By Cara Trager
Published on September 29, 2003

Google Inc. knows a bit about running a search.

Since the spring, the firm, which is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., has been assembling a team of software engineers for a new Manhattan office, seeking everyone from recent Ivy League grads and Ph.D.s to back-office programmers with Wall Street experience.

"We are trying to find good people as quickly as we possibly can," says Craig Nevill-Manning, a senior staff research scientist at Google and manager of the New York engineering office.

Three years after the technology boom went bust, Google's recruitment effort represents one of the few positive signs for the city's downtrodden tech industry. Recruitment executives are speculating that other Silicon Valley companies may follow Google's lead and open tech offices in the city, recharging New York's reputation as a hub for creative technology.

"Google sets a pace," says Elaine Erickson, executive vice president of Kenzer Corp., a Manhattan recruitment firm headquartered in Manhattan. "It can get others to consider New York City and to hire additional people."

City stature

Google, which has had a Manhattan sales office since 2001, remains mum on exactly how many engineers it plans to hire to work on advanced software development here, but industry sources figure that the number is anywhere from 20 to 100 workers.

The one thing that is clear is that Google believes that it needs to be in the city to attract the software engineering talent required to constantly reinvent its search engine.

"Developers need a high level of creativity and New York is a very stimulating environment," says Mr. Nevill-Manning. "There's a large pool of talented people to pull from because of the proximity to the pharmaceutical research labs in New Jersey, the academic centers and the large number of financial services companies."

There's also the infectious creativity that oozes from the city's fashion, media and entertainment industries. "There's a lot going on to stimulate people," he says.

Cultural differences

What's more, the city's cultural life, not to mention family considerations, made luring East Coast talent to the West Coast very difficult, says Mr. Nevill-Manning. That left

Google with one choice-to open an engineering office in New York.

But after years of running its business in laid-back California, Google-like other West Coast tech firms that head east-may suffer, at least initially, from culture shock.

A Manhattan office building has a far different feel than a sprawling Silicon Valley corporate campus, and the city has a much more formal workplace mentality. "Employees are not looking to bring their dogs to work," says Mike Wellman, managing partner at Jefferson Partners, a Darien, Conn.-based executive search firm with Manhattan clients.

For its part, Google is taking steps to bridge the East-West culture gap, while working to facilitate collaboration between the two coasts. Besides providing its New York staff with feel-good perks, such as free meals, massages and amusing gadgets, Google plans to send employees back and forth between the coasts for anywhere from several weeks to a few months.

"The culture we develop in New York will be a blend," says Mr. Nevill-Manning.

Copyright 2003, Crain Communications, Inc

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