Hiring

Bloomberg profiles head of Apple University Joel Podolny

Cody Lee ∙ February 13, 2014

Earlier this week, Apple announced that it was promoting its retail HR head Denise Smith to lead its human resources department company-wide. Smith replaces Joel Podolny, who will now focus all of his energy on a top-secret executive training program known as Apple University.

Not much is known about the project, other than that Steve Jobs hired Podolny—the former dean of Yale's School of Management—to put together a program to teach his methods to future execs. But a new Bloomberg report helps shine some light on the University, and its new leader...

Former Cercacor CTO Marcelo Lamego joins Apple and other iWatch hires

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple's hiring spree of biosensor experts continues with the latest revelation pointing to another high-profile executive hire.

According to the newest scoop by NetworkWorld, the former chief technology officer of non-invasive patient monitoring company Cercacor, Marcelo Lamego, has joined Apple's iWatch team.

Apple has been hiring some of the world's top experts in sleep research, medical devices and biosensing, fueling speculation that its rumored wearable device will focus on health and fitness tracking...

Apple names Denise Smith as new head of human resources

Cody Lee ∙ February 11, 2014

Hoping to continue its efforts to attract and retain top talent, Apple has named Denise Young Smith its new head of human resources. Smith replaces Joel Podolny, who will now focus all of his energy on Apple University—a platform for teaching 'Apple' culture.

The announcement is notable for a few reasons. First, Smith will be the latest woman to join Apple's top ranks— the company has taken heat recently over the lack of diversity on its executive team—and two, she will be in charge of attracting and retaining talent...

Exhaustive list details Apple’s recent hires for rumored iWatch project

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Last night we passed along a report from The Wall Street Journal, which featured an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook talking about the company's past, and its future. And one of the things he harped on was that it has some big things in the pipeline.

A quick look at the rumor mill tells you what some of those things could be: a bigger iPhone, a new Apple TV product, etc. But perhaps the most anticipated unreleased Apple product is the health-sensing, fitness tracking smartwatch known as the iWatch.

We've seen a lot of evidence that Apple is working on a new wearable device, but none of it is more telling than its recent string of medical and fitness expert hires. And 9to5Mac has put together an exhaustive list, detailing what each brings to the table...

Job ad confirms Apple testing health/fitness wearables

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 6, 2014

A new job ad discovered on Apple's website Thursday has pretty much confirmed that the firm is working on and testing some kind of a health and fitness related wearable device. It's the first semi-official confirmation of the rumored iWatch project if I ever saw one. I'm not sure if this is an unintentional slip up and why Apple would want to make this particular call for job applicants public.

Regardless, it's now clear that Tim Cook & Co. have been staffing up with a lot of wearable experts from medical, fitness and biosensing fields. The job description mentions expertise in such health activities as cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure, including “calories burned, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level measurement/tracking” and more...

Apple reportedly poaches sleep and activity monitoring Philips expert for iWatch team

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

In another round of high-profile corporate hires, Apple has apparently poached a sleep research expert from the Dutch technology company Philips.

Specifically, Roy J.E.M Raymann used to lead sleep research at Philips Research, the company's research and development arm. Not anymore: it's now assumed he joined Apple's iWatch team.

According to a new report, this particular guy is experienced in wearables, sensors and non-pharmacological methods of improving sleep quality, an indication that Apple's rumored wearable project will be much, much more than a smartwatch...

Job listings suggest Apple’s working on new iPod product

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

During the latest Apple earnings call, CEO Tim Cook commented that his team has known for a while that the iPod is a declining business. Sales for the nearly 15-year-old product line have essentially been on the decline since 2008.

As you can imagine, this coupled with the fact that the iPod line hasn't received any major updates since 2012, has led to speculation that the mp3 player is on its way out. But a few recently-discovered Apple job listings suggest otherwise...

Apple’s focus on wearables apparently includes medical biosensing and iris scanning

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

If a new report by a very reliable blogger is anything to go by, Apple's rumored wearable project is seeking to mainstream medical sensor technology and health biosensing via monitoring your blood chemistry. Evidence proves that earlier this year the company poached two high-profile biosensor experts from medical devices firms.

These people, who joined the iWatch hardware team, bring expertise in mobile medical technologies focused on reading and analyzing blood and glucose levels via a potentially disruptive technology that uses a painless patch which works on the arm and doesn't require a needle.

Apple's interest in blood monitoring through skin is interesting in light of the rumored iWatch wearable device, even more so considering Google's latest initiative - Smart Contact Lenses that measure glucose levels in tears.

Furthermore, the iPhone maker is said to be "actively investigating" iris scanning technology. As we wrote before, Samsung is said to be exploring iris scanning for the upcoming Galaxy S5. This is your TL;DR version, the full analysis and detailed context continues...

Judge approves anti-poaching agreement suit against Apple, Google and others

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

A few years ago, if you were a Silicon Valley engineer in high demand, landing a job at Apple, Google, Intel or other technology titans likely meant your career was stalling as a result of these companies conspiring to fix wages by not hiring each others’ employees. A probe by the Justice Department into these 'no solicitation' agreements led to a class-action lawsuit.

And after a federal appeals court refused to let the defendants appeal a class certification order, the affected Silicon Valley software and hardware engineers, programmers, animators, digital artists, web developers and other technical professionals have won clearance to pursue the collusion case as group, Reuters reported Wednesday...

Apple now hiring engineers for Arizona sapphire glass plant

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2014

It was confirmed back in November that Apple has secured multi-year supply of sapphire cover glass by prepaying north of $500 million towards the purchase of sophisticated furnaces that will churn out the protective material on an industrial scale.

The material production would be handled by a company called GT Advanced at a plant in Mesa, Arizona that would create 2,000 U.S. jobs. The iPhone maker has now begun hiring engineers for the Mesa plant for the positions that specifically mention iPhone and iPod manufacturing...

NYT Magazine design director joining Apple’s marketing team

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Speaking with media outlet Mediabistro, longtime New York Times Magazine design director Arem Duplessis revealed that he is leaving the publication to take a position at Apple. He'll be joining the company's internal marketing team, though his specific role is unknown.

This is a significant hire for Apple, as Duplessis is a highly-regarded designer who is responsible for some of the most beautiful covers of the NYT Magazine in the last decade. And his department has won the ADC's 'Design Team of The Year' award the past 3 years in a row...

The harsh realities of getting a job in Apple’s supply chain

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 7, 2013

Current CEO Tim Cook under Steve Jobs used to run Apple's vast network of suppliers and contract manufacturers and has largely been credited with turning the company into a well-oiled money-printing machine. But making sure trains run on time involves the incredible complexities associated with hiring tens of thousands of workers - and fast, too - who tediously assemble iPhones and iPads in factories located in China and Taiwan.

Apple and its manufacturing partners have been taking a lot of heat over worker treatment in these sweatshops so the iPhone maker eventually started tracking the work hours of 1+ million supply chain workers and took other proactive measures to ensure fair hiring.

But now, another issue is making headlines: the inhumane treatment of would-be employees by employment brokers who take high advance fees from workers and their families, contrary to Apple's rules. Read on...