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Oct 25, 2023
In our recurring Trending in Tech blog series, we shine a spotlight on tech companies in Ottawa that are growing and creating new opportunities for tech talent in the region.
This month – we’re showcasing Golden Layout Technology, a Taiwan-headquartered company making a move to expand into the Canadian tech ecosystem – and presenting new future opportunities for tech talent in the Ottawa region to come.
So, continue below for an introduction to Golden Layout Technology – and get the inside track on opportunities to join its team.
Golden Layout Technology is a Taiwan-based company providing professional analog and Radio Frequency (RF) integrated circuit (IC) layout services – with a focus on helping IC design houses and semiconductor foundry companies where ICs are manufactured to develop their next-generation products.
The company has built its reputation in the competitive semiconductor industry by specializing in advanced processes – in particular, FinFET (Fin Field-Effect Transistor) technology. FinFET is an advanced transistor technology used in ICs that represents a significant advancement in the design and manufacturing of integrated circuits.
Generally speaking, FinFET technology offers improved performance, lower power usage, and enhanced scalability compared to traditional planar transistors. And as such, it has become a fundamental building block in the development of cutting-edge electronic devices – and an opportunity for Golden Layout Technology in Canada.
According to the company’s Business Development Director Griffon Lin, the company has enjoyed solid and increasing growth in recent years.
“We realized around 20% growth in revenue every year from 2019 to 2022 – with $3.48M revenue recorded in 2022,” he explained.
And as they continue to seek new opportunities in the Canadian market, they expect the growth trend to continue. But as far as specific projects they had in the works for the future, they explained that while plans are still in development, they’re already in the process of building a team to help the company set up Canadian roots.
“We are still working on it,” Lin said. “We are hiring people right now and we are sure we could provide opportunities for tech talent in Ottawa area.”
According to Lin, the company has been working as a supplier with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company, and the world’s largest dedicated IC foundry.
TSMC has been active in Ottawa since August of 2007, and according to Lin, after realizing TSMC had a design center in Ottawa, Golden Layout wanted to support TSMC’s customer base in Canada.
“After introductory communication, we feel that Invest Ottawa offers everything we need from set up, incorporation to recruitment even legal support and all kind of consultation when we need it, so we are very happy to join this soft-landing program,” Lin said.
Now that Golden Layout is starting to settle into the Ottawa area, they’re starting to see why they were recommended to come here.
“We realize that there is very big potential in Ottawa because there are lots of semiconductor-related companies here,” Lin explained. “Especially for the communication-related industry. It seems that we should have many projects here.”
“We plan to access other customers in Ottawa area, and to try and grow our supporting power in Ottawa,” he added.
Lin explained that it’s a challenge to find tech talent in Canada with semiconductor experience and said that it’s more common for the company to find talent in software and AI – and not in IC design and manufacturing. So, there’s an increased emphasis in providing thorough training – which the company does in-house.
Lin did, however, highlight that it would be helpful if candidates could speak Chinese (Mandarin) and added a few personality traits that the company feels would make a good candidate to join the team.
“Honesty, integrity and attentiveness are our culture,” he said, “because the semiconductor industry is doing hardware design and manufacturing after all, and it’s difficult to change or modify, like software coding. And it consumes lots of time and money if we don’t do things right in the early stages.”
“We don’t need a genius to create fantastic outcomes,” he added. “But to work with Golden Layout, it would be easier if you are attentive and careful in following the guidelines the circuit designer requests.”
Lin said that as the company is currently working to build a local support team here in Ottawa, they’re looking to hire someone in a sales-focused role, to follow up with customers and clients and report the progress and situation to the company headquarters.
Lin mentioned that the company is careful not to outline too much of the company’s strategy for the future with Canadian competitors sure to be watching but did highlight how Invest Ottawa’s talent team is helping them to make the transition into the Canadian market and to build a strong team able to compete in the Canadian market.
“Invest Ottawa not only helped us to connect with partners in legal/ financial/ labour sectors, but it also helped us with the translation and explaining the details, so we know why and how to do with partners,” he explained. “This really helps a lot for a foreign company.”
“Their talent services also provide us with a total solution to recruiting,” he added. “We just need to review the resume and provide feedback to the candidate we’d like to talk to. It’s quite easy for us – even if it’s our first time hiring people outside of Taiwan.”
If you’re looking to find specialized tech talent to help scale your company, reach out to our talent team and find out how we can help.
Reach out to the Invest Ottawa talent team.
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