Amazon has announced the creation of 100 new jobs at its new global Digital Media Development Centre in London on the day of its official opening.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, visited the site this morning to mark the occasion and welcomed the new jobs. Mr Johnson spent time talking to employees at the eight-floor, 47,000 sq ft centre in Glasshouse Yard as part of a tour of the building and even tried his hand at coding.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome Amazon’s new tech hub to London, giving the capital yet another vote of confidence from the world’s leading innovators. Boosting London’s tech and media workforce is key to driving the capital’s economy and helping to create jobs and growth.”
The 100 new roles created, and currently being recruited for, include software development engineers, user-interface experts and graphic designers.
“The number one reason that we located the new Amazon Development Centre in London is because we believe that the capital is brimming with world class tech talent,” said Paula Byrne, Managing Director of the Centre in London. “We are now looking for the most innovative and creative people to join us in designing and developing the next generation of TV and film services for a global audience.”
The Amazon Digital Media Development Centre in London focuses on new digital media projects that will benefit Amazon customers all over the world. This includes the creation of interactive digital services for TVs, game consoles, smartphones and PCs; the development of the digital media experience on Amazon websites around the world; and the building of services and APIs that power that digital media experience.
The tech talent at the new Development Centre – which includes the design and development teams from Pushbutton and LOVEFiLM – has previously worked on a variety of digital innovations including LOVEFiLM Instant, which offers members unlimited streaming from just £4.99 per month on over 280 Internet-enabled devices including PCs, PlayStation®3, iPad®, Xbox 360. They have also been responsible for creating applications for a growing number of Blu-Ray players and Internet-connected TVs including Sony, Samsung, LG and Cello, as well as Amazon Instant Video and the LOVEFiLM iPad App.
Amazon is already supporting developers and software engineers in the UK start-up community with Amazon’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) offerings. AWS provides developers and businesses access to highly scalable, reliable and low-cost technology infrastructure that enables them to instantly acquire compute, storage, database and other on-demand services. The services are consumed on a pay-as-you go basis meaning businesses only pay for the resources used. Start-up companies also don’t have to outlay any capital investment upfront which means they can get their business off the ground quickly with only an idea and a credit card.
Many of London’s leading start-ups already use AWS, including Shutl, Playfish and Mendeley.