Tech Companies and Tech Growth in Seattle
By Jenn Rogala
Last Updated: November 18th 2023
Seattle has emerged as a major technology hub and offers many job opportunities for technology professionals, especially software engineers.
The average software engineer salary in Seattle ranges from $111,800 – $143,700.
Tech Giants like Amazon and Microsoft have called Seattle home for decades.
Along with many startups, Seattle has become a tech hub for companies of all sizes.
5 Tech Companies with Headquarters in Seattle
1. Amazon and Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Amazon specializes in e-commerce, smart devices, book publishing, and video and music streaming, and is the world's most popular cloud computing platform. With that much product variety, the list of technologies Amazon uses is signficant, including DevOps, Data analytics, Java, C++, Python, React and Angular, and more. Amazon has over a million employees and a technical workforce of approximately 70,000—half of which are software engineers.
2. Microsoft Corporation - Microsoft is the world-leading provider of personal computer software, including operating systems like Windows and applications like Microsoft Office. Its Azure cloud computing platform is one of its fastest growing offers and is the second most popular cloud computing platform behind AWS. Microsoft employees 100,000 softare engineers out of 221,000 global employees. Microsoft uses many technologies, including .Net, JavaScript, Python, C++, and Java.
3. Expedia Group - Expedia develops websites used for online travel transactions such as buying plane tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, etc. It has over 15,000 employees and hires roles in DevOps, software engineering, mobile development, and data science.
4. Tableau - Tableau’s data analytics platform focuses on business intelligence and facilitates the management of data and data visualization. Tableau was acquired by Salesforce and now hires AI expertise along with website and mobile development, UX design, DevOps, and cloud computing. Tableau has around 4,200 employees.
5. Zillow Group - Zillow is the most popular real estate site in the US. It has 8,000 employees and uses AI, data analytics, mobile development, Java, Python, and Redis.
It's worth noting that although not headquartered in Seattle, companies like Apple, Google, Meta, and Dell all have locations in Seattle.
See our other blog in the Seattle series about Tech Jobs in Seattle.
Seattle's Tech Growth Initiatives
Even with a thriving tech job market, Seattle goes a step further and implements initiatives that ensure the economic and innovative growth of its tech opportunities are available to all.
1. Promoting digital equity – Seattle's Information Technology Initiative works to "ensure all residents and neighborhoods have the information technology capacity needed for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services."
2. Promoting inclusive economy – The office of economic development has a vision for Seattle to be "a vibrant, innovative, diverse city with an inclusive economy that ensures all Seattleites can thrive and share in the new opportunities of the future."
3. Bridging the digital divide – This is a major effort by Seattle to award Technology Matching Fund grants to applicants with projects aimed at bridging the technical divide.
4. Seattle tech conferences – Seattle hosts many tech events and conferences throughout the year that professionals seek out for networking opportunities.
a. May 24, 2023 Women Impact Tech
b. May 11, 2023 TECHSPO
c. Jun 12, 2023, Greentech 2023
d. Find more 2023 conferences here.
5. Venture Capital World Summit – (June 2023) connects investors with entrepreneurs. Seattle has other resources to help startups, like the Founders Network.
Why choose to live and work in Seattle?
Seattle is the largest metropolitan area of the Pacific Northwest region.
Amazon and Microsoft continue to attract tech professionals and software engineering is the most common career in Seattle.
Besides tech being the top industry in Seattle, the Emerald City has other benefits for tech professionals.
1. Startup opportunities – Along with the job opportunities provided by the tech giants, Seattle was ranked 9th in the global startup arena. This combination promotes technology industry job growth and career growth in general.
2. The quality of life in Seattle is high. It ranked 15th for factors such as safety, healthcare, traffic, pollution. And ranked 36th on the best places to live.
3. Cost of living – Seattle's cost of living is higher than the national average but more affordable than other large cities such as New York and San Francisco.
a. There is no state income tax.
b. However, the influx of high-paying technical jobs is raising the housing market.
c. Washington's use of hydroelectric power plants lowers energy costs.
For reference, see Tech learning opportunities in Seattle from our Seattle series.
Key Takeaways
As the tech industry in Seattle continues its rapid climb, technical career opportunities will expand.
With the support from the Seattle government, doors will open for everyone to participate and benefit from its growing digital economy.
Jenn Rogala
Senior Writer
Jennifer Rogala has worked in the area of healthcare technology for 30 years. Most of her publications were on the topic of how medical technology can improve patient safety. It wasn't until she became a mother that she started writing stories for children. From their infancy her twin daughters loved books. Seeing the joy books gave to her children inspired Jennifer to attempt to create this joy herself and share it with others. Jennifer lives outside of Boston with her twin daughters, and calico cat.