iMusicTech sounds call for hiring amid rapid growth

Music app and electronic device developer iMusicTech is a good example of how useful incubation projects can be for local IT companies. Founded in 2008 by a group of IT, music and electronics experts, the company has grown into a 30-strong team, thanks to the support of the incubation programme operated by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.

Kenneth Chau, CEO of iMusicTech, says the company is rapidly expanding, with plans for more product launches and the opening of an overseas sales centre later this year. This is driving a need to hire more staff to handle all these upcoming developments.

“In response to the expansion plans, we hope to increase our current work force to 50 by the end of the year,” he says. “We will soon be moving to a bigger office in the [science] park.”

The company has two senior job openings for a system analyst and a designer. “The system analyst is responsible for leading a team of programmers in developing software and apps. Candidates with experience working with music-related apps and software will have an advantage. The position requires at least six years’ experience,” Chau says.

The position of designer is a supervisory role, which involves leading a team in making apps function properly on various electronic devices. “Our company provides apps for different gadgets such as smartphones and tablet computers,” Chau says. “The designer’s job is to provide solutions to incorporate those apps into various devices.” The position requires at least five years’ experience.

Eva Chan, the company’s administration and HR manager, says finding experienced designers is not easy because few have the necessary job experience. “While many designers have experience on websites, they have not necessarily worked with mobile devices,” she says.

Besides these two management posts, the company is also recruiting for junior positions including programmers, software and app developers, and system administrators. “The focus of our app-development team is on making apps for music sharing, video production, and singing and dancing,” Chau says.

Chan says the challenge is finding a system administrator experienced in working with music and multimedia data. “He or she will be dealing with a huge database of music and videos,” she says.

Chau adds the company has an open working culture, with colleagues being encouraged to voice solutions to handling projects. “The culture here is liberal,” he says. “I think it is great to listen to opinions from different parties in order to come up with the best solutions. I also strongly believe that a good work-life balance is the key to getting the best out of my colleagues. I promote a ‘no overtime’ culture. The work that one is able to accomplish in office hours is the best.”

When project manager Joe Tse, who has more than 10 years of experience as a programmer, joined the company two years ago, he was impressed with its open culture. “The boss has given me a lot of freedom to do projects,” he says. “We often hold meetings to seek ideas from other team members. I really appreciate this culture, where everyone has the chance to express their opinions.”

Regarding career prospects, Tse says the company’s rapid expansion is allowing him to experience working with different projects and handle more management duties. “I love app development and the company has been involved in various projects,” he says. “As the number of employees continues to grow, I am more involved in management. That is an area of my career that I want to enhance.”

System administrator Alan Mok, who joined the company at the beginning of this year, thinks that working at iMusicTech has made him a more diverse IT specialist. “In my previous posts as a system administrator, I managed data such as e-mails,” he says. “Here I can work with music and video data, which is a great learning experience for me.”

Chan says the company fully supports staff professional development. Its base at the Hong Kong Science Park offers convenient access to technology seminars held there.

Tse is one of those who says he has benefited from the seminars. “Recently, Microsoft and Nokia hosted seminars on how to create apps on their platforms, which is very beneficial to our work,” he says. “We can attend seminars during office hours. We also have access to various online learning resources to help us get better at what we do.”

Chan adds that the company hosts activities such as hiking, war games and playing online games to help build team spirit.