The slick new offices by Dublin’s Grand Canal represent Zendesk’s largest investment in property outside of the US.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD, joined Zendesk CEO and chair Mikkel Svane and the company’s Dublin team today (5 July) to officially open new offices at 55 Charlemont Place overlooking Dublin’s Grand Canal.
The new Grade A office space, which measures more than 58,000 sq ft and cost the company a cool $10m to kit out, represents its largest property investment outside the US.
Much in keeping with the style of tech multinationals that land in Ireland, the offices are complete with all of the lush employee wellness-oriented amenities one could expect, including: a gym, a yoga studio, a self-service pantry-style kitchen, a snack station, a Chemex coffee station, a no-device ‘offline’ space and a ‘mother’s room’, where breastfeeding women can feed and express milk.
Zendesk has rapidly expanded since first setting up shop on Irish shores in 2012 with a mere two employees based in Ireland, both of whom travelled frequently over to the company’s international headquarters in San Francisco, California.
Since then, the company’s presence in Ireland has ballooned to more than 290 people, more than 120 of whom were hired in the past 12 months. Now having the capacity at this new premises, Zendesk has indicated that it plans to grow its headcount to more than 500 by 2020.
EMEA HR director Sarah Manning said that the company is seeking applicants for a variety of roles across all disciplines, as the Dublin HQ is a product development centre and therefore requires all manner of engineers as well as professionals in sales, finance, HR and more.
“Since establishing a presence in Dublin in 2012 with just two engineers, Zendesk has quickly become one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the region, providing highly skilled employment for hundreds of people, with capacity for ongoing expansion,” said Varadkar, speaking at the opening ceremony.
Svane was quick to praise the role that Zendesk’s Dublin team plays in providing pain-free customer service experiences for its myriad of big-name clients, including (but not limited to) Netflix, Airbnb, Arnotts, Primark and Boylesports.
Svane added: “As more technology companies and entrepreneurs call Dublin home, we’re proud to be a part of a community that fosters innovation, growth and a focus on the most important part of any business: the customer.”
