HQ2 Reaches 3,000 Employees As Construction Progresses

There are now more than 3,000 Amazon employees assigned to the company’s HQ2 in Arlington.

That’s more than double the amount of employees this time last year, according to a spokeswoman for the company.

Meanwhile, Amazon is seeking more than 2,500 new corporate employees for a variety of technical and non-tech jobs — another tenth of its stated goal to hire 25,000 employees for its second headquarters. Positions range from software development engineers to financial analysts to “solution architects” in a variety of departments, from Fire TV to Alexa.

Amazon reports it is now the largest job-creator in the U.S. after hiring more than 450,000 people during the pandemic. Across its more than 220 locations in the U.S., it is looking to hire more than 40,000 corporate and tech roles as well as tens of thousands of hourly positions.

And those interested will soon have the chance to engage with Amazon recruiters. The company said it will host a training and recruiting event on Wednesday, Sept. 15 to help current and future employees grow their careers. Starting today (Wednesday), people can register for the free event online.

“The event is designed to support all job seekers, whether they are looking for a new job or hoping to transition to a different career altogether — at Amazon or another company,” Amazon said in a press release. “The event is open to all, regardless of their level of experience, professional field, or background.”

During Career Day last year, Amazon said it saw the highest one-week number of job applications in the history of the company. In 2020, it saw a staggering 30 million applications, nearly double from 2019.

This year, the company will offer more than 20,000 personalized career-coaching sessions with Amazon recruiters, while two senior recruiters will lead a “How to Interview at Amazon” breakout session. Software development engineers will lead coding workshops.

Attendees will hear from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who replaced founder Jeff Bezos as chief executive this summer, as well as long-time Amazon executive Dave Clark, New York Times best-selling author David Epstein, and Carla Harris, vice chairman of global wealth management at Morgan Stanley.

Meanwhile, over in Pentagon City, construction continues on Metropolitan Park, the first phase of HQ2 construction, which includes two office buildings dubbed Met Park 6 and 7/8. Construction crews are working on the 10th stories now, Clark Construction employees told visitors to the National Landing Farmers Market on Saturday.

Later this year, work is slated to begin on the existing Metropolitan Park open space, which apartment dwellers frequent with their dogs. Almost this time last year, the County Board approved plans to revamp the space.

The Clark Construction employees told dog-owners they’ll get more information closer to when work starts, as well as suggestions for alternative spots. One option could be the temporary dog run at Virginia Highlands Park, about a half-mile away, which Amazon supported.

Utility work is set to wrap up at the end of this week at the intersection of 15th Street S. and S. Eads Street, according to online updates from Clark Construction. Portions of 13th Street S. and S. Elm Street will be closed periodically so that trucks can deliver concrete from a temporary plant at the nearby Pen Place site — later to become HQ2’s second phase — to Met Park.

Over the next few weeks, there will be intermittent traffic stoppages at the corner of 15th Street and S. Elm Street for timber deliveries, the company said in an email update.

“We anticipate these deliveries will be completed by Sept. 20,” the update said.

As for transportation changes, the bike lane on S. Eads Street from 15th Street S. to 13th Street S. has been removed and lane striping has been added, permitting bikes to share the vehicle lane in that section, according to Clark. The new shared lane has been widened to accommodate both bicycles and vehicles. Eventually, a protected bike lane is expected to be added to that stretch of Eads Street.