Alan Joesbury

Oscar in Austin- the story so far

Texas might make you think cowboys, country music and American Football, it probably doesn’t make you think of tech recruitment. But it should. In October, we announced that Oscar Technology was expanding; opening a strategically placed office in Austin to complement our existing base in Houston. Why Austin? Let’s find out. The beginning Oscar delivers exceptional recruitment services to the Technology, Energy & Construction sectors globally. After our most successful year to date, we knew that the time to expand our Technology brand was now and Austin was perfect. Thriving tech Nicknamed Silicon Hills, Austin is home to some of the world’s leading tech giants. Names including Apple, IBM and Dell have all set up in the Lone Star State. Soaring start-ups It’s not just the big names either. Venture capital investment in the city has been rising consistently, hitting a record-high $1bn in 2018. This has attracted significant start-up activity to the area, earning Austin the highest start-up density and best nonemployer tech firm growth in the US. Top talent And where there are big names and promising start-ups, there is talent. Austin has a tech talent pool of approximately 7% of its overall workforce; nearly double that of New York and growing 12.6% over the past five years. This is creating a whirlpool effect, with more technical talent moving to the city, attracting more businesses and increasing the number of technical vacancies in the area. Even better, we’re perfectly placed for meeting this growing demand for tech positions and candidates. Booming buildings This surge in business and candidate activity is also having a knock-on effect in the construction industry, with approximately 25,860,323 million-square-feet of new office space planned in the Austin area. This gives us a considerable opportunity to grow our other niche brands, Oscar Construction and Oscar Energy. The middle It wasn’t just the business and talent in Austin that attracted us. It’s vital that our award-winning team are happy, and that requires a great office, a short commute and plenty of downtime. Our co-working space is bright, inspiring and comes complete with daily breakfasts and a free Thursday happy hour. In addition, we have plenty of space to expand into, something that we’ve already done. We’re also heavily investing in new tools and platforms to help our team, and we keep the Oscar culture alive with regular communication with our Manchester, London, Amsterdam and Houston offices. Being in the heart of downtown Austin means we can take advantage of the excellent transport links. Most of our staff have a commute of just 15-30 minutes - perfect for letting the dog out at lunch. Those in a rush can also take advantage of the Lyft scooters that have invaded the city - but more on that in another blog. And finally, downtime. Texas isn’t just BBQ food (although that’s definitely a highlight.) with a variety of places to eat, bars, live music, leisure activities and beautiful scenery, our team is as happy out of the office as they are in it. The future So what are we doing in Austin? Currently, our team of seven are servicing the local tech demand - placing DevOps, mobile development, cybersecurity and JavaScript candidates of all levels. But we’re looking to increase our offering substantially. This will require recruiting our future leaders now. We’re looking for 360 recruiters and business development consultants experienced in data science and machine learning. We want people who can contribute to our story so we can help build the next chapter in theirs. If you’re interested in a career in Austin or a complete relocation, get in touch today and help to “keep Austin weird”.

Alan Joesbury

Lead Consultant - Tech - US: BI & Data

BI, Data & Analytics

Senior BI Developer

Group Insights & Media