Huawei‘s fully owned chipmaker HiSilicon might be looking to become self-sufficient following the recent US sanctions. The company has launched a new global recruitment program hiring fresh IT graduates from around the world.
According to a recruitment poster released by HiSilicon, the company is looking to hire people who have completed their post-graduation degree after 1 January 2017.
People currently pursuing post-graduation and completing their degree on or before 31 December 2021 can also apply. The recruitment process is underway and will continue until next year.
The new recruits will work in various next-gen technologies, including computer software architecture, semiconductor development, and chipset technology. The company is reportedly offering up to five times the salary a fresh post-graduate would earn elsewhere.
A rough translation of the official poster (in Chinese) reads: ” We have been looking for talents with ‘Core Star’ to shine, looking for brave people who are brave to challenge in the new world, and have the world together and insight into the new knowledge.
Faced with the limits of Moore’s Law, von Neumann’s bottleneck, Shannon’s limit, etc., we hope that our peers will explore the world-class problems that will eventually face, find methods and paths of world-leading computing architecture, and jointly expand the boundaries of civilization and progress.”
Huawei HiSilicon hiring fresh graduates globally
Huawei is battling several US sanctions since May last year. Most recently, the Trump administration blocked foundries around the world that use American chipmaking equipment from supplying chips to the Chinese phone maker.
This essentially means HiSilicon, the company behind Huawei’s Kirin processors, can no longer source chips from TSMC, its main supplier. While the company is already investing in alternative suppliers, it has yet to decide on a long-term partner.
Huawei executives had last year said that “survival” will be the top priority for the company in 2020.
They also said the company will be looking to develop self-sufficiency in everything from semiconductors to software. HiSilicon’s latest mass recruitment move might be a step towards this long-term goal of self-sufficiency.
As for Huawei’s immediate future, reports suggest it has stocked enough reserves of key American tech to continue its operations in the smartphone business, at least for the time being. It has reportedly reserved enough 5nm chips from TSMC to produce a decent number of Mate 40 flagships.
For its mid-range and low-cost smartphones, the company is tapping on MediaTek and SMIC for chips. It has reportedly increased orders for MediaTek chips by 300 percent this year.