Apple may be hiring for its much-anticipated and as-yet unconfirmed car project.
Although the tech giant hasn’t confirmed any rumors, Apple-obsessed blogs like MacRumors have circulated several rumors: For starters, the company has been allegedly working on a car since 2014 as “Project Titan,” which was supposed to debut in 2020. Then Apple was reported to be in talks with battery manufacturers that supply Tesla, indicating that an electric vehicle could be in the works. It’s also been said that Kia and Hyundai have been tipped as partners to work on production of the vehicle.
While there have been rumors for years about Apple’s next big project, whether it be a search engine or a self-driving car, job listings for Apple’s “Special Projects Group” (SPG) have never been this automotive-focused.
According to our data, hiring for Apple’s Special Projects Group has been accelerating since February — currently, there are 59 openings compared with 28 openings this time last year. Although the pandemic didn’t deter Apple from growing its SPG division, that’s still a 110% increase in openings.
Job titles include Electric Motor Controls Engineer, whose description reads: “The Special Projects Team (SPG) is seeking Electric Motor Controls Engineers to work on developing electric motor controls systems for various applications. The candidate will be responsible for developing different levels of requirements, designing various control algorithms, testing designed algorithms at various test platforms to verify and validate the functionalities and performances.”
Another job listing, Lead Mechanisms Design Engineer, is designed to “drive detailed design, simulation and test activities for mechanical devices involving moving parts and dynamics. This role will be responsible for conceptual design, detailed design, development and commercialization of new devices all the way through to start of production.”
Perhaps the most telling job listing is for Battery Engineering Program Manager, which reads, "The Battery EPM will be responsible for defining the sub-system and module schedules, establishing milestones, and managing all execution aspects of development. They will coordinate and contribute to engineering deliverables and drive cross-functional teams for resolution ensuring that all issues are identified and resolved in a timely manner."
While rumors about the self-driving car haven’t been confirmed by Apple, the SPG job descriptions could fit the requirements of a team looking to build a vehicle. Apple's SPG may also encompass other projects outside of the Apple Car.
Note: This story's image is an artist rendering of what the Apple Car could look like.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online, jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings, and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
