1000 workers needed: How to score a job with Atlassian

One of the world’s most successful software companies is so keen to recruit it is driving a special bus to Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in search for 1000 new employees.

Australian software firm Atlassian, founded by Australian entrepreneurs Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon Brookes, will use a branded RV to drive across major cities from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast in search of staff.

The company said it would be advertising its “work from anywhere” policy as a means of attracting new employees.

Starting in Sydney on October 5, the company’s branded RV – dubbed AtlassiVan – will embark on a road trip as part of a recruitment drive to hire 1,032 new engineers over the next 12 months.

On Wednesday Atlassian’s recruitment team will be stationed between Pitt Street and Castlereagh street in Sydney’s CBD to talk to locals, encouraging them to consider a career in technology.

The company’s ‘Team Anywhere’ policy means Atlassian’s thousands of employees can effectively work from any anywhere, and are only required to travel to their nearest office about four times a year.

The RV will make its way up the east coast with stops including Canberra, Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast over the next month.

Scott Farquhar outside the Atlassian recruitment RV.

The company is now officially headquartered in Delaware after shifting its corporate HQ from the UK this month.

“We want to find experienced people in Australia, whether that’s from a big bank or a software company, or from people who haven’t been in the technology industry,” Mr Farquhar said in an interview.

“Our research shows that tech jobs are more secure than other jobs, and that women have half the pay gap in tech compared to other high paying industries. We’re hiring people whether they’re from Brisbane, Bendigo and Ballarat, depending on where you want to be. These are the jobs of the future. And if we can’t fill all these roles here, they are jobs that can be done around the world, so we’ll look elsewhere.”

Mr Farquhar says more than half of Atlassian’s workforce live more than two hours away from one of its offices, a number he expects to grow.

Construction has begun meanwhile on Atlassian’s new 39-storey headquarters, which will anchor the Tech Central precinct in Sydney’s CBD and is expected to be open in 2027. Other tenants include Afterpay, Canva and ROKT. Mr Farquhar said Atlassian would not struggle to fill the space.

“The great thing about building it now is we can design it for how people will be working into the future,” he said.

Schedule

5th October: Sydney (Martin Place)

6th October: Wollongong (161 Crown Street)

10th October: Canberra (Australian National University)

12th October: Melbourne (Queensbridge Square)

17th October: Adelaide (Rundle Mall)

21st October: Newcastle (King Street)

24th October: Brisbane (King George Square)

25th October: Gold Coast (Pacific Fair)

27th October: Sunshine Coast (Peregian Digital Hub)