Calling Vancouver a “hub for great talent with potential for continued growth,” Canadian multinational e-commerce company Shopify has announced plans to open its first permanent office in the city, and hire 1,000 employees as part of the process.

“We see a lot of growth happening in Vancouver, but we believe we can offer something different,” said Shopify’s VP of UX, Lynsey Thornton. “I was Shopify’s first employee in Vancouver, and it’s always been clear to me that there’s a huge local talent presence here.”

What’s unique about this announcement, she added, “is that we’re committing to building a top-tier RnD team. This won’t be an office where career growth is limited. It’s our intention to build the best RnD team in the city.”

The team, she added, “will be shaping products from scratch to help over one million businesses around the world, and their hundreds of millions of customers.”

In its announcement, Shopify noted that it has been growing its presence in the province for the past six years.

The company said its mission has always been “to make commerce better for everyone.”

To do this in Vancouver, Shopify said it is “committed to hiring a world-class, cross-disciplinary team with a focus on software development. We’re looking for backend developers, data engineers, mobile developers, web developers, product designers, and product managers.”

In an email to Daily Hive, Shopify’s Rebecca Feigelsohn said the office will be located at Four Bentall Centre (1055 Dunsmuir Street), and will feature a custom-designed space “where employees will thrive.”

The space, she said, is set to open in late 2020, occupying four floors and over 70,000 sq. ft.

The company said that as a Canadian-headquartered company with a global impact, its presence in BC “is part of a long-term growth strategy and commitment to continuing to expand our presence across Canada.”

The investment in Vancouver, it added, “will create jobs, support our local merchants, partners and community organizations.”