Digital personal finance company SoFi has opened an office near St. Johns Town Center. It will employ up to 300 full-time staff, mainly focused on operations functions such as member relations, loan review, quality assurance and fraud prevention, according to a news release.
The office was shown on the building permit as more than 35,000 square feet in the Town Center Two Building at 5335 Town Center Parkway.
“Jacksonville, from the start of our exploration, has been a clear front runner for talent, accessibility and offering an affordable cost of living,” said Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, in the release.
SoFi began advertising in August for job titles including senior director of DevOps, technical support analyst, consumer loan reviewer, financial crimes investigator, fraud detection and trainer.
The Trainer I listing indicated trainers “facilitate the new hire and skills-based training to the front-line call center agents in all the product lines SoFi offers.”
The San Francisco-based company's operation in Jacksonville began under the code name “Project Quail,” an economic development proposal approved Aug. 13 by City Council.
According to the proposal, the average annual wage at SoFi in Jacksonville is $54,941 plus benefits.
Council approved a Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund of $5,000 per job, totaling $1.5 million. The city will refund $300,000, or 20 percent, and the state will provide the remainder, $1.2 million.
The agreement also stipulated that SoFi will invest an estimated $5.5 million into real estate improvements, IT equipment, furniture and fixtures.
SoFi’s Jacksonville operation is part of the company’s more than 1,400 employees in 11 locations, including headquarters in San Francisco and offices in Healdsburg, California; Cottonwood Heights and Murray, Utah; Helena, Montana; Claymont, Delaware; New York City; Reston, Virginia; and Seattle.