A Master stroke for Sandyford Business District

IN what has been hailed as yet more good news for the Sandyford Business District, it has been announced that Mastercard is to create 175 new roles at its Mountainview headquarters in Leopardstown.

As it expands its presence in Ireland, the company is hiring 175 new employees to focus on driving innovation and creating the future of payments around the world.

The new roles will include software engineers, data scientists, project managers, analysts, product designers, cloud infrastructure specialists and information security experts.

Mastercard said the new jobs represent a commitment to driving innovation in payments and designing ground-breaking security solutions as they strive for a world beyond cash.

The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, said Mastercard’s decision to expand here in Dublin was an important landmark.

“I warmly welcome the new jobs that are coming with the announcement,” the minister said.

“The Government has been working hard to ensure that we have the right conditions in place to attract the knowledge-based sectors.

“Ireland is now a very attractive location for international FinTech and payment companies from all over the world.

“Announcements like this one today illustrate that our policies are continuing to deliver tangible results.”

Mastercard’s Leopardstown office currently houses 380 staff.

It is the global headquarters of Mastercard Labs, the company’s research and development arm, which is aimed at bringing innovative payment solutions to market at speed.

Mastercard’s South Dublin office is the hub of their business in Ireland.

Ken Moore, executive vice president and head of Mastercard Labs added: “Ireland is the heart of our global innovation efforts.

“Throughout Mastercard, Dublin is admired as a key technology hub. The vibrant culture we have here makes it the perfect place to recruit for these highly-skilled roles.

“We need great minds who can look outside of Mastercard’s traditional payments expertise and create solutions to benefit our customers around the world, and I’m excited to grow our business here.” 

CEO of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan said: “Mastercard Ireland’s decision to locate 175 highly skilled jobs here underlines the continuing success of its Irish operation and the innovative approach and expertise of its team.”

Mastercard has taken on more space at its Mountainview headquarters in Leopardstown and signed a lease until 2026, to accommodate growing numbers of staff.

Since the opening of its Irish office in 2008, the number of people employed by Mastercard in Dublin has increased by 880 per cent.

Senator Neale Richmond (FG) described the announcement as more great news for the Sandyford Business District following a series of large jobs announcements over the past year. 

 “With the economic uncertainty that comes with Brexit it is important that every opportunity is taken to expand sectors such as interns financial services to make up for the overall impact,” he said.

“Ireland is now a very attractive location for international FinTech and payment companies from all over the world and announcements like this one today illustrate that the Government’s policies are continuing to deliver tangible results. 

“The Sandyford Business District is an extremely vibrant and productive area for business to invest and grow with many big-name companies based there such as Microsoft, Vodafone, Bank of American/Merril Lynch and of course MasterCard. 

“Roles announced today include project managers, software developers, blockchain specialists, cloud infrastructure specialists and technologists.”