HiOperator, Odoo, ACV: A look at Buffalo tech companies plotting hiring binges this year

Dozens of high-tech companies in Buffalo plan to expand their teams this year.

That includes everyone from pre-seed startups to corporate employers.

Here is a look at what’s ahead for some of the biggest local tech employers and projects.

ACV Auctions

Sallie Reid, vice president of people and culture at ACV Auctions

ACV Auctions

ACV Auctions has grown from three employees when it was founded eight years ago to more than 1,700 now.

The growth is expected to continue in 2022, said Sallie Reid, vice president of people and culture.

“As we start off the new year, ACV is in a fortunate position of continued growth and that means we will continue to recruit and hire top-tier talent from the Western New York area and around the country,” Reid said.

ACV, which hosts dealer-to-dealer automotive auctions, is headquartered in the Innovation Center on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus with most administrative and technical personnel there.

In March, ACV had 386 local employees, according to Business First’s list of largest technology companies.

“ACV prides itself on arming our teammates with the most cutting-edge technology stack and all of the tools and skills they need to be successful,” Reid said. “Additionally, our product and tech teams are organized into domain teams which are near autonomous vertical units that work closely with our business units. The result is pushing out a high volume of code each day with low failure rates and agile responses.”

ACV jobs in Buffalo

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AML RightSource

AML RightSource had a big year in Buffalo in 2021, establishing a Western New York hub in Seneca One Tower.

Cleveland-based AML now has 175 local employees. It plans to grow its Buffalo-based team to 250 employees this year, CEO Frank Ewing said.

That’s part of a longer-term plan that could include doubling its staff count in Buffalo in the coming years, Ewing said. The tech-enabled financial crimes firm is hiring this year for a variety of different roles, including management, operations and engineering.

AML jobs in Buffalo

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M&T Bank

M&T Bank officially hired its 8,000th employee in Western New York last year, as it staffs up to accommodate a variety of new needs.

That is especially true for its Tech Hub at Seneca One Tower, which opened last year after a $58 million renovation. Technology is a big part of the bank’s future and executives have said they plan to continue quickly growing its technical team in the years ahead. M&T’s careers page has hundreds of openings for tech-oriented roles in Buffalo.

MTB tech jobs in Buffalo

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Odoo

Odoo arrived in Buffalo less than two years ago and has already filled up an entire floor plate at Seneca One.

The Belgium-based business software developer plans to double its local team this year – including establishing a team of at least 50 engineers – as it fills up another floor in Seneca One.

Odoo’s open positions in Buffalo

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HiOperator

Customer-service-as-a-service firm HiOperator has officially moved into the Roblin Building in downtown Buffalo.

This year it plans to fill up another floor in the building. To do that, it plans to continue aggressively growing its team here.

HiOperator jobs in Buffalo

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Viridi Parente

What happens after you raise nearly $100 million in growth-oriented capital?

You spend it on growth, according to CEO Jon Williams.

Viridi Parente enters 2022 after raising one of the largest rounds of private funding in Buffalo, as it pursues its goal of becoming a fully integrated technology company. Viridi Parente will apply its lithium ion battery pack technology to a variety of different potential products, including electric vehicles and storage stations on buildings.

The company has about 60 employees now. Williams declined to give headcount projections going forward, but he said the pace of hiring will quicken substantially as the business grows.