North Carolina tech job postings increased 44 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2022– with both the Triangle and Charlotte leading the way, according to a new report out of Dice, which ranks both states and metros in terms of tech job postings.
Raleigh (up 24 percent) ranked 23rd in the country in the report, which tracks 25 U.S. cities and regions. Charlotte (up 65 percent) ranked 10th.
In the Triangle, it’s not just homegrown firms such as Pendo – in the process of building out its downtown Raleigh headquarters – that are posting jobs. Big tech from across the country is a competitor for key hires, causing some smaller companies to get aggressive in advertising roles and flaunting benefits.
RapidScale, which is currently planning to move its headquarters to the same building that houses Pendo in downtown Raleigh, is pulling out all the stops, CEO Duane Barnes said in a recent interview. When positions sit empty for weeks, it loops in staffing agencies and puts up ads in places like RDU Airport.
“We’ve lost a few people to competitive local companies, which I think is a good thing – I would not want to be the only tech company in town,” Barnes said.
EDJX CEO Benjamin Thompson said his firm has had “no problem recruiting in the Triangle,” thanks in part to positive in-migration brought about by some big tech expansions in the region.
But those big tech players are pushing back, too.
Some of the biggest names in technology are hiring in the region, including Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which has released a slew of new local positions in recent weeks, including an opening for a “facilities coordinator lead” for the Raleigh market, responsible for acting as an “internal ambassador.”
Other key positions include a “Global Operations Manager” for Apple Pay platform support.
Altogether there are more than 100 Apple postings for Raleigh, including some positions with location flexibility. Apple is leasing temporary space in Cary and recently expanded its sites to a building in Durham vacated by Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB).
It’s in the process of building out a technology hub in RTP, but the firm has not answered questions about its progress. It’s been tight lipped since announcing last year its plan for 3,000 jobs in RTP.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), which is expanding in Durham, has 20 open positions locally, including those with location flexibility. They include positions such as software engineers and an “abuse analyst” for its YouTube Partner Program.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) has been quietly adding jobs in the region – something it’s escalated since acquiring Durham optics firm Imagineoptix last year. Meta has 10 open positions for Durham, including a facility and operations manager for Reality Labs, the division tasked with developing new augmented and virtual reality metaverse products. The job description notes that job entails setting up “the safest, state-of-the-art-thin-film-optics engineering lab spaces” and managing contract workers.
The Dice report has North Carolina ranked 10th in terms of growth in job posting volume. 90 percent of states saw year-over-year growth compared to the first half of 2021.