Apple exec who departed over office return policy joins up with Google
After his split, Apple's former director of machine learning has already moved on and has found employment with Google's DeepMind.
In early May, Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, resigned from the company after three years, in part due to the iPhone maker's policies about returning to work in offices.
Now, Goodfellow has made a jump to Google, according to Bloomberg. The move was made because Google has a more flexible return-to-office policy than Apple at this time.
Goodfellow is one of the foremost researchers on machine learning, and he'll be working inside Google's AI research branch, DeepMind.
This isn't Goodfellow's first time working for Google, either. He worked as a research scientist at Google from 2014 through 2015 and then again from 2017 to 2019. He also interned for Google in 2013.
The policy at issue had Apple setting staff to work at its various offices from April 11 onward, starting with a hybrid work schedule of one day per week in the office and gradually increasing the in-office days over time.
Not all Apple employees are keen to proceed with the plan. One survey of a small number of employees found a high proportion were actively looking for employment elsewhere, with the return-to-office policy, the possibility of COVID infections, a toxic company culture, and a lack of a work-life balance cited as reasons for the need to move on.
Read on AppleInsider
In early May, Apple's director of machine learning, Ian Goodfellow, resigned from the company after three years, in part due to the iPhone maker's policies about returning to work in offices.
Now, Goodfellow has made a jump to Google, according to Bloomberg. The move was made because Google has a more flexible return-to-office policy than Apple at this time.
Goodfellow is one of the foremost researchers on machine learning, and he'll be working inside Google's AI research branch, DeepMind.
This isn't Goodfellow's first time working for Google, either. He worked as a research scientist at Google from 2014 through 2015 and then again from 2017 to 2019. He also interned for Google in 2013.
The policy at issue had Apple setting staff to work at its various offices from April 11 onward, starting with a hybrid work schedule of one day per week in the office and gradually increasing the in-office days over time.
Not all Apple employees are keen to proceed with the plan. One survey of a small number of employees found a high proportion were actively looking for employment elsewhere, with the return-to-office policy, the possibility of COVID infections, a toxic company culture, and a lack of a work-life balance cited as reasons for the need to move on.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
This guy was frustrated being a middle manager and went back to being an engineer (a.k.a. "individual contributor"). This happens rather frequently in corporate America but these episodes are rarely highlighted by tech media.
I don't know what this Goodfellow chap's motivation was to make a bombastic exit from Apple was but I doubt if he'll be working exclusively from home.
Today, Google opened their new campus on the Ames Research property. Most likely this guy -- assuming he lives within driving distance of Mountain View -- will be expected to provide at least a minimal amount of facetime: maybe 1-2 days a week even as an individual contributor.
This is his third stint at Google and I'm guessing he is in his mid-thirties. He is a serial job hopper. Google HR (and his manager) should expect that he will not stick around for very long.
Note: this is a time honored way at increasing your salary in Silicon Valley. He is playing the game by the book. The only major change is how he is spending his 8+ hours every day working for The Man (whomever that may be). I'm not even sure whether or not he really cares. But it's really up to him on how he feels when he wakes up every day for work.
And frankly of all of the great jobs I've had, all of them have come from knowing someone on the inside. I have never had a longstanding job that I cold-called or got recruited from.
Dude went back to Google (for the third time) mostly because he knew the people he would be working with. In fact, he probably had to convince them to give him an "individual contributor" position but still pay something closer to his previous Apple director-level salary.
Now he's back at Google, so apparently the grass was not greener after all. IMO, within a couple years he'll probably follow the pattern of moving to some other unit or company.
Inflation provides a nice cover for this sort of thing. Come into the office, you get a 10% pay increase. WFH, pay stays the same as last year (which, with inflation, is effectively a pay cut).
I'm sure that wouldn't budge some, but it's a way to nudge the nudge-able without going to the extreme of forcing people to leave.
Yeah, right. He could have gotten a job as a telemarketer if the WFH thing was the strongest motivating factor. Hey, if you believe all of the roadside signs, billboards, or late night TV ads, there are all kinds of fantastic WFH opportunities available. What's he know about selling time share properties, Mary Kay, or multi-level marketing? Why not look at one of the more popular WFH opportunities where I live - farming? A lifetime of WFH opportunities abound. Why be limited to Google or stuck behind a home office desk? He could be herding and milking cows and driving a manure spreader - all while still working from home. His machine learning skills would come in very handy on the farm ... learning how to run tractors, milking machines, manure pumps, baling machines, ... you name it.
In all seriousness, I really don't care what this guy does and I have no skin in the game. My only point is that walking out on something or someone while throwing a grenade over your shoulder on your way out the door is neither the act of a hero nor a martyr. He has detached himself from an issue that appears to have bothered him by walking away rather than staying engaged and trying to change the system from within for himself and his former colleagues. I don't fault him in any way, but I don't think he should garner any special attention from the media either, regardless of the reasons behind his personal decision. Once the exit door closed, end of story.
StrangeDays nailed it. Some guy got a new job for himself. Big whoop. Happens every day.
At least a few years ago the cafeteria at Apple was heavily subsidized but not free. Let's say this guy works 220 days per year but is only in the office 2 of 5 days per standard workweek. That means he's only in the office 88 days per year. Let's say he eats breakfast and lunch at work when in the office and saves $10 between the two dining at Google's cafeteria versus Apple's. That's saving $880 a year. Not really a big benefit.
However he probably tried to negotiate for a fat RSU package. A typical vesting schedule in Silicon Valley is 20% at the grant date's one year anniversary plus 2% for every subsequent month. Thus to be fully vested, he'd need to wait 52 months (4.33 years). If he bails again after three years, he'll be 68% vested.
As for benefits, Alphabet and Apple should be pretty comparable. He might have an easier commute to the new Google complex at Moffett Field. In fact, if he is a Mountain View resident, he can likely hop on a bike/scooter and take the Stevens Creek Trail to the office.
One thing you got correct was the fact that Silicon Valley employees jump ship regularly.
Let's face it: this guy was essentially unhappy being a middle manager and wanted to return to engineering. Otherwise he probably would have taken another management position at Google. There's nothing wrong with him conceding that management was a poor fit. He can go back to what he loves doing and that probably benefits everyone involved. Apple doesn't really want some disgruntled director who is unhappy with his management responsibilities. Neither does Alphabet. Neither does Meta Platforms, etc.
However blaming it on Apple's RTW policy and then abandoning his own team (whom he claimed he was protecting) doesn't ring very convincingly.