Spike in job openings at Apple hints at renewed focus on design

Jump to First Reply
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2018
The past few months have seen an unusual hike in job openings for designers at Apple, potentially hinting at work on a grand new project or a renewed focus on design.




According to statistics accumulated by Thinknum, a new data-driven web publication that tracks Apple job openings, among a slew of other publicly available metrics, the number of new positions for designers at the Cupertino tech giant has been climbing steadily since October.

As seen in the graph above, openings for design-related jobs hit a peak of 70 new positions on Jan. 12, a marked uptick from an average of 40 or less dating back to mid-2016. Between April 2016 and October 2017, the number of new design jobs hit a high end of 49 and trough of 22, the latter coming in August of last year.

Apple constantly has feelers out for new and promising employees, but the recent rise in interest for designers is unusual. Thinknum broke down related job openings posted over the past 24 hours and found listings for product managers, motion scientists, product managers, optical engineers, touch ASIC digital architect, iPhone System Engineer, Siri engineers, iPhone product managers, plastic tooling engineers and prototype iOS Engineers.

"Know this, though: Apple is hiring more creative people for future products that have something to do with the iPhone than they have in a long, long time," writes Thinknum publisher Joshua Fruhlinger.

The publication points out that a "large number" of the designers and engineers being sought will work at the company's Apple Park campus. Apple is currently in the process of moving key teams from its Infinite Loop campus to the new facility, where employees will continue work on flagship products like iPhone and Mac.

What, exactly, the glut of new design-related positions means for Apple's future ambitions is unclear. While mere speculation, the increase could signal work on a new product category or it might simply be a planned buildout to bolster groups refining existing product lines. In any case, the company's design and engineering ranks are about to swell.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    Unless there have been more design people leaving than normal and therefore there are more job openings....
    leehericks
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 24
    I was going to say the same. I remembered hearing some designers left for other companies. I'd like a notchless iPhone to upgrade to eventually.
    alanh
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 24
    dewmedewme Posts: 6,098member
    Apple is still busy being born. 
    cornchiptrashman69
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 24
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,954member
    I’d put in but I’d never even hear back let alone get an interview.

    anyway, I’d suspect that due to the nature of Apple's collaborative design team, they didn’t want to go on a design hiring spree and then have to put them in different buildings.  Now they’ve got a little extra space to stuff designers in.
    edited January 2018
    jony0
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 24
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    nerdou812tokyojimucgWerks
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 24
    Whining about the notch in 3... 2... oh goddammit someone couldn't wait.
    macxpresspaisleydiscoRayz2016doozydozenjony0
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 24
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 6,006member
    cornchip said:
    I’d put in but I’d never even hear back let alone get an interview.

    anyway, I’d suspect that due to the nature of Apple's collaborative design team, they didn’t want to go on a design hiring spree and then have to put them in different buildings.  Now they’ve got a little extra space to stuff designers in.
    You'll never get an interview for a job you never applied for. Nothing to lose by applying. You never know!
    cornchipRayz2016
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 24
    How are they defining design related job reqs? I wouldn’t consider some of the functions below in the category of design.
    Apple routinely has feelers out for new and promising employees, but the recent rise in interest for designers is unusual. Thinknum broke down related job openings posted over the past 24 hours, with Apple looking for product managers, motion scientists, product managers, optical engineers, touch ASIC digital architect, iPhone System Engineer, Siri engineers, iPhone product managers, plastic tooling engineers and prototype iOS Engineers.


     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 9 of 24
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,954member
    macxpress said:.

    You never know!
    True...
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 24
    kevin keekevin kee Posts: 1,289member
    MicDorsey said:
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    We can only hope people stop with this hyperbolic deranged misconception.
    Rayz2016cornchipMisterKitpatchythepiratejony0
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 24
    MicDorsey said:
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    Right on the money...  The worst app on the iphone - the phone app.  Funny but true.  Ever try listening to your voicemail?  Also, navigation is horrible again.  What is going on with iTunes?  Can it lose any more of my playlists - I'm tired of recreating.  My daughter says move to Spotify, and I think I'm going to have to.  iTunes is unusable.  The new iPhone X is a mess.  Closing apps takes triple the time now than it did before, or more.  Sad.  
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 12 of 24
    Rayz2016rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    nerdou812 said:
    MicDorsey said:
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    Right on the money...  The worst app on the iphone - the phone app.  Funny but true.  Ever try listening to your voicemail?  Also, navigation is horrible again.  What is going on with iTunes?  Can it lose any more of my playlists - I'm tired of recreating.  My daughter says move to Spotify, and I think I'm going to have to.  iTunes is unusable.  The new iPhone X is a mess.  Closing apps takes triple the time now than it did before, or more.  Sad.  
    Is that you, Donald?

    cornchipsmiffy31macxpressbadmonkjony0
     5Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 24
    Rayz2016rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member


     Thinknum broke down related job openings posted over the past 24 hours, with Apple looking for product managers, motion scientists, product managers, optical engineers, touch ASIC digital architect, iPhone System Engineer, Siri engineers, iPhone product managers, plastic tooling engineers and prototype iOS Engineers.

    You forgot to mention the product managers.
    cornchip
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 14 of 24
    Rayz2016rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    kevin kee said:
    MicDorsey said:
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    We can only hope people stop with this hyperbolic deranged misconception.
    Not a chance. The Armchair design guru is here to stay, along with the Armchair CEO, the Armchair lawyer, the Armchair accoustics expert, the Armchair financial accountant, the Armchair victim of Apple’s desire to SCREW US OVER AT EVERY TURN, the Armchair Industry analyst and the Armchair standup comedian (the last one is quite a feat). 


    smiffy31badmonkjony0
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 15 of 24
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Rayz2016 said:
    kevin kee said:
    MicDorsey said:
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    We can only hope people stop with this hyperbolic deranged misconception.
    Not a chance. The Armchair design guru is here to stay, along with the Armchair CEO, the Armchair lawyer, the Armchair accoustics expert, the Armchair financial accountant, the Armchair victim of Apple’s desire to SCREW US OVER AT EVERY TURN, the Armchair Industry analyst and the Armchair standup comedian (the last one is quite a feat). 


    The armchair standup comedian is probably also a armchair chiropractor ;-).
    Rayz2016
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 16 of 24
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 6,006member
    Rayz2016 said:
    kevin kee said:
    MicDorsey said:
    We can only hope Apple is hiring user interface / user experience designers to clean up the mess. Oh please, please, please.
    We can only hope people stop with this hyperbolic deranged misconception.
    Not a chance. The Armchair design guru is here to stay, along with the Armchair CEO, the Armchair lawyer, the Armchair accoustics expert, the Armchair financial accountant, the Armchair victim of Apple’s desire to SCREW US OVER AT EVERY TURN, the Armchair Industry analyst and the Armchair standup comedian (the last one is quite a feat). 


    You forgot the armchair engineer and battery chemists. 
    badmonkjony0
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 24
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,208member
    macxpress said:
    cornchip said:
    I’d put in but I’d never even hear back let alone get an interview.

    anyway, I’d suspect that due to the nature of Apple's collaborative design team, they didn’t want to go on a design hiring spree and then have to put them in different buildings.  Now they’ve got a little extra space to stuff designers in.
    You'll never get an interview for a job you never applied for. Nothing to lose by applying. You never know!
    I am confident that a lot of the applications are machine screen in very, very proprietary ways. I also suspect there are counter-intelligence firms that submit resumes for fictitious people in an attempt to glean information about who they are looking for and for info on the projects that those people are going to support. If there isn't such a "cottage industry" for this...well...here's a nifty idea for a startup business ready go
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 18 of 24
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,208member
    I really hope they are hiring people to work on AirPort refresh.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 19 of 24
    cgWerkscgwerks Posts: 2,952member
    kevin kee said:
    We can only hope people stop with this hyperbolic deranged misconception.
    Or, hope to bring some of the fanboys back to reality so we can have honest critique.

    If you haven't recognized a fall in Apple's UI/UX design, then you haven't been paying attention or UI/UX just isn't your thing (like some drivers can't tell the difference between a Pontiac Sunbird and a Porsche 911). And, while I might be an somewhat-armchair UI/UX guy, I can point to a number of UI/UX leaders who are also complaining about Apple's more recent trends.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 20 of 24
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    cgWerks said:
    kevin kee said:
    We can only hope people stop with this hyperbolic deranged misconception.
    Or, hope to bring some of the fanboys back to reality so we can have honest critique.

    If you haven't recognized a fall in Apple's UI/UX design, then you haven't been paying attention or UI/UX just isn't your thing (like some drivers can't tell the difference between a Pontiac Sunbird and a Porsche 911). And, while I might be an somewhat-armchair UI/UX guy, I can point to a number of UI/UX leaders who are also complaining about Apple's more recent trends.
    Considering Apple has tolerated something as inane as Itunes for 15 years, I have a lot of trouble believe UI/UX experience was ever always universally good in the past or that Apple has fallen from some lofty summit. The fact that Apple interaces have exploded in number and types since 2002 makes judging this even harder.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.