U.S. fitness wearables producer Fitbit has opened in Bucharest its largest research & development center in Europe.

The office in Romania will carry out complex activities such as management, design and software engineering for all the company's products, the company announced. The new center is located in the office building on 8 Aviatorilor Boulevard, in Victoriei Square.

The tech group is also recruiting for the new office in Bucharest, looking for young people who want to specialize in firmware engineering, software development, product management, design and more. The company also wants to hire experienced IT specialists to support the technical development of Fitbit products globally.

The opening of the office in Romania comes after the company acquired the local smartwatch manufacturer Vector Watch, a transaction that took place at the end of 2016. Fitbit has paid USD 15 million to take over the intellectual property rights of the Romanian startup Vector Watch and the team who developed the smartwatch.

Fitbit was founded in 2007 by James Park and Eric Friedman. Both of them were present at the inauguration of the new office in Bucharest, which took place on Thursday, September 14.

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com