SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8/AP) - Amazon opened an 85-thousand-square-foot "Tech Hub" in University City Thursday that the tech giant says will create 300 new jobs in the areas of software development, machine learning, cloud computing and digital entertainment.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Assemblyman Todd Gloria attended the grand opening event.
Amazon's San Diego expansion is the brainchild of Nate Wiger, a UC San Diego graduate who proposed the idea in 2016 while working at Amazon's Irvine office. The expansion will serve as one of Amazon's 17 Tech Hubs in the US and Canada , not including the company's Seattle headquarters.
On Wednesday, Amazon announced the expansion of its San Diego Tech Hub office, located in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.’s Campus Pointe in the University Town Center neighborhood of San Diego.
This expansion will allow the company to more than double its tech workforce in the area. Together with its customer fulfillment facilities, Amazon has created more than 39,000 jobs in California and since 2011 invested over $19 billion in the state, including infrastructure and compensation to its employees.
Photo Credit: John Cameron/Amazon
“Amazon is excited to create more tech jobs in San Diego – a city with terrific talent and a culture of innovation,” said Nate Wiger, General Manager of Amazon’s new San Diego office. “We look forward to more than doubling our investment in the area, and hiring local talent to fill exciting roles across Amazon. Thank you to all our partners across the city and the state for helping us create these new jobs, and contributing to the already vibrant innovation economy in San Diego.”
“San Diego is a place where ideas take shape and innovation happens. Our entrepreneurial spirit, innovative culture and top-ranking universities make our city the perfect location for Amazon’s newest tech hub,” said Mayor Faulconer. “This new facility is an investment in San Diego’s growing innovation economy, our talented workforce and the relationship we have with one of the world’s leading companies, and I can’t wait to see what exciting new technologies Amazon will be developing right here in America’s Finest City.”
Photo Credit: John Cameron/Amazon
Amazon’s San Diego Tech Hub is one of 17 Tech Hubs outside of Seattle that employ over 17,500 people across North America who invent and build new products and services for Amazon customers. The teams in San Diego develop software systems that power AmazonFresh, Prime Now, Amazon Web Services (AWS), supply chain tech, and prevent fraud and abuse on Amazon. San Diego-based engineers and scientists recently played a key role in the launch of Whole Foods Market pickup and delivery via Prime Now, Alexa features for grocery shopping, and data-driven and machine learning innovations to further protect Amazon customers. Additionally, the Amazon Game Studios team located in San Diego is in the process of creating a new game world that will harness AWS’s cloud computing services and Twitch to connect players worldwide.
For more information on the company’s San Diego Tech Hub, visit Amazon’s Day One blog.
Photo Credit: John Cameron/Amazon
Since 2011, Amazon has invested over $19 billion in California, from building customer fulfillment infrastructure and research facilities to compensation to its teams. The company estimates that these direct investments in the state contributed an additional $15 billion to California’s economy (2011-2017) and generated an additional 50,000 indirect jobs on top of the company’s direct hires. There are also more than 175,000 small and medium-sized businesses in California growing their businesses with Amazon, and the state was named #2 on Amazon’s Top Ten Entrepreneurial States.
Over the past seven years, the company has invested more than $160 billion in the U.S., including corporate offices, development and research centers, fulfillment infrastructure, and compensation to its employees.
With more than 575,000 employees worldwide, Amazon ranks #1 on The Harris Poll’s Corporate Reputation survey and #2 in Fortune’s World Most Admired Companies. To learn more about working at Amazon, click here.
Candidates interested in applying for open roles in San Diego can visit amazon.jobs/SanDiego.
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