Apple is expanding its engineering R&D hub in the Palestinian Authority, in the city of Rawabi. As of now, the company employs over 60 engineers, but it doesn’t disclose how many more roles it will open in the city, as it plans to “address an important regional matter.”
To Calcalistech, Johny Srouji, senior vice president of Hardware Technologies for Apple, who’s also the most senior Israeli executive, said, “[B]y creating more opportunities for Palestinian engineers, we saw a way to help address an important regional matter while advancing Apple’s core values.”
The publication says this R&D hub is run in partnership with Palestinian high-tech company ASAL Technologies. This team works to improve technologies across Apple products, such as the company’s silicon for the Macs, and the depth-sensing camera to Face ID.
“At Apple, we are committed to inclusion and diversity across our global workforce,” said Srouji. “We know that to sustain meaningful change, it must be good for business as well. Finding talent in the Palestinian Authority expands the pool of qualified engineers, which helps us meet the needs of our growing business.
Calcalistech says Apple has begin hiring its first engineers in Rawabi in August of 2018 with five engineers. Over these past four years, the group has grown to over 60 engineers.
“These talented individuals in Rawabi are working on a range of critical projects, and share the same passion and commitment to excellence that we see in our team across the world. We are going to continue to invest as our engineering hub in the region grows.”
Apple’s focus on R&D initiatives is important to keep innovating and adding new technologies to its products, such as the rumored mixed reality headset, which is set to be announced early next year. You can learn more about Apple’s rumored projects about mixed reality and augmented reality here.
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