Apple looking for 5G modem engineer to lead new team

May 1, 2018 09:33 GMT  ·  By

Apple is believed to be exploring another project that could help the company step away from wireless chips manufacturers, as it’s seeking engineers for what could be its very own 5G modem designing group.

At this point, the LTE modem used inside the iPhone is manufactured by Qualcomm, but given Apple’s current relationship with the San Diego firm, Intel is increasingly seen as the number-one supplier of chips for the next-generation smartphones.

And a job posting on Apple’s own website indicates that Cupertino has bigger plans in this regard, as it’s seeking an engineer to “be at the center of a silicon design group.”

Job ad already removed

While the message is rather cryptic, there are hints that designing 5G modems for iPhones is the objective, as Apple says that the project is aimed at delivering “functional products to hundreds of millions of customers.” As CultOfMac notes, iPhone is the only Apple product targeting so many customers.

“As a millimeter-wave IC design engineer, you will be responsible for providing circuit and system solutions for multi-gigabit wireless chips,” the job ad reads.

At this point, it’s not entirely clear if Apple is indeed planning to form a group that would design its own 5G modems or it just wants a team of skilled engineers to work together with Intel’s in this regard. But whatever the plan, it’s critical for the company, and it wants to keep all details secret. The job ad has already been removed after being spotted by the press, and is only available on mirror sites where Apple’s openings are also published.

Without a doubt, this isn’t a project that could come to fruition overnight, so even if Apple plans to build its own 5G modems, the 2019 generation is more likely to get them. The next iPhone family to see daylight is the 2018 trio expected to go live in September.