Oregon-based software development company, Unosquare, has chosen Belfast as the location of its new engineering centre, creating 100 new jobs by the end of 2019. Announcing the new investment, Alastair Hamilton, Invest Northern Ireland chief executive, said: “Unosquare provides outsource software development services for the financial services markets as well as customers involved in cancer diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. This new engineering centre will service existing US customers as well as support expansion into the UK and European markets. “The company has two other engineering centres in Mexico but has chosen to open this latest centre in Belfast due to the availability of a strong pool of software engineers and our ability to offer support towards securing the project for Northern Ireland." “The company uses innovative technology which will not only enhance the technical capability within Northern Ireland, contributing towards the expansion of our ICT sector, but will also give experienced software developers new skills and exposure to new technology.” The new jobs will offer an average salary of £37,000. Mike Barrett, CEO, Unosquare said: “Global demand for high-end software development continues to grow. Companies have more software engineering needs than engineers to deliver. Plus, we see real growth opportunity in fintech and biotech, our main verticals of influence - we are helping clients develop next generation platforms such as digital banking and cancer diagnostics and treatment using the latest technologies.” Unosquare clients fall mainly within the healthcare, fintech, and high-tech industries. “We were looking for a location that not only provided skilled software engineers, but also the right business climate to enable us to get our operation up and running quickly. With such a strong IT sector, Northern Ireland was able to offer that,” Barrett added. Giancarlo Di Vece, President, Unosquare said: “Invest NI’s financial and business support throughout this process has been of real value. They helped us understand the local technology market, introduced us to others who came before us, and helped guide us through the ramp up process. This, along with the financial assistance offered, has been a crucial factor to our decision. We are delighted to be here today to announce our investment.” Invest NI has offered £650,000 to support the creation of the new jobs.