99 Group to hire 100 tech staff over the next year

Property portal 99 Group looks to hire 100 additional tech staff over the next year, in a move to accelerate its tech innovation for an evolving real estate industry. 

According to a media release, the portal - which operates brands including 99.co, iproperty.com.sg, and rumah123.com - is recruiting talent for roles including front- and back-end engineers, app developers, product managers, UX/UI designers, and data analysts. 

99 Group Chief Executive Officer Darius Cheung said: "Even as we navigate the uncertain economic situation, as a tech company we are constantly on the lookout for the best tech talent so that we can operate at the cutting edge of tech."

Cheung added that COVID-19 has been a game-changer in the industry, with an increasing portion of the entire home search and purchase process shifting online. Having facilitated many transactions through tools such as live video viewings through the platform, Cheung said: "We are leveraging tech to deliver an even more convenient and trustworthy property hunting experience."

At the same time, the property portal has appointed tech veteran Shivkumar Krishnan as Chief Technology Officer.

With close to two decades of experience in the tech industry, Shivkumar spent more than 10 years in the United States at tech giants – such as Microsoft and eBay – as well as start-ups. Prior to joining 99 Group, he was the Director of Engineering at Circles.Life and the Engineering Leader at Grab. He holds a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Commenting on his appointment, Krishnan said: "I’m excited to be at the fastest growing property platform in Southeast Asia as there is plenty of momentum to ride on. We’ll continue to transform the industry by building a trusted platform where home buyers and renters know they’re in good hands."

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