What it does: Provides IT performance solutions
Staff stats: Around 250
The good bits: Growing company, lots of scope for career advancement
The not so good bits: Dealing with constant change
Hiring grads with degrees in: Engineering, Maths, IT & Computer Sciences.
The IR story
Australian IT entrepreneur Steve Killelea founded Integrated Research (IR) in in 1988 and listed it on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2000. The company provides fault-tolerant solutions for business-critical computers operating on HP NonStop server technology.
Killelea’s company now services more than 1000 businesses around the world. It keeps many Fortune 500 companies, including some of the world’s largest banks, airlines and telecommunication companies, operating without disruption.
IR’s core offering is IR Prognosis software. This is an integrated suite of performance monitoring and diagnostics solutions. Whether they are banks needing to guard against fraud or utilities providing critical services, IR’s clients depend on Prognosis software to ensure hundreds of millions of transactions and communications take place smoothly every day.
The company’s revenue, which is predominantly generated in the US, has grown rapidly for the last five years. In 2016, the company had annual revenue of $84.5 million.
The culture
IR’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy promotes a workplace free of all forms of discrimination. It seeks to recruit, develop and promote staff on merit and without consideration of their race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. Women make up about 30 per cent of IR’s workforce. The company celebrates diversity and inclusion through events such as Harmony Day.
Social contribution
Steve Killelea has used much of the money he’s made from IR to found the Institute for Economics and Peace (a global think tank), fund the Global Peace Index study and set up The Charitable Foundation, one of Australia’s biggest private overseas aid providers.
IR is committed to the United Nations Corporate Social Responsibility Model. This requires high standards be met in relation to human and employee rights, environmental sustainability and anti-corruption policies. IR supports causes such as Red Nose Day, charities such as Be Centre (a children’s mental health charity) and encourages staff to get involved in community activities.
IR leases environmentally friendly premises and encourages recycling.
The recruitment process
To be considered for IR’s grad program you’ll need to be a recent graduate with at least a bachelor-level degree (and an excellent academic record) in computer science, software engineering, IT (or something closely related to those disciplines). You’ll also be expected to demonstrate you’re a high-achieving team player who possesses a sound understanding of computer science and programming theory.
IR starts considering applications for graduate positions in March. The company doesn’t publicly detail its recruitment process. However, judging by the experiences of previous applicants, you should expect to have to complete an online programming assignment and possibly do a phone interview. If that goes well, you’ll be invited to spend half a day at IR’s Sydney headquarters. While there, you will be given a quick tour, do a face-to-face general interview, a technical interview and possibly take part in whiteboard coding activity.
The graduate program involves spending a year based in the Sydney office rotating through different teams. While there are formal training activities, much of what you’ll learn you’ll pick up on the job while working alongside accomplished software engineers. You can expect to become knowledgeable about IR Prognosis’s product architecture and its supported platforms. You’ll have a mentor, access to feedback from peers and customers and the opportunity to see your work rolled out to customer sites.
Remuneration
Company remuneration levels are reviewed annually. They are structured to attract quality candidates, reward achievement and create shareholder value. They are also contingent on factors such as company earnings and share price. The perks of working at IR include being offered shares in the company, long-service benefits and flexible work arrangements. The company also promotes a healthy workforce by providing staff with massages, flu vaccinations, yoga classes and fresh fruit.
Career prospects
You can expect to be based in Sydney while doing the grad program. But you’ll have plenty of opportunities to work in IR’s Asian, European and US offices once you’re a fully-fledged member of the team. You’ll also be given the opportunity to build on your software engineering skill set by getting trained up in areas such as product architecture, management, consulting or pre-sales engineering.
The vibe of the place
IR lightens up the workplace mood with table tennis matches, staff drinks, birthday celebrations and lunchtime sports. You can dress casually when appropriate. If you wish, you can get involved with a range of cultural events the company likes to celebrate.
"IR is a leading global provider of proactive performance management software for critical IT infrastructure, payments and communications ecosystems. More than 1000 organisations in over 60 countries—including some of the world’s largest banks, airlines and telecommunication companies, rely on IR Prognosis software to provide businesscritical insights and ensure continuity-critical systems deliver high availability and performance for millions of their customers across the globe.
Our graduate program focuses on expanding our graduates' experience and developing their knowledge through on the job learning.
Working with our skilled software engineers, you’ll learn about the Prognosis product architecture and supported platforms. Your mentor will guide you through the program, with regular feedback from peers and customers, and the opportunity to see your work deployed immediately to customer sites.
From software engineering you can launch your career into different streams, including product architecture, management, or pre-sales engineering. Our graduate and intern positions are based in our Sydney office, with future career paths available both within Australia and our overseas offices.
We are looking for high-achieving graduates and interns who: