Google yesterday opened a new office in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), the company’s first hardware engineering facility outside the US.
“As a Taiwanese and an engineer, it’s extremely heartwarming to see how Taiwan has grown to be a critical hub for global innovation and hardware manufacturing,” Google vice president of hardware Elmer Peng (彭昱鈞) said.
The 16-floor office in the Taipei Far Eastern Telecom Park is to be used to develop Google’s hardware products, including Nest smart devices, Pixel phones and Chromecast streaming media players.
Photo: CNA
Google has increased the number of its employees in Taiwan 10-fold over the past five years, and with the opening of a new office, it is to start recruiting people for work on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-based applications and Pixel phones, Peng said.
“We will provide more opportunities for students interested in a career in tech by offering new internship roles in manufacturing, engineering, Google Cloud and Technical Program Management,” Peng said.
“This is in addition to our current offerings in software and hardware engineering, data centers, sales, business operations and marketing,” he said.
The company is also planning to introduce free online development courses related to hardware, software and cloud for people.
“Potential candidates and interested individuals can gain practical skills and prepare themselves when interviewing for technical roles,” Peng said.
Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Google’s arrival in Taiwan, and the third anniversary of its acquisition of the Pixel team from HTC Corp (宏達電) in a US$1.1 billion purchase.
“Google’s Taiwan team has participated and even led in the development of many Google products, such as the Pixel phones,” Peng said, adding that the company plans to open another building in the same compound in 2023.
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