Siemens has announced plans to open a digital research and development hub in Chicago that will bring more than 100 new tech jobs to the city. The facility, officially dubbed the Siemens Building Technologies CPS Software House, will open in October 2017. The company said it will invest $20 million per year in the new space, which is located in River North at 20 West Kinzie.

“Establishing a R&D hub in Chicago is a huge opportunity for Siemens to leverage the extremely talented tech community here,” said Norman Trapp, head of the Siemens Building Technologies CPS Software House, in a statement.

The R&D center will build applications for Siemens Control Products and Systems (CPS) technology. The CPS Software House will take the lead on global R&D efforts for the company’s Desigo CC platform, which makes it easier to manage the functions of large buildings. The facility will also work to add more cloud functionality to the System One smart home application.

"Siemens is focused on advancing the digitalization of buildings and moving towards autonomous building capabilities," Trapp told Built In Chicago. "Being able to integrate and manage different systems one platform is a key component to this vision. We have the platforms but want to ensure that we can easily roll out additional applications as the industry evolves."

Siemens said its new digital R&D hub will employ specialists in software development, software architecture, product testing, project leadership, application engineering, configuration management, team leadership and technical writing.

With the new facility, Siemens will have a Chicagoland employee headcount of over 3,300. Its North American Building Technologies headquarters is located in Buffalo Grove, and the company also has several offices in Chicago.

"Chicago has a growing and vibrant tech community," Trapp said. "We are excited to work with the great talent in this area and to hear new ideas that will help Siemens transform the building technologies industry."

Image via Shutterstock.

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