Tech giant Ericsson is to hire 250 new employees at Athlon as it expands its 5G and cloud-based services.
That firm is hiring software developers, engineers and architects with cloud computing experience for its research and development (R&D) hub, with roles to be added over the next three years.
The Athlon facility is the global R&D headquarters for Ericsson’s Operations Support Systems division.
The campus has the potential for additional rentals, with employees also allowed to work remotely, said Denise Dulia, Ericsson’s head of R&D at Athlon.
He believes that the firm will easily recruit new employees despite the growing shortage of qualified staff in key sectors including IT.
However, he added that the Swedish-headquartered firm will also look for new employees overseas.
“We have a very diverse workforce anyway. We already have over 1,000 people here from 48 countries. We love recruiting from outside Ireland into Ireland because that’s really important in creating a diverse workforce.
“What we do is very cutting edge, technology-wise, and software engineers like to work with cutting-edge technology.”
The firm will also work with the nearby Technical University of Shannon to find employees.
The US-listed firm has been in Ireland for more than 40 years, and currently employs 1,400 people in the country, of whom 1,200 are in Athlon.
Ericsson builds and manages telecommunications networks using 5G, artificial intelligence and cloud-based technology.
More than 40 percent of the world’s mobile traffic passes through Ericsson’s network.
Tánaiste and Enterprise Minister Leo Varadkar said the new jobs were a “vote of confidence in Athlon and Ireland as a whole”.
Minister of State Robert Troy said the expansion “reaffirms the Midlands as a center of excellence in the ICT sector and cloud technology”.
Martin Shanahan, chief executive of IDA Ireland, who is backing Ericsson’s expansion, said the jobs and associated investment “will have a substantial impact on both the local and regional economy”.
“Today’s significant announcement by Ericsson, a company that has had a presence here in Ireland since 1957, and an R&D facility at Athlon since 1979 … The next generation of technology developed at the Athlon facility will set the standard for the industry.”
