The Utah-headquartered company will hire software and DevOps engineers in the west of Ireland for its tZero blockchain subsidiary.
US online retail company Overstock has announced plans to establish a new tech team at its European headquarters in Sligo. The business, led out of Salt Lake City in Utah, will be hiring technologists in software and DevOps engineering to work on its blockchain and security-token subsidiary tZero.
Overstock currently employs 90 people in the north-west of Ireland, where its staff work on software R&D, analytics and machine-learning projects. The new hires will develop software for tZero, an open, regulated blockchain-based trading platform for traditionally illiquid assets. Four roles are open at the moment and the company said that more will follow.
Overstock first came to Sligo in 2013 and the following year it founded blockchain accelerator Medici Ventures. Its tZero subsidiary helps issuers digitise their capital through blockchain technology and an automated trading platform.
David Kenny, Overstock’s vice-president of software development, said that new recruits in Sligo will be getting the opportunity to join a “revolutionary fintech platform”.
“The vision behind tZero is a marketplace to enable liquidity for private assets, using blockchain and smart-contract technology,” he said. “Through technology, we can enforce regulatory requirements and, as a by-product, increase transparency and reduce settlement time.”
Kenny also highlighted the company’s location in the west of Ireland, which could be of interest as more people may be looking to move out of cities while they work from home.
“The icing on the top is the work-life balance Sligo affords our staff,” he said. “It is an area of incredible natural beauty with many outdoor options and activities, given the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. Our teams love it here.”
Overstock senior development manager John Forde added that tZero operates in a “fast-growing digital securities market”.
“It is an exciting time for Overstock Ireland to be working with tZero to expand into this area,” Forde said. “It provides diversity in terms of both technology and business domain and enables us [to] provide exciting and challenging roles here in the north-west.”
Learn more about careers and vacancies at Overstock here.
