Payment and identity fintech Yaspa plans to create 10 jobs with the opening of a tech hub in Leeds.
The London firm is already recruiting for the positions at its base in Platform by Bruntwood, in the city centre. It says an initial 10 senior software engineering jobs will be created by the move, ahead of wider plans to have a team of 20 backend Java developers at the site before the end of the year.
The Leeds office will be led by David Turner, who is joining Yaspa as head of engineering from William Hill, where he was involved in automated sports trading. Yaspa's decision to open in Leeds is said to be based on the cluster of gambling companies in the city including Flutter Entertainment's Sky Betting & Gaming, Paddy Power and Betfair and Evoke's William Hill brands.
Chris Watkins, Yaspa’s chief people officer, said: "We see Leeds as the ideal location to open our second Ƶ office, with access to a strong pool of software engineering talent. It also has a strong reputation for talent with experience in iGaming, thanks to the companies that are also located there.
"Our office is at a premium address, just a few metres from Leeds train station. It’s a serviced office, with stunning views across Leeds centre from our sixth-floor office, coupled with amazing services to ensure Yaspa employees have the best experience possible when working onsite.
"We’re growing quickly but we’ll walk before we can run. The immediate goal is to get a squad of mid to senior level engineers on board. They will focus on building the US product for us. As soon as that squad is at full capacity, we’ll hire for a second squad, taking us up to 20 within the year.
"Although we're open to remote working, we’ve noticed a hybrid working model offers the best collaboration for success and employee growth. At Yaspa, we're really big on culture, collaboration and transparency, so we want people regularly working together in-person.”
Yaspa is said to use open banking technology and AI to help regulated businesses with customer intelligence, and with cashflow via its Intelligent Payments technology. Last month the firm announced investment of $12m led by Discerning Capital, and plans to open a US office.
David Turner, Yaspa’s head of engineering, said: “When I heard about the opportunity to join Yaspa, it felt like the perfect role for me. I am passionate about creating a safe, supportive environment where engineers can do their best work and this role allows me to do exactly that - building a talented team in Leeds while delivering the technology to support Yaspa’s next stage of growth.
"What excites me most is that Yaspa has already done the hard part. It has found its value proposition, proved it works and is now scaling. My focus will be on growing the engineering team rapidly, with the aim of having two strong squads in place by the end of the year, initially dedicated to the US proposition, while making the most of the chance to apply best practice from the start.
"Yaspa has the momentum, the vision and the team culture to make a real impact, and I am looking forward to helping take that even further."
