Square opens St. Louis office, plans to hire 200

The office will swell up to more than 200 new employees over the next five years and is located in St. Louis’ Central West End section.

St. Louis has landed the newest office of Square, which plans to hire more than 200 people in the hometown of the mobile payment company’s co-founders Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey.

“St. Louis is an important part of Square’s history”, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square, stated in a company release. The company introduced a compact square-shaped gadget that attaches to a mobile device and processes credit card transactions.

The talent pool from St. Louis universities, research centers, and training programs prompted Square to return to its roots.

The Governor, who met with Square co-founder Jim McKelvey in April to discuss the project, said the announcement further strengthens Missouri’s status as a prime destination for technology jobs and innovation.

Company officials plan to hire 40 full-time workers in St. Louis immediately, with positions including customer support, recruitment and office management.

McKelvey, who owns the Third Degree Glass Factory on Delmar Boulevard, once employed Dorsey in one of his tech ventures. They remained friends and in 2009, McKelvey remarked to Dorsey about how he lost an order for his glassblowing business because he couldn’t process a credit card for a sale.

St. Louis has been recognized as a top USA tech hub by CNBC, a top metro area for STEM professionals by WalletHub, and the No. 1 emerging startup city in America by Popular Mechanics.

As for Square, the Wall Street Journal reported in late July that it had filed for a confidential IPO.

As a result, the State of Missouri and the St. Louis region in particular have earned national recognition as a hub for high-tech jobs. With three other offices in the United States, Square will use its new St. Louis location to better meet its sellers’ needs in the Midwest.

He would know. McKelvey founded the LaunchCode program in St. Louis to help fill the scores of vacant tech jobs in the region.