AMD wants to hire more than 1,000 tech professionals in the US and Canada, primarily design engineers, software professionals, and IT specialists. Given that the company had 10,400 employees in January 2010, this is an increase of about 10 percent.
"We look for (design engineers) with a very good knowledge of computer architecture, good software skills including C and C++, and specific verification experience and knowledge," Lance Phillips, AMD's Global Talent Acquisition Lead, told Dice. AMD says it maintains a start-up mentality even though it's a large company. "It means candidates and employees who are good fit are those who like to work beyond typical boundaries and beyond a job description," says Phillips. "They have the ability to impact projects and work on interesting things that stretch beyond normal work boundaries."
AMD is also interested in engineers skilled in Linux development, C/C++, Ruby, and Java, primarily for its offices in Sunnyvale, California, and Toronto, Ontario. OpenGL and OpenCL software developers who know C/C++ and graphics are also being sought.
To a lesser degree, AMD's looking for firmware developers who can validate products and in Linux environments using C/C++, Ruby, Java, and x86 assembly and can work in Austin, Texas. On the hardware side, analog design engineers with backgrounds in electrical engineering and specific ClSI and ASIC design skills are needed.
In summary, the company is looking for design and verification engineers at every AMD location including its facilities in California, Texas, Orlando, Boston, and Canada. The hiring spree is due to AMD's plans to move into cloud computing and roll out new hardware and software products.