Canadian tech firm, Optiva expands in Belfast with new jobs

Pictured (L-R) are:  George McKinney, Director of Technology & Services, Invest NI; and Richard McLaughlin, Senior Director Software Engineering and Site Lead, Optiva.

Optiva Inc, a leader in providing communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide with cloud-native revenue management software on the private and public cloud, has announced it is growing in Northern Ireland.    

The Ontario-based company, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, established its Centre of Excellence in Belfast in 2021 and has plans to grow to a headcount of 40, with roles across software engineering and technology development.

Speaking about the company’s growth in Northern Ireland, Richard McLaughlin, Senior Director Software Engineering and Site Lead at Optiva said: “We are not waiting for the future of telecom; we are helping to create it, and our Belfast presence is paramount in helping us to achieve this.

“Since setting up here 18 months ago, we are delighted with the progress our Belfast team has made. Whilst we examined other locations across Europe, Northern Ireland was a logical choice for our first Centre of Excellence, given its reputation as a thriving technology centre and concentration of global software companies, universities and talent.”

Invest Northern Ireland has been working with Optiva since 2020 and has provided advice on location, helped it to find suitable office space and offered support towards the creation of the new roles, 21 of which are already in place with recruitment continuing across all roles.

Richard continued: “We are now growing at pace and are actively recruiting across a range of software engineering roles to help us realise our ambition to be a global leader in the provision of mission-critical, cloud-native monetisation solutions for CSPs globally. We are grateful to Invest NI for its ongoing support and advice, and we look forward to growing our team here.”

Congratulating the company on its growth in Northern Ireland, George McKinney, Invest NI’s Director of Technology & Services said: “Optiva’s Belfast centre fosters collaboration and innovation to support the development and delivery of its cloud-native software solutions globally. This new expansion underlines the company’s commitment to Northern Ireland, which will allow it to continue to benefit from our highly skilled talent pool.

“Attracting more high-value inward investment is a priority in the Department for the Economy’s 10X Economic Vision and its investments like this one from Optiva, which play an important role in this vision. With a strong local leadership team, Optiva is recruiting at pace, with 21 of the roles already in place. With very competitive salaries, these jobs will contribute in excess of £2.4 million in annual wages to the Northern Ireland economy.”