Bellwether IT Companies Plan Hires in Massachusetts

by Dice Staff Feb 24, 2010 2 min read

When two major IT firms based in Massachusetts announce they have plans to hire, it can be viewed as a sign of a resurgent technology job market in the Bay State, notes Mass High Tech. In this case the two firms are EMC Corp. and Akamai, which announced plans to add a combined 500 locals jobs in product management, engineering, sales, marketing, and other corporate functions.

Akamai, which employs about 600 at its headquarters, plans to hire between 100 and 150 people locally with the largest number of openings in engineering and technology ranks. Mark Minichiello, director of global employment at Cambridge-based Akamai, said the company is looking for both software engineers to expand its line of Internet content delivery products, as well as experienced engineers to manage its content delivery network, along with sales and marketing support.

EMC, the Hopkinton-based IT storage giant and largest IT employer in Massachusetts, would not comment specifically on hiring plans in Massachusetts, but Chief Financial Officer David Goulden said the company plans to up its investment in research and development by 20 percent, excluding acquisitions. The 43,000 employee company has more than 200 open positions across a dozen offices in Massachusetts, according to the career portion of its Web site.

Some smaller New England companies are in search of specific talent as well. Tim Tippett, senior account executive with Westborough, Mass.-based Nowspeed, says his online marketing agency is hunting for software developers with expertise in the Drupal open source platform. Bottom line, this could be a sign that tech firms are feeling more optimistic about 2010.

Still, some local IT workers have run out of patience. They're looking out of state for jobs. Joseph Mullin, an engineer and project manager, has been out of work for more than a year and he is seeing better opportunities in places like south Florida, California and North Carolina. "I would like to stay here but I'm realistic," he says. "I told my family that if I can find a job out of state, I'm gone. I have to go where the work is and it if means picking up and moving, so be it."

-- Sonia Lelii

Akamai, which employs about 600 at its headquarters, plans to hire between 100 and 150 people locally with the largest number of openings in engineering and technology ranks. Mark Minichiello, director of global employment at Cambridge-based Akamai, said the company is looking for both software engineers to expand its line of Internet content delivery products, as well as experienced engineers to manage its content delivery network, along with sales and marketing support.

EMC, the Hopkinton-based IT storage giant and largest IT employer in Massachusetts, would not comment specifically on hiring plans in Massachusetts, but Chief Financial Officer David Goulden said the company plans to up its investment in research and development by 20 percent, excluding acquisitions. The 43,000 employee company has more than 200 open positions across a dozen offices in Massachusetts, according to the career portion of its Web site.

-- Sonia Lelii