Silicon Valley Tech Company To Create 150 Belfast Jobs

A Silicon Valley tech company that specialises in fraud protection has announced it's first ever investment in Northern Ireland, with 150 jobs to be created in Belfast.

Signifyd is launching a global research and development centre in Cathedral Quarter, which will broaden the firm's European presence while generating almost £5 million each year in salaries.

The expansion puts the company in an ideal position to serve it's global markets and tackle the variety of fraud challenges that different regions of the world present. The centre will house a team of top engineers driving Signifyd innovation globally, while supporting teams around the world.

Invest NI has offered the company £981,500 of support to recruit a range of technical and professional positions that each attract an average salary of more than £30k.

Alastair Hamilton, CEO of Invest Northern Ireland, said: "The addition of Signifyd to the payment technology sector in Northern Ireland is very welcome. This investment will contribute nearly £5m in annual salaries to the local economy and add a diverse range of roles, enriching the skills base in Northern Ireland and enhancing the region's reputation and technology capability.

"The centre will employ 151 staff to be recruited over a three- to five-year period, with roles in software engineering, data, risk and fraud analytics, along with customer success positions."

The company's technology leverages big data, machine learning and expert manual review to provide a 100 percent financial guarantee against fraud on approved orders. The result is a friction-free buying experience that effectively shifts the liability for fraud away from ecommerce merchants, allowing them to increase sales and open new markets while reducing risk.

"As we studied different locations to expand our engineering footprint, Belfast stood out for its talent pool and its proximity to better service our European customers," said Signifyd Co-Founder and CEO Raj Ramanand. "We'd also like to thank Invest NI for the assistance they provided during this initial assessment.

"We are based right here in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and look forward to building a world-class team to lead our innovation and help our customers provide the kind of shopping experiences today's consumers expect."

Trevor McCullough, Director of Engineering at the new R&D centre, said he expects the centre to be on an aggressive growth path, something he looks forward to.

"This is the kind of opportunity that those passionate about technology live for," he said.

"We'll be rapidly building a team from the ground up, which in the end, will make the business lives of thousands of customers better. The chance to be a part of a team like that doesn't come along all that often."



(JG)