Texas-Based Softeq Establishes Full-Stack Development Center in Vilnius, Lithuania

Softeq Development Corporation opens a full-stack development center in Vilnius, Lithuania.

This move is part of the company’s strategic plan to cater to a larger pool of companies across Europe and other adjacent regions. In Vilnius, it envisions building a team of up to 150 software, hardware, and firmware specialists over the next 3 years.

Established in 1997, Softeq initially focused on technical software (hence, the company name), and gradually grew to offer full-cycle engineering services ranging from programming on the driver and OS level to building complex end-to-end ecosystems, including IoT solutions.

In 2008, the company expanded its presence by opening a development center in Minsk, Belarus. It established itself in Europe after acquiring NearShore Solutions GmbH and opening an office in Munich, Germany.

In November 2020, the company opened the Softeq Innovation Lab to help global enterprise intrapreneurs discover and develop early-stage transformational business ideas powered by technology.

The base in Vilnius will serve as a go-to development center for the company’s EMEA clients, covering all potential requests from hardware and firmware design to application development and support.           

“Softeq helps clients make the transition to digital across an entire spectrum from early-stage ideation in our Innovation Lab to end-to-end engineering services provided by our growing development centers. Our new development center in Vilnius will support building complex solutions involving innovative new software, applications, cloud back-ends, firmware, and hardware all under one roof,” explains Christopher A. Howard, founder and CEO.

The decision to establish a development center in Lithuania came as a part of the company’s plan to cater to a larger pool of European companies. Softeq expects the Vilnius office to function as a primary development location for its Central European and UK market efforts.

“We were looking for an EU location that could serve as a strategic development center, suitable both for local talent sourcing and for the relocation of staff from our Minsk-based center. So our main criteria were investment climate, ease of doing business, long-term stability, and the availability of a local talent pool relevant for our expertise,” Sergey Mustafaev, HR director, says.

The company’s current plans in Lithuania include the creation of 150 new jobs and the establishment of local hardware and QA laboratories. The company will be looking at hiring across various roles, including Java, JS, C++, and .NET developers, AI/ML and Schematic engineers, PCB designers, DevOps, manual and automation QA specialists.

“The range of positions Softeq is looking to fill is impressive. No less impressive is the ability of the local education system to produce world-class professionals that match the standards of global companies with an astounding track record of developing next-gen tech solutions,” says Mantas Katinas, GM, Invest Lithuania.

As part of its transition from the traditional IT outsourcing model, the company launched the Softeq Innovation Lab in Houston, TX. A joint venture between Softeq, MIT, and Boundless Technology, the lab organizes creative sessions led by US scientists, futurists, entrepreneurs, and technology experts. In the future, the company plans to collaborate with Lithuanian universities in a similar fashion.