US software firm recruits 50 to grow '˜slice' of the market

The company, Slice, provides an online and mobile ordering and payment platform for independent pizzerias in the US.

It enables independent local pizzerias to compete with the online and digital ordering platforms of large national pizza chains.

The company was recently voted as one of the Best Places to Work in the US as part of Inc. Magazine’s Annual Best Workplaces survey.

Steve Harper, Executive Director of International Business, Invest Northern Ireland said: “We are delighted that Slice has chosen to establish a software engineering base in Northern Ireland, creating 50 high-quality jobs.

“The technology area in which the company works is innovative and will give employees new skills and exposure to Apple’s mobile App technology, used in the iPhone and iPad.

“This will add to the skills base in Northern Ireland and enhance the region’s software development capability.”

Invest NI has offered £400,000 towards the creation of the new jobs. Eleven jobs are already in place. The roles will attract an average salary of over £40,000.

“Pizza is big business in the US worth $45 billion annually,” said Slice chief technical officer Jason Ordway.

“Slice is the only technology platform that partners with local independent pizzerias.

“We currently have 10,000 pizzerias using the Slice platform. As part of our growth strategy we want to add new functions and improvements to our existing platform.

The engineering team in Northern Ireland will develop new innovative solutions for the pizzerias, improving order efficiency and customer service.

“I have had positive experiences of Northern Ireland as an investment location and in particular the software engineering talent here.

When I joined Slice and we began talking about growing our engineering team, alongside those based in New York, I was quick to recommend Northern Ireland.

“We’ve had lots of support from Invest NI throughout this process, which has enabled us to get up and running quickly. We already have 11 staff on board and recruitment continues.”