Shopify to triple waterloo workforce, deepening investment in
canada’s thriving tech community
Ottawa, ontario--(business wire)--since 2014, shopify inc. (nyse:shop) (tsx: shop), the leading multi-channel commerce platform, has been steadily building its presence in waterloo, the cornerstone of canada’s technology corridor. today, the company announced that it plans to grow its full-time, waterloo-based workforce by 300-500 new jobs over the next couple of years. “we initially chose to build shopify’s presence in waterloo because we knew we would be supported by the tech community in the region,” said loren padelford, general manager and vice president of shopify plus. “with that support, along with world-class local talent, our growth has outpaced our expectations and projections. by continuing to invest in the region, we are helping build a stronger ecosystem, one that employs great local people, and also brings new talent to the region.” these new positions in waterloo will focus on growing shopify plus, which supports the largest and most complex customers on the shopify platform. roles in engineering, product, ux, sales, and merchant services will range from entry-level to senior manager-level, and all will focus on developing innovative solutions capable of scaling for the changing retail landscape. “our top priority at shopify is to support the continued growth of our merchants by making some of the most complex parts of running their business simple and easy. for us to do that, we need to hire great people,” said padelford. “we believe that the corridor is anchoring the next great wave of technology and we’re excited to play a big role in providing talent a home in our community.” to accommodate this growth, shopify also formally announced the opening of their second building in waterloo, located at 85 willis way. steps from their current building, the new space will nearly double shopify’s physical footprint in waterloo and further demonstrates shopify’s dedication to building a strong and sustainable economy in the corridor. the new space is expected to open in the first quarter of 2018. about shopify shopify is the leading cloud-based, multi-channel commerce platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. merchants can use the software to design, set up, and manage their stores across multiple sales channels, including web, mobile, social media, marketplaces, brick-and-mortar locations, and pop-up shops. the platform also provides merchants with a powerful back-office and a single view of their business. the shopify platform was engineered for reliability and scale, making enterprise-level technology available to businesses of all sizes. shopify currently powers over 500,000 businesses in approximately 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as red bull, nestle, rebecca minkoff, kylie cosmetics, and many more. forward-looking statements this press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (“forward-looking statements“), including statements with regard to shopify's plans to grow its waterloo-based workforce and open a new office space, and its operating and growth strategy. words such as “expects”, “anticipates” and “intends” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. these forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions and no assurance can be given that the launch will occur as planned. shopify undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
