Tech boom: With global reach and mission-driven values, Maine tech makes an impact

Over the past few years Maine has sent a clear message to the tech industry that it is open for business. With new companies moving to the state and older companies growing and expanding along with this year’s downtown Portland opening of the Roux Institute, Maine is poised to take on a leading role in technology.

The Roux Institute, part of Northeastern University’s graduate studies program focused on artificial intelligence, biotechnology, computer and data sciences and digital engineering, saw its first cohort of students last fall in space it shares with WEX Inc. Not only do they share a home but the Roux Institute has a partnership with the financial tech company along with a startup residency of its own that helps Maine-based tech companies grow and attracts new startup businesses from out-of-state.

WEX, which moved into its new office space in downtown Portland in 2019, provides financial services and payment systems to millions of companies world-wide with employees in eleven different countries. Adrian Van Der Eb is one of WEX’s 1,250 Maine-based employees and started with the company through its internship program while attending Bowdoin College in 2017.

Through her two years of the summer internship, she learned many different roles and accepted the position of Data Informatics Analyst upon graduation. She says she enjoys working at WEX because the company really let her hit the ground running and define her own role to fit within the team.

“As soon as I met my manager there was an instant connection,” said Van Der Eb, who graduated with a double major in math and government and minor in computer science. “He really sold it as a place to work that’s good for Maine.”

Growing up in a small town in Maine, Van Der Eb never pictured herself working for a place like WEX. “The corporate world didn’t exist in rural Maine,” she says, but she advices others interested in a job in the field to “just explore and talk with people. Reach out to someone for a referral and ask them for 30 minutes of their time to see what they do.”

Melanie Tinto, WEX’s chief human resources officer, says its internship program, which was named to the job recruitment site WayUp’s list of Top 100 Internship Programs in the U.S. in 2019 and 2020, focuses on both personal and professional growth. She notes that the competitive program draws from a talented pool of well-rounded students with a variety of backgrounds.

Many of WEX’s tech-focused positions are filled by employees with computer science and financial analyst backgrounds but there are also opportunities for people straight out of high school to work in their call center – entry level positions that come with opportunities to grow skills and offer tuition reimbursement for continuing education.

The vast majority of positions we hire for don’t require a degree.
^{_{— Liz Rensenbrink, Tyler Technologies}}

At Tyler Technologies “the vast majority of positions we hire for don’t require a degree,” says Liz Rensenbrink, HR director. She says there are a lot of opportunities for on-the-job training, noting that one of the company’s leaders in software development was a former weatherman. The public-service focused company with offices in Yarmouth, Falmouth and Bangor, provides software and services to local governments and school districts, like student information systems, school bus scheduling and routing, and city tax assessment tools. They also offer an internship to college students and sponsor an app-building challenge for Maine high school students.

“Generally speaking, the tech industry is moving away from experience and looking more for hunger and passion,” says Pete Dewitt, director of employee communications and talent marketing at IDEXX Laboratories, headquartered in Westbrook. IDEXX offers opportunities for work straight out of high school in their manufacturing and operations.

Dewitt says he loves being a part of IDEXX because of the company’s global perspective and mindset of “contributing to something bigger than yourself.” While one third of IDEXX’s over 8,000 employees live and work in Maine the others are located around the globe. The company develops, manufactures and distributes diagnostic products and software services to the veterinary industry and provides water quality testing and other services in over 175 countries.

Photo / Courtesy of Covetrus

A Covetrus office dog at the Portland headquarters.

Covetrus Inc., formerly Vet’s First Choice, is another animal health-focused company. “We’re like the back office of the vet,” says Stacey Shirra, vice president of global talent management based in Denver. This is a new role for Shirra, who most recently held a similar position at Apple. She says as an animal lover accepting a job with Covetrus was an easy decision.

Shirra says that Covetrus also has entry-level positions and notes that even jobs in their distribution center come with a lot of technology these days and opportunities for advancement.

Kiní Schoop, a Covetrus spokesperson, says the work culture is collaborative and one where people are not afraid to ask questions, no matter what position they hold. “People are nice,” she says of the 300-employee Portland office. “They allow you to bring your whole self to work.” And, of course, they allow office pets.

People are nice. They allow you to bring your whole self to work.
^{_{— Kiní Schoop, Covetrus}}

Maine tech companies provide serves to a broad range of industries. Grand Rounds Inc., which moved into a new office in Lewiston last year, focuses on services and systems that support the health of people. Portland-based Tilson Technology, another Roux Institute partner, and SymQuest, with offices in Lewiston and Westbrook, are both focused on telecommunication services and information infrastructure. Technology services provide the bones and structure to a variety of different fields, creating a host of unique job opportunities.