When Texans hear “Texas tech” they immediately think of the Red Raiders of Lubbock. When tech workers hear the phrase, opportunity comes to mind.
Tech talent has been flowing into the state for years now, but in 2022 that turned into a torrent. According to the tech industry trade association CompTIA, the Lone Star State added more tech workers than any other state in 2022 — and that growth is forecast to continue this year.
Companies like healthcare provider Ascension, which is hiring across the board for its growing tech organization, are fueling that growth. In addition to established companies, homegrown upstarts like logistics provider Mothership, cybersecurity company Brinqa and restaurant fintech company inKind are also adding to their teams.
Why are we highlighting these four companies out of the hundreds that will be hiring in Texas this year?
Keep reading to find out.
What Ascension does: Ascension is a Catholic health system operator with more than 151 hospitals in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
Autonomy above all: At the moment Ascension has more than 10 open roles on its engineering team, including an opening for a director of quality engineering. When it comes to the company’s philosophy on leading dev teams, Senior Director of Software Engineering Michael Behm made it clear to Built In Austin that there’s no space for micromanagement.
“My goal is never to tell my teams how to do something,” Behm said. “I want my teams to feel empowered to own their solutions in addition to the creative process it takes to get them there. When a team’s software exceeds the mark, I ensure they receive the recognition they deserve.”
Veterans wanted: Ascension makes it a point of emphasis to hire military veterans. According to the company, it currently employs more than 10,000 veterans and offers programs to help vets translate their skills gained in service to the healthcare industry. In 2023, the company was rated as one of the most military-friendly companies by Military Friendly, which has established a standard to evaluate the friendliness of companies and schools to former service members.
What inKind does: Restaurants work with inKind to access a unique form of funding via the “inKind pass,” a reloadable food and beverage credit sold via the company’s app that rewards diners with bonuses for eating out.
Baby benefits: At inKind, new parents don’t have to stress about rushing back to the office as the company offers generous parental leave. The transition back to work is a gradual one, too, with a return-to-work program enabling new parents to ease back into their roles. Finally, inKind offers qualifying employees up to $500 per month in childcare benefits for the first two years of a baby’s life.
Gather ‘round the table: In addition to working with restaurants, inKind also owns one. In a February interview, Chief People Officer Jonathan de Wolff told Built In Austin about the company’s restaurant, Ember, and how it helps bring the team together.
“Located a short walk from the office, it is a beautiful space with amazing food and provides limitless opportunities for people to connect and organize food-focused team experiences,” de Wolff said. “Ember is also where we host our monthly ‘family meal,’ a time when we reflect on our progress, call out individual achievements and get insight from our CEO on the road ahead.”
What Brinqa does: Brinqa offers a single platform for companies to monitor and manage cybersecurity risk in applications and the cloud.
Selling growth: Brinqa is currently hiring for its sales team, and in a January interview, Account Executive Morgan Rush offered Built In Austin insight into why the company is a good place for salespeople with a growth mindset.
“I was looking for a place that would allow me to grow within my career,” Rush said. “It’s easy to find a sales position, but it’s harder to find one with opportunities for growth and challenges. I didn’t want to take just any job; it was most important that I felt like my career was valued.”
New leaders alert: In February, Brinqa announced the hiring of Mayuresh Ektare as senior vice president of product management and Dimitri Vlachos as chief marketing officer. Combined, the two have more than four decades of experience in tech, and CEO and Founder Amad Fida spoke about what they bring to Brinqa in a press release announcing their arrival.
“These leaders have unmatched experience delivering proven results at preeminent organizations and are already making a significant impact at Brinqa,” Fida said. “They share our vision for a unified approach to cyber risk management that changes how organizations manage vulnerabilities across their traditional infrastructure, application and cloud security programs.”
What Mothership does: Mothership is a logistics provider that specializes in last-mile freight, matching companies with cargo to local carriers to complete deliveries.
It’s Miller time: In March, Mothership announced a new COO, Michael Miller. Miller joined the company from fellow logistics technology provider project44, where he served as EVP of global network. Miller’s roots in Austin tech run deep. He joined project44 via the acquisition of the Austin-based supply chain visibility company Convey. Prior to his time there, he spent nearly a decade in high-level leadership roles at Dell.
Work where you want: Mothership is a fully remote company and offers a home office stipend for employees and flexible start and end times. In addition to flexibility, the company also prioritizes work-life balance through its unlimited vacation policy and parental leave benefits.
