Queer dating app Grindr has tapped a new connection in Chicago.
The company will open an office at 230 W. Monroe Street, which will serve as its primary global engineering hub. Grindr has been actively recruiting engineers in the Chicago area since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, since 2022, has gone full steam ahead with hiring in the city, according to Joel Keating, SVP of Engineering and the head of Grindr’s Chicago office.
The team currently works out of a downtown WeWork, but the expanded space, estimated at around 8,500 square feet, will hold the team of 70 to 80 engineers, Keating said. With the expansion in Chicago, the company wants to build awareness of its local presence; Keating mentioned that many people he’s interviewed weren’t even aware Grindr had employees in Chicago at all.
As the announcement of a new hub comes right before Pride month, the company plans to utilize that synergy for some marketing initiatives. Grindr is planning an engineering “all hands” for the weekend of the Chicago Pride Fest, bringing the company’s Bay Area team to Chicago to do a “hackathon.”
They’re also planning outreach at the festival itself, speaking to community members and letting people know they’re hiring. Outreach plans include a Grindr bus tour, “Grindr Rides America,” that will go from coast to coast, with a planned stop in Chicago Pride on the first weekend.
The bus tour will also include a photo-op, so the app’s users can snag themselves a new profile pic, along with free merchandise, while there will also be opportunities for people to learn more about health measures, including HIV and STI prevention, screening and treatment.
Grindr’s expansion into the city will “not only bolster our city’s tech sector but also contribute to our ongoing efforts to foster a vibrant and inclusive business environment,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a press release.
The mobile engineering team will hone in on the company’s Android and iOS apps, as well as expanding in data and cloud engineering, engineering management, as well as Java/Kotlin and Full Stack. Expanding to Chicago is a natural fit given the city’s boisterous queer community, Keating shared.
“Outside of the very diverse and strong talent pool of engineers here in Chicago, it was also the fact that we hit on, that there is a very, very vibrant and active LGBT community here,” he said. “A lot of our engineers are actually part of the community-and so that kind of cross section of strong engineers [and] strong culture is the reason we ended up in Chicago.”