BuildOps to open East Coast center in Raleigh; state grant approved to support expansion

Mayor Janet Cowell welcomed state officials and company executives at Raleigh City Hall on a weekday afternoon as Governor Stein announced that BuildOps, a veteran-owned technology company, will establish a center of excellence in downtown Raleigh.

The governor said the project is expected to bring 291 jobs to Wake County — a figure he rounded up in remarks to “maybe 300 jobs” — and that BuildOps will invest more than $700,000 in the local operation. "I am proud to announce that BuildOps, a veteran owned technology company, will be establishing a center of excellence right here in Raleigh, North Carolina," Governor Stein said. "We anticipate that it will bring 291 jobs to Wake County and I'm a round up kind of guy. So maybe 300 jobs to Wake County."

The announcement included a state funding element: Governor Stein said the project will be supported by a Job Development Investment Grant that was approved earlier the same day. He thanked Secretary Lilly and his team at the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Division of Workforce Solutions, along with Wake Tech, the North Carolina Community College System, NC State University, the Capital Area Workforce Board, Wake County and the City of Raleigh for their roles in the recruitment.

"The average salary is well over a $100,000, a $111,000, whereas the average salary in Wake County is $77,000," the governor said, noting the administration’s view that the positions are higher-paying than the county average. He described the announcement as the product of a multi‑party collaboration among company executives, elected officials, state and local governments and economic development professionals.

Clay Smith, vice president of BuildOps, described the company's product and workforce goals. "BuildOps is an end to end solution for the subcontractors," Smith said, adding the platform is meant to increase efficiency for trade workers. Smith also noted the company recently completed a Series C financing round and that the company selected Raleigh for East Coast growth because of local talent availability: "As we looked at that, we said where is a spot where we can have access to great talent ... The obvious solution for us was Raleigh, North Carolina."

Officials and company representatives acknowledged the project's next steps will involve hiring and local onboarding; no timeline for when the new positions will be filled was specified during the remarks. The governor and company representatives framed the announcement as an economic-development win for Raleigh and Wake County, with state and local partners expected to support workforce connections through community colleges and workforce boards.

A ceremonial exchange followed the announcement: Governor Stein presented Clay Smith with a gift, a vase designed by North Carolina artist Ben Owens bearing the state seal and the motto "Esse quam videri." Mayor Cowell and other city officials joined the event; she told the assembled group, "We're glad that you feel like Raleigh is a place that you wanna come."

Questions about precise implementation steps, hiring schedule, and any incentive agreement details beyond the Job Development Investment Grant were not specified in the remarks recorded in the meeting transcript.