Ericsson to hire 250 at its R&D Campus in Athlone

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has announced its plans to hire 250 people at its Irish Research and Development Centre in Athlone to support the company’s ongoing development of innovative cloud-native products that orchestrate, automate and power its global 5G portfolio.

The highly skilled roles, which include opportunities for software developers, data scientists, architects, cloud and mobile communication engineers at all career stages, will be added over the next three years. This project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

One of Ireland’s largest employers within software development, Ericsson has had a Research and Development (R&D) presence in Athlone since 1979. The Athlone facility, which is the global R&D headquarters of Ericsson Digital Services OSS (Operations Support Systems), currently employs 1200 people developing its OSS and Cloud RAN (Radio Access Network) portfolio. Ericsson employs an additional 200 at its Dublin base.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD said: “This is really great news. Ericsson is expanding further, adding 250 new jobs to the 1400 the company already employs here. These new jobs are in new areas in cloud-native technologies, providing some really exciting opportunities for the Midlands. It truly is a vote of confidence in Athlone and Ireland as a whole that such an internationally renowned company has chosen to make this investment. Thank you to Ericsson for their continuing commitment to our country and the Irish-based team who I know were crucial in the decision to bring this investment to Ireland.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy TD said: “I am delighted with Ericsson’s announcement to add 250 roles at its R&D Campus in Athlone. These highly skilled roles in software development, engineering and cloud technologies are a very welcome development for the region and this expansion reaffirms the Midlands as a centre of excellence in the ICT sector and cloud technology. Ericsson is a well-established presence here in Athlone and its continued success and investment in its R&D Campus is testament to the fact that Westmeath, and indeed the Midlands as a whole is a great place to do business. I want to wish the staff in Ericsson all the very best in this exciting new chapter.”

Denis Dullea, Head of Research and Development at Ericsson Athlone said: “This announcement underscores our global reputation as a world-class R&D software development centre. Our team here already play a critical role in the development of Ericsson products, services and solutions that enable Ericsson to deliver limitless connectivity that makes the unimaginable possible.

“We are hiring an additional 250 software developers, engineers and architects with cloud native skills to enhance our capability to deliver the benefits of cloud native technologies to our global customer base via our RAN, Management, Automation and Orchestration offerings.”
Mr Dullea added: “The investment is also good news for Athlone and the wider midlands region, where Ericsson is one of the largest employers. With strong ongoing partnerships with the IDA, the Irish Government and the recently established Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), we are excited to continue attracting and nurturing the best and brightest Irish and international talent to the heart of Ireland.”

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said: “Today’s significant announcement by Ericsson, a company that has had a presence here in Ireland since 1957 and an R&D facility in Athlone since 1979 is terrific news and demonstrates this global leader’s continued commitment to its operations here. The next generation of technology developed at the Athlone facility will set the standard for the industry. These jobs and the associated investment will have a substantial impact on both the local and regional economy. I wish Ericsson every success with this expansion, and I want to assure the team of IDA Ireland’s continued support.”