Keysight Technologies, a leading provider of electronic design and test software, equipment, and services, officially opened the doors to its new Software Design Center in Technology Square Oct. 13.

With the official opening of the Fortune 1000 firm’s Software Design Center, the company becomes the 15^th major corporation to make a home at or near Tech Square to tap into the Institute's research, student talent, and innovation ecosystem.

“We selected Georgia Tech and Midtown Atlanta based on several things, including the quality of students coming from Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and School of Computer Science,” said Jay Alexander, Keysight’s chief technology officer.

Other critical factors were the quality of research and  longstanding partnerships the company has with researchers in those schools, along with a supportive business climate in Georgia and Atlanta’s quality-of-life attributes, he said. In 2014, Keysight made a $120 million in-kind donation of its software to Georgia Tech, which the Institute is deploying to help students become industry-ready engineers by using the same instruments and software used by customers in government and industry.

“All of those things came together for us, making it  an obvious choice,” said Alexander. “We couldn’t be happier with our decision.”

The Santa Rosa, Calif.-based company’s $13.9 million investment in Georgia is expected to create more than 200 software engineering jobs.

“Tech Square has been a magnet for a number of promising startups, but we’re excited that it also has attracted companies with an impressive legacy like Keysight,” Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson said. “For Georgia Tech, it’s a point of pride and a significant achievement that a company of this caliber believes we can add value to its operations. It is the ideal type of industry leader we seek for Tech Square and Georgia Tech.”

Companies such as Keysight also are ideal for Institute alumni and students such as Jonathan Jones, who graduated from Tech in 2016 with a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from ECE. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering in 2015.

At Keysight, he will be part of a team of engineers who are building a new Keysight-wide software platform for rapid application development.

“I’ve heard people compare it to being a heavily funded startup, and that’s how I like to think about being here in Tech Square,” said Jones, a 23-year-old Macon native. “It was very attractive to be with the company as it’s starting something new; I like new challenges and tackling something new every day, so when I saw this opportunity, I knew I had to grab it.”

Deepika Narayanan, who is pursuing her master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at ECE, echoed Jones’ sentiments.

“The fact this is opening in Atlanta and it’s a software design center attracted me to apply for the position, and I’m really excited,” said Narayanan, who expects to graduate in December. The 23-year-old will be working on coding and software development, and she said she hopes to go into data specialization analytics and machine learning.

Uday Ravuri, who also expects to obtain his master’s in electrical and computer engineering at ECE in December, said Keysight’s offerings and culture made it an ideal choice for him.

“I basically looked for three things — a cultural fit, technical fit, and career growth,” said Raburi, who will be working as a software engineer for the company. “And from the feedback I received from the employees, all three of those important factors seemed to be perfect in this company, and that’s why I went for it.”