MathWorks thriving on western coast

MathWorks staff in Galway are fluent in 11 languages, range in work experience from seasoned professionals to new graduates, and represent diverse geographical backgrounds, including Galway residents, those relocated from cities like Dublin and Cork, and others from countries like Germany and Finland.

“Given the accelerated growth we are experiencing in MathWorks Galway, we expect to fill 85 job openings through 2019,” explained Richard Haxby, managing director, MathWorks.

We’re looking for candidates with IT experience and fluency in multiple European languages to fill a variety of roles spanning sales and services support, inside sales, channel development and support, marketing, and finance and administration.

“We do actively recruit graduating students and our current staff mix comprises of employees who are alumni of NUI Galway and other Universities. We have also increased the number of intern places this year, and have already filled a spot with an NUI Galway student.”

Having initially decided to establish a presence in Ireland, MathWorks spent almost four years deciding on what was needed, and wanted from the location.

“This helped us review several choices in Ireland, including Dublin. We eventually chose Galway, a decision we are very happy with. Galway has access to a diverse multi-lingual workforce, and it has a university system that attracts talent from all over Europe. Our office enjoys a mixed demographic so this international mix fits well with our culture.

“Additionally, Galway has a vibrant city centre, offering a good work-life balance to our employees. Over the last few years, we’ve also seen Galway evolve into a hub for innovation companies, which means talent will continue to flow to the region.”

As an international company and given its profile of jobs, MathWorks continues to recruit staff from other cities and overseas: “Today, our office has a fair number of people from other cities like Dublin and Cork, some international relocations from countries like Germany, Italy and Finland, and others who joined straight from universities in Ireland like NUI Galway.

"Feedback on why our staff chose MathWorks Galway ranges from the fact that they wanted to work with an international company and that they get to interact with people from multiple countries to the work-life balance and vibrancy of the office that’s in a bustling city centre.”

“Galway is a Small City with a Big Heart.”

In our 3rd alumni video, Richard Haxby, Managing Director of MathWorks Ireland, explains why Galway has been a strategic destination for the support of their European community of customers.

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Given the company’s range of locations around the world, positions within Math Works offer a potential stepping stone to international careers for those employees who want to travel and expand their horizons.

“Absolutely. The advantage of working with a company like MathWorks, which has more than 4,500 people in 16 countries is that you can explore different options whether it’s the teams you work on, the products you work with, or the countries you work in.”

By virtue of being a centralised sales and services support centre for MathWorks EMEA offices, staff in Galway have significant international exposure supporting 8 direct offices in EMEA, eight distributors in locations including Russia, Israel and Turkey and direct sales to the Middle East and North Africa.

“There is also the possibility of transferring to other offices based on whether staff résumés match job role requirements. For example, we have had people from our offices in UK and Italy move to Galway, choosing

to explore developing their careers in Ireland. I myself have worked with MathWorks for over 16 years and in that time I have lived and worked in four different office locations worldwide,”

he adds.

MathWorks is fortunate to be in a position where its products, MATLAB and Simulink, are central to what engineers, scientists and researchers do, Mr Haxby explains.

“They create innovations that enhance the way we live, work and learn. MATLAB and Simulink are used therefore literally everywhere. Given this, our growth is not dependent on any specific industry or application area, and we see usage grow as industries continue to evolve. A few areas that cross industries and which we are focused on include artificial intelligence, 5G wireless design, and power electronics.”

With Galway and the general West region already having attracted companies like Genesys, Quidel, SOTI Inc, Ipswitch, EA Games and Wayfair, it continues to establish itself as a tech hub.

“Galway is quickly growing into an innovation centre so we do expect to see the city and general West region continue to expand as a tech hub. Galway enjoys the perks of Ireland in terms of access to technology talent and proximity to international locations. The added advantage however is a vibrant city with culture that promotes work-live balance, availability and access to restaurants, arts and cultural activities and world-class education, and overall positive standard-of-living.”

MathWorks is happy with its location in Galway, and particularly in the region’s well developed infrastructure and connectivity.

“As a multinational company, we have seen these growing pains in other countries.

What gives us assurance that the needs of companies in Ireland are and will be met is seeing the level of investment from the IDA Ireland and support from the Irish Government, in particular the office of the minister for business, enterprise and innovation.

As the Brexit situation evolves toward an eventual conclusion, Richard Haxby sees Ireland’s well established advantages to continuing to attract overseas companies regardless of the current turbulence.

“MathWorks is an international company with offices across Europe and in the United Kingdom we continue to monitor the ongoing discussions around Brexit. Ireland has many advantages for companies irrespective of Brexit. It is well positioned geographically, it has a skilled workforce, a strong economy and a work life balance. We are invested in seeing a path forward that sees all the communities we work in, at the city, state or country level, succeed and prosper.”

As MathWorks continues to expand in its Galway location, he sees the growing job opportunities in our Ireland office as a testament to the success of its staff in responding to customer needs across EMEA over the company’s first two years.

“We are confident that we will have a strong pipeline of candidates to fill these jobs quickly given the overwhelmingly positive feedback we receive on our collaborative culture, competitive compensation, excellence in staff development and potential to explore global career opportunities.”