IN what is being seen as a major boost for Scotland’s technology industries, Amazon have announced a major expansion in its research and development facility in Edinburgh which will create 250 new jobs.

The company plans to expand its Development Centre in the capital’s Waverley Gate building. Amazon’s Customer Service Centre, the previous occupant of the space, will now move to state-of-the-art offices in the Scottish capital.

The 250 new roles will join hundreds of highly-skilled software engineers, scientists and designers already working at the site. Teams in Edinburgh work on new advertising technology and personalised shopping recommendations, benefitting Amazon customers and employees around the world.

Amazon has more than 2500 employees in Scotland across the Development Centre and customer service sites in Edinburgh, fulfilment centres in Dunfermline and Gourock, Prime Now site in Glasgow and delivery stations in Dundee and Motherwell.

Graeme Smith, managing director of Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “Edinburgh was Amazon’s first research and development centre outside of North America and it has a well-earned reputation as a global centre for innovation, software engineering and machine learning.

“The new roles are Silicon Valley jobs right here in the heart of Scotland and will join teams working on large-scale projects using cutting edge technology which helps benefit hundreds of millions of Amazon customers around the world.

“Scotland and Edinburgh in particular are home to some of Europe’s most exciting start-ups so it is fantastic we are able to expand our presence here.”

Scotland’s Economy Secretary Derek Mackay said: “This is welcome, additional investment in Amazon’s Scottish Development Centre in Edinburgh which was the first of its kind outside of the US. This expansion will provide capacity for 250 new high-skilled roles and shows the level of talent in the Scottish workforce.

“The Scottish Government has an ambitious economic strategy to create the right environment for job growth. This includes delivering enhanced physical and digital infrastructure, core skills and increased innovation and use of technologies in key industries,” he added.