Amazon has announced it will create 500 new jobs in Ireland, the latest step in Amazon’s plan to create thousands of European jobs.

It follows the launch of a Development Centre for Prime Air in Austria earlier this month. Since 2010, Amazon has invested over €15bn in Europe and at the start of this year already had more than 40,000 EU employees, with 10,000 jobs created last year alone.

In Dublin, the highly-skilled roles include data centre technicians, software engineers and customer support staff among others, to be hired over the next two years at a number of facilities.

Take a look at this map where Amazon's economic impact across Europe, not just Ireland, is displayed country by country.

Amazon’s first appointments in Ireland were data centre technicians and networking staff. Since then, the business has grown dramatically both in the numbers of staff and the diversity of their roles. Dublin has also been a location for engineering new technologies to support a number of Amazon’s businesses including its retail operations, devices and Amazon Web Services (AWS). This latest recruitment drive is part of Amazon's plans to create several thousand more new jobs in Europe.

Some of our most exciting creations we have at Amazon stem from the work we do here for our customers.
Jeff Caselden - general manager, Amazon Ireland

“We have already exceeded our previous talent growth targets for Ireland set in 2014, which is testament to the abundance of expertise we have been able to find in the country,” said Jeff Caselden, General Manager, Amazon Ireland. “We’ve been an active member of the Irish technology community for over a decade now and Ireland’s creative culture and the diverse set of technical skills we’re able to recruit for here, make it an ideal location for our rapidly expanding business. Some of our most exciting creations we have at Amazon stem from the work we do here for our customers.”

The highly skilled new roles currently being recruited include: Software Development Engineers, Network Development Engineers, Data Centre Engineering, Support Engineers, Systems Engineers, Optical Deployment Engineers, Security Specialists, Big Data Specialists, DevOps Engineers, and a range of technical management positions.

The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, T.D. said: "The Irish Government is continuing to prioritise making Ireland a fantastic location for investment and innovation. This announcement of 500 new jobs by Amazon is a testament to Ireland's reputation as a leading European location for technology and digital industries. On behalf of the Irish Government I would like to commend Amazon for their belief in Ireland and her resourceful people. "

Speaking about the jobs announcement, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor said: "Amazon has established itself as a very significant employer in Ireland and contributes to our goal of building a sustainable economy based on innovation. The company's expansion here is a fine illustration of our position as a world class driving force in new technologies. Creating so many new jobs, as announced today, and having such a solid presence in both Dublin and Cork, makes this company a key player for us in developing the knowledge-based sector in Ireland. It is admirable to have such a cutting edge company pushing out the new boundaries and being able to find the talent to do so in Ireland.”

Martin Shanahan, CEO at IDA Ireland added, “Amazon has a long history of success in Ireland and adding 500 jobs to their current workforce is testament to the high quality technical talent that is readily available throughout the country. IDA Ireland will use this announcement in our worldwide marketing efforts to highlight Ireland's suitability as a place to invest.”

Amazon also has offices in Cork employing Customer Service and Seller Support staff. People looking to apply for one of the roles with Amazon in Dublin, or any of Amazon’s offices across EMEA, can apply online at http://international-tech.amazon-jobs.com/.

This year AWS celebrates its tenth anniversary. AWS first launched its services in Ireland in March 2006. The company also announced the AWS EU Ireland region joins AWS EU Frankfurt as a carbon-neutral region, the second carbon-neutral region in Europe and fourth AWS carbon neutral region worldwide.

This investment is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.