UiPath looking to hire senior IT specialists in Cluj-Napoca, but facing challenges due to highly competitive market

Romanian unicorn UiPath opened a new office in Cluj-Napoca in 2018, its second in Romania after the headquarters in Bucharest. The company entered the Cluj market by acquiring the Smart Data AI platform from Recognos, whose founders, George Roth and his son Andrei, joined UiPath’s team as senior manager for partnerships and alliances and Cluj campus manager, respectively.

In an interview with Actual de Cluj, Andrei Roth said that despite being the global leader of the Robot Process Automation (RPA) market and having developed an attractive employer image, UiPath is still having a hard time finding the employees it needs in Cluj.

“It’s a tough market, as people in this field get dozens of offers. It’s very hard to find experienced people. We’re somewhat privileged – first of all, let’s admit that we have the financial resources we need. But that’s not enough; there are other companies that have resources as well. But there’s more: we give people the opportunity to join a team that’s made up exclusively of people at the same level,” said Andrei Roth for Actual de Cluj.

UiPath does high-level research & development in Cluj, which helps it attract valuable IT specialists.

“Cluj is not a cost centre, it’s an R&D centre. The big advantage is that people who come to Cluj to learn stay here afterwards. On a 300 km radius, Cluj is the main attraction, thanks to its universities,” Roth added.

From its office in Cluj, the company wants to develop software automation solutions that help companies with their accounting operations.

“In this industry, we’re revolutionising the way people work. That’s what software automation means. It’s not the first time this has happened. Excel also revolutionised accounting work. It didn’t replace the accountant, but it made their work easier. We make it so that boring, repetitive work is taken over by automated processes, so that people can grow in their professions instead of wasting time on repetitive tasks,” the UiPath manager explained.

In September 2018, UiPath obtained a new investment of USD 225 million from Alphabet’s investment fund Capital G, as well as other major tech investors. In total, the Romanian startup reached investments of at least USD 400 million in just two years, and its stunning growth led to the company being evaluated at USD 3 billion.

UiPath was founded in 2005 by two Romanian IT specialists, Daniel Dines and Marius Tirca, initially with an office in Bucharest. In 2014, when RPA started to gain traction, they expanded to the US, and now they have 31 offices in 16 countries, including Japan, India, South Korea, and the UK.