- Marjorie van Elven
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Rent the Runway, fashion’s latest unicorn valued at 1 billion US dollars in March, is going
overseas for the very first time. The American company will be opening an
international technology office in Galway, Ireland, in May, with the goal
to “tackle core technology challenges that are critical to Rent the
Runway’s overall success and will influence the future of the next
generation of services”, according to a press release issued today. 150
engineers and tech developers will be hired to work in the Galway office
over the next three years.
Commenting on the choice of Ireland for Rent the Runway’s first
operation outside the United States, Chief Technology Officer Josh Builder
said in the press release: “We are thrilled to open our first-ever
international office in Galway, where we’ve had overwhelming support from
the Irish Government and the IDA [IDA is the agency responsible for the
attraction and retention of foreign direct investment into Ireland]. From
the start, it was clear that Galway was the perfect location for our new
office: the city has an atmosphere of creativity, mirrors Rent the Runway’s
cultural values, and excitingly, will be the European Capital of Culture in
2020”.
Rent the Runway recruiting for technology positions in Ireland
Rent the Runway’s team in Galway will work closely with the US-based
Research & Development team, developing in-house software and supporting US
operations on existing technological activity for the company’s mobile and
desktop platforms. The Ireland team will also work on projects to expand
Rent the Runway’s fulfillment network, leverage data science to bring
personalization to the service, and experiment with new data driven
applications.
Initially, Rent the Runway’s Galway office will be located at the
Portershed, but the company intends to relocate to a permanent office at
the newly-renovated Piscatorial School building in the Summer. Those
interested in working for Rent the Runway in Ireland can visit the
company’s job page to learn more about the open positions.
Founded in 2009 by Jennifer Fleiss and Jennifer Hyman, Rent the Runway
started as an online service offering formal dress rentals. Since then, the
business has raised a total 337 million US dollars and expanded to become
the leading platform to rent designer apparel, accessories and home decor
in the United States, with over 600 brands. The company received a capital
injection of 125 million US dollars in March, in its largest funding round
to date. The money will be used to broaden the company’s assortment and
accelerate its subscription service, which grew 160 percent
year-over-year.
Interested in working at Rent the Runway? Click here >>
Picture: Josh Builder, CTO of Rent the Runway, photographed by Amanda
Villarosa. Courtesy of Rent the Runway
