Google is in hiring mode

By Kim Hart - 10/29/09 10:20 AM ET

Over the past few months, Google has brought on new staff to its growing Washington office, and the company is looking to fill at least four more policy-related positions.

Seth Webb, who was the House Financial Services Committee’s second-most senior Republican aide, joined Google in June to handle Republican outreach and to head small business development. Frannie Wellings, a senior staffer to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), will soon begin her new role handling third-party outreach for Google.

Google also brought on board Mistique Cano, formerly vice president of communications for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Cano takes over media responsibilities for Adam Kovacevich, who had been the key press contact at Google for the past three years. In his new role, Kovacevich is leading the broader policy and communications strategy in the Washington office.

Google’s D.C. office started with one person, Alan Davidson, in 2005. As tech issues such as net neutrality started to bubble up in Washington, Google hired a slew of lobbyists. Andrew McLaughlin became Google’s director of public policy and government affairs.

McLaughlin is now deputy chief technology officer in the Obama administration. Davidson’s role has since expanded to oversee all of the Americas, including Canada and South America. The Washington office now has more than 20 full-time employees.

To handle the growing range of issues Google is involved in — from online privacy to government transparency — the company is seeking to expand even more. It is looking to hire an academic relations manager who will serve as a liaison to university faculty, economists and researchers and commission policy papers.

Google is also currently interviewing candidates for a new privacy policy counsel, who will be responsible for advocating Google’s position to congressional committees and federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission.

The company is also hiring a small-business community outreach manager, who will work on small-business issues on the state and federal levels. Google is also looking for a policy associate to join its government-relations team.

The tech giant has spent just under $3 million on lobbying so far this year, up from the $2 million it spent during the first nine months of 2008.

In addition to the openings at its Washington office, Google is looking to fill a dozen more legal and policy jobs at its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.