Opening Offices to Build Our Community

The traditional structure of working has evolved greatly over the last two years. Office spaces were traded in for at-home workstations and the longest commute employees had was from their bed to their desk. This evolution of working remotely didn’t just impact office space, it changed the recruiting landscape as well. We were no longer confined to the tri-state area for hiring, our talent pool now spanned across the U.S. Since April 2020, we’ve hired dozens of employees from all over the country, and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

As the world slowly started to get more comfortable with in-person interaction however, many Clear Streeters expressed how much they missed seeing one another in “real life.” Zoom fatigue is real! This prompted us to have thoughtful conversations about how we’d address this new way of working.

We wanted to make sure we weren’t defining productivity by a single variable. Productivity is multidimensional and complex. Many things influence aspects of productivity, and we believe that spending time together solving challenging problems is both impactful to our success and a fun part of our culture. We also know that for most of our employees, the flexibility to work from home or in controlled environments can increase certain types of productivity and by extension, impact happiness. With this in mind, along with the reinvigorated push to return to work, we started mapping out an expansion plan.

The first step was to upgrade our New York Headquarters. We grew a lot in our remote environment and needed a new, bigger office! We swapped our old space for a beautiful 45,000 square foot office in 4 World Trade Center. Our west coast teammates needed a home-base as well, so we opened a new location in San Diego, just steps away from the beach.

As we continued to grow, clusters of remote Clear Streeters started to form across cities in the U.S. — many of them meeting up at local coffee shops to work together. This led us to think about our real estate footprint once again.

Last month, we opened an office in Dallas to support our growing team, as well as a rapidly expanding client base that was eager to meet us in-person.

Last week we expanded again, opening doors in Tampa, FL and Chicago, IL. We have eight people set to work from the Chicago office and four setting up shop in Tampa. It might sound like a small group now, but we’re excited for these teams to flourish and enjoy the same setups as those in our more established locations. We see functions growing in these markets across engineering, sales & trading, operations, and beyond!

Investing in these offices is an investment in our people.

We are building something new and exciting at Clear Street and know that collaboration is critical to our success. Opening up spaces in cities like Chicago, Tampa, and Dallas enables us to continue hiring top-talent from all over the country and provides a dedicated space for our teammates.

We have ambitious goals at Clear Street, which can only be accomplished with a strong team and a strong culture. I am proud of how we’ve been able to adapt over these past few years and continue to deliver for Clear Streeters, regardless of where they live.

We’re still figuring out what works best for our team members — what drives impact, community, and engagement. This new way of working is only in its incubation stage. We’re learning how we can improve our collective experiences and we’re committed to getting better. We’ll continue learning from our people, our networks and other companies that are thoughtfully navigating these waters as well.

If you’re interested in joining our team, visit clearstreet.io/careers. Our next office just may be in your neighborhood!