Sterling Talent Solutions, a pre-employment background screening company that just expanded its U.S. operations center at 4511 Rockside Road, expects to hire about 65 people in 2017.

Sterling Talent Solutions, founded in 1975 and based in New York, has 4,000 employees in 20 offices globally, including a large presence in Manhattan and in Greater Seattle.

But the Independence office, now with 225 employees, is its largest in the U.S. and its only office in Ohio. Sterling, which hired 65 people in 2016, moved into the 40,000 square foot offices at 4511 Rockside Road in anticipation of more growth.

Jason Morris, Sterling Talent Solutions’ SVP of Client Success.Sterling Talent Solutions

“The economy is doing very well, and our clients are hiring more. So the more they hire, the more people we do background checks on,” said Jason Morris, a Cleveland native and Sterling’s senior vice president of client success. “I just think Cleveland is a wonderful place to work.”

Sterling is hiring for account managers, client services specialists, a human resource recruiter, marketing managers, criminal court researchers, sales and marketing executives, software developers and engineers.

A more complete listing is at www.sterlingtalentsolutions.com/about/careers/

Morris founded EmployeeScreenIQ in 1999, a background screening service in Warrensville Heights that Sterling acquired in 2015.

“We intend to have north of 300 employees in this office with the next two years,” he said. “We are actively hiring.”

Morris said he couldn’t disclose his clients, but said: “We do a lot with the ‘sharing economy.’ It’s well known that we are a supplier to Lyft, as well as more than 20 percent of the Fortune 100 companies.” Sterling works with staffing companies, airlines and trucking companies, financial services institutions, and manufacturers.

“We have been hired under contract by 50,000 clients worldwide,” he said. “We verify everything on resumes, do criminal background checks and drug testing, and provide HR services as well.”

Sterling Talent Solutions is not connected to Akron-based Sterling Jewelers, the U.S. arm of Signet Jewelers Limited that includes Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry.