In 2013, Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money (NBC network), coined the notorious acronym FAANG when referring to the five most prominent tech companies in America. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google. At the time, these Big Tech companies were the market leaders and with their stocks doing the heavy lifting for the entire tech sector. Since the rebranding of Facebook to Meta, the acronym has changed to MAANG, although no one really says this.
Techies adopted the word with open arms, and it began to be used synonymously with Big Tech. Now it represents the pinnacle of professional success among developers. Landing a job at a FAANG company means high pay and guaranteed employment for the rest of your career. Once you make it to the big leagues, any company would be lucky to have you, and for top dollar.
The great thing about Big Tech and these FAANG companies is just how big they’ve gotten. There are offices spread throughout the world. And if you’re in Europe, there are offices in most of the main hubs. This presents a great opportunity for tech workers seeking high pay and professional experience without relocating to California.
So let’s take a look at where FAANG (or MAANG) companies are operating on the European continent and see what job opportunities are available.
Cities: Paris, Zurich, Prague, Milan, Rome, Warsaw, Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid, London, Dublin, Cork
Relocation package: Lump sum payment, services of a moving company, car/home rental assistance, flight coverage, temporary housing, health insurance, networking events
Most common projects: Facebook core, WhatsApp, Instagram, AR/VR (Oculus, Portal)
Meta (formerly Facebook) has evolved to encompass a multitude of products and apps. You’re probably familiar with the flagship Meta products like Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instragram, but did you know that there is a gaming department? Or an AI division? Needless to say, there’s a lot more work happening than first meets the eye.
The best way to find open positions at Meta in Europe is by using this map. The London office has the most job opportunities in Europe, and the most Engineering positions. There are also positions in marketing and HR at this office. The Zurich office seems to be geared towards gaming and AI – they are working on Computer Vision. Paris has another big Meta office, they are focused on AI research, so plenty of opportunities for research scientists. And so on, you can check the map to learn more about each office.
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Cities: Luxembourg, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Cambridge, Barcelona, Madrid, Dublin
Relocation package: One-time payment or relocation package (travel costs coverage, home and car rental for a couple of months, a small cash bonus)
Most common projects: Amazon marketplace, AWS, Alexa
What started as a book and music-selling marketplace in 1994, has become one of the biggest tech companies in the world and the world’s second-largest employer. With around 1.5 million employees in its offices worldwide, Amazon offers plenty of jobs in Europe for software engineers, machine learning professionals, and cloud experts, as well as embedded engineers and data scientists.
Amazon’s European headquarters are in Luxembourg, but the hotspots for software engineering jobs are at the Berlin and Dublin offices. There are also a surprising amount of opportunities in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona) and in the UK at the London offices. Check out their career page to discover all the opportunities.
Cities: Cork, Munich
Relocation package: Lump sum payment + moving assistance
Most common projects: Siri, Hardware, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV
Apple's working policy is probably the most secretive among all the FAANG companies. It is prohibited for most employees to discuss work-related stuff, even with their families! However, that doesn't make Apple less popular with hardware and software engineers who are looking for new opportunities. On the contrary, the company is highly valued by its employees, thanks to excellent internal communication, decent base pay, amazing benefits & friendly co-workers.
The main Apple offices in Europe are based in Cork, Ireland, and Munich, Germany. Although you can find a few engineering positions in the Cork office, they seem to predominantly hire customer service and support staff. The Munich office, on the other hand, actively hires software and hardware engineers – so if that’s your field of expertise, head there first.
Cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, Warsaw
Although Netflix has its offices in seven European cities, there aren’t really any software engineering positions going at the moment. Although, if you are in Marketing or Finance, there are opportunities in Berlin and Amsterdam. Jobs at Netflix are converted and highly competitive, so it’s best to check in regularly so you don’t miss any new posts.
Cities: Aarhus (Denmark), Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Lisbon, London (x3), Madrid, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw, Wrocław, Zurich
Relocation package: Lump sum payment or relocation package (travel and moving expenses coverage, temporary housing, car rental, visa assistance, pet relocation, the assistance of a moving company)
Most common projects: Google Search App, Google Cloud, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Chrome, YouTube Technology Services, Google Meet
Among all the FAANG companies, Google has the most offices in Europe compared to any other FAANG company – three just in London! With such a widespread network, you’re sure to find an opportunity nearby. Apparently, Zurich has the biggest office where more than 2,000 employees work on products like Google Maps, YouTube, and Gmail.
You might be one step from becoming a Noogler if you're a passionate Java, C++, Python, or Go engineer, data scientist, or machine learning engineer with expert knowledge of NLP and/or Speech/Audio/Video processing. However, Google also offers technology-agnostic positions. This guide will help you find a vacancy at Google Europe that is fit for you.
Hopefully, you found this article helpful and were able to pick out a few jobs that matched your skills and experience. Remember, FAANG jobs are difficult to get, and often candidates need to apply and interview multiple times before they make the cut. So while you should take extra care with your application, don’t be discouraged if you get rejected. You are competing with some of the best engineers in the world and it’s okay if you aren’t ready yet.
MAANG jobs aren't the be-all and end-all. There are dozens of companies in Europe that can offer similar pay and career progression. And given that Big Tech companies aren’t what they used to be, it might even be a better career choice to join a rising unicorn rather than one of these faltering corporations. Check out our job board to find something that better matches your career goals.
Kate is a seasoned content writer with an IT background and a passion for all things Data Science. Since 2018, she’s crafted more than a dozen data-driven and research-based articles on tech job search-related topics, many of which reached the top position on Reddit, Hacker News, and Towards Data Science.
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