DURHAM — Google announced plans Thursday to create a hub in Durham for hundreds of engineers working on its Google Cloud products.
The company said in a statement that it is already recruiting for the site and that it plans to employ 150 people by the end of the year. The company said it will aim to add 300 more employees next year and 500 more in 2023. The site will eventually support more than 1,000 jobs and be one of Google Cloud’s top engineering hubs.
According to the Triangle Business Journal, Google will lease space from Duke University in downtown Durham and is evaluating several locations for a permanent location.
The California-based company said in a release that the office will serve as a hub for the Google Cloud’s engineering team and will eventually grow into one of Google Cloud’s top five engineering hubs in the county, joining the Bay Area in California, New York, Seattle, and Kirkland, Washington, says TBJ.
The Google service uses cloud-based computing to help companies with a range of needs including managing databases, collaborating remotely and running business applications.
The company said it will begin by subleasing space in downtown Durham and is currently scouting other locations for a permanent home. Google also operates a data center in Lenoir and an office in Chapel Hill. Durham was one of several places around the country where Google is planning new locations.
“Today is an exciting day for Google Cloud in North Carolina. We help businesses and organizations digitally transform, and to meet this challenge, we need the most talented team possible and the Triangle region has some of the best and brightest engineers in the world,” Google Vice President of Engineering Marian Croak said in a statement.
“Powerful jobs announcement for North Carolina today: Google to bring new engineering hub to Durham, up to 1,000 jobs as part of U.S. expansion. Our state’s economic identity and success as a tech center is creating good-paying jobs in our communities,” said N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain).
Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to make a formal announcement this afternoon about the project.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
