Business

New £1.35 million software centre to create 15 jobs

Derek Andrews, head of international investment at Invest NI with Ross Wootton, head of strategic projects at Bitwise
Derek Andrews, head of international investment at Invest NI with Ross Wootton, head of strategic projects at Bitwise Derek Andrews, head of international investment at Invest NI with Ross Wootton, head of strategic projects at Bitwise

A SOFTWARE development and consultancy company is to set up a new centre of excellence in Belfast with the creation of 15 jobs.

Bitwise is investing £1.35 million in its Software Centre of Excellence in the Gasworks complex in the south of the city.

Based in Scotland, the company's software can be found across the medical, automotive, aerospace, and financial sectors in the products of some of the largest blue-chip companies across the UK, Europe and the US.

The 15 new software engineering jobs will have an average salary of £45,000.

Invest Northern Ireland has offered £97,500 towards the creation of the new jobs.

Craig McWhirter, Bitwise's founder and managing director, said the new centre will play a key role in helping to grow the company.

"In the software sector it is always important to be one step ahead of technological changes," he said.

"We recognise that much of our success is thanks to the strong talent in our existing engineering teams. By establishing a new software centre in Belfast we will increase innovation as we tap into the high calibre of talent in Northern Ireland."

Ross Wootton, head of strategic projects at Bitwise, said combining its software engineers "with the local software engineering talent pool provides a fantastic opportunity to grow and develop our team and client base".

"The Belfast team shall integrate fully with the existing Bitwise engineering teams, working on a range of interesting projects with real engineering challenges," he said.

Derek Andrews, head of international investment at Invest NI, said it was pleased to welcome the company to the north.

"NI is a leading location for innovative software projects and Bitwise’s presence in the region will help to develop this further," he said.

"Deeming the office as a Software Centre of Excellence highlights the high level of skills and expertise NI has to offer and places NI as the ideal location for global companies to achieve success."

Bitwise has software centres in Sweden and the Netherlands. The company's headquarters are in Dunfermline in Scotland.