and exchange information within a global community of threat researchers to help avoid future attacks.
Why you want to work here: Perks on perks on perks. AlienVault offers its employees 401(k) plans, a company discount plan, ten paid holidays plus PTO, a travel assist program, life insurance plans paid 100 percent by the company, employee assistance program and the AlienVault Excellence Award Program — to name a few.
A note from leadership: “We employ masters who can unashamedly brag about creating outrageously impressive software,” said Yariv Kaplan, VP of engineering. “If the following describes you, we definitely want to meet you: You love to learn about scalable computing, machine learning, parallel programming, OS internals, big data and cybersecurity. You focus on delivering great software but are pragmatic and not bothered by using spaces vs. tabs (or vice versa). You are agnostic to programming languages and operating systems because you explored different technologies. You love to teach others and learn. You care about people and your attitude reflects that.”
