British technology consultancy BJSS opens office in Lisbon

British technology consultancy BJSS has opened an office in Lisbon, its first in continental Europe. 

To kickstart the new operation in Portugal, the firm has reserved an amount of over €12 million, to be spent in the coming 18 months on setting up the office and hiring leaders, consultants and staff. According to the current plan, BJSS aims at establishing a 150-strong team by the end 2022, specialised in technology, engineering, consulting, cloud, data and artificial intelligence services.

Commenting on the milestone, Stuart Bullock, Managing Director at BJSS, said: “International expansion continues to be a key growth strategy for BJSS and we believe that the potential to unlock further opportunity in the European market is huge.”

BJSS was established in 1993 in Leeds, the United Kingdom. The firm has since grown into an award-winning technology and engineering consultancy with over 1,500 staff. The Lisbon offices becomes its thirteenth location, following ten in the UK, and two in the US.

“The decision to expand to Lisbon as our first European base was a logical step in this strategy. It means that we can establish even closer ties with our European clients, while strengthening our service capabilities in the fast-growing Iberian markets. We’re truly thrilled to be here,” added Bullock. 

The firm is currently recruiting over a dozen roles including full-stack software engineers, user interface (UI) and website specialists, test engineers, mobile application developers, data engineers and scientists, and user experience consultants. 

At the helm of the Lisbon operation stands Pedro Ferreira, a Portuguese national and three-year veteran of BJSS. Prior to joining the company, he worked as a digital consultant for Sparck in Leeds, as an independent consultant, and as Head of UX & Design at digital marketing specialist Blueclaw Media. He relocated to the UK from Portugal at the end of 2012, and is now returning to his home country to take the reins of the new venture.

“It's an absolute honour to be a part of this strategic step for BJSS. This investment shows our commitment to the Portuguese market and talent,” he said about his new challenge. 

Amir Soufizadeh, Head of International Expansion at BJSS, said: “We’re delighted to benefit from Pedro’s local insight.”