Dozens of job seekers swarmed the new offices of high-tech firm Avalara as the company opened its doors on Wednesday, August 24, for a job fair. Avalara, which is located in the new Island Gateway complex across from the entrance to the Ferry, is the leader in providing sales tax automation for small- and medium-sized businesses. It is one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States and a top employer on the Kitsap Peninsula.
Ferry commuters exiting the Bainbridge terminal on Tuesday afternoon were greeted by Avalara’s staff, who were handing out color fliers promoting the event. At the fair, job hunters from a wide range of ages were welcomed by the company’s top executives wearing their trade-show orange and white bowling shirts. On the back of the shirts Avalara’s logo had been embroidered on a surfboard. Underneath the surfboard was the company’s tag line: “making sales tax less taxing.”
Avalara has a well-earned reputation of being a “fun” place to work, as evidenced by the bright orange garb and a generous spread of appetizers, bottled water, and wine. According to representatives, Friday afternoons at the company are reserved for some fun, frolic, and adult beverages in the company café area.
Avalara employs over 200 people, the majority of which live in Kitsap County, according to company records. It currently has posted on its website more than 20 Bainbridge-based job openings (http://www.avalara.com/Job-Openings). The fliers handed out to commuters read, “What would you do with an extra 40 hours a month?” The goal is to entice commuters with the possibility of turning hours of ferry commuting into free time spent at home. Avalara is looking for software engineers, auditors, accountants, marketers, and sales professionals. It is planning to grow in terms of business and personnel by double digits during the next year.
The company was founded in 1999 as Advantage Solutions by Islander Rory Rawlings. In 2004 fellow Islanders Jared Vogt and Scott McFarlane joined Rawlings and renamed it Avalara. Today, the web-based sales tax solutions provider serves more than 25,000 licensed users throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad, delivering more than 300 million sales tax transactions and filing and remitting more than $10 billion in sales and use tax collections per year.
Photos by Kevin Hawkins.
Avalara is an outstanding company. I hope they found some excellent new team members and that more tech-related service companies discover Bainbridge is a great place to be.
I hope this new company will support Bainbridge Island Schools!