Apple Loses Lead Apple Silicon Designer Jeff Wilcox To Intel (appleinsider.com) 38
Apple Silicon leader and T2 security processor developer Jeff Wilcox has left Apple to rejoin Intel and oversee architecture for all Intel System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designs. AppleInsider reports: As Apple heads to the end of its self-imposed two-year transition from Intel to its own Apple Silicon, the company has lost the leader of its M1 development team. Jeff Wilcox originally joined Apple from Intel in 2013, and is now returning to that company as it works on introducing new processors. "After an amazing eight years I have decided to leave Apple and pursue another opportunity," wrote Wilcox on his LinkedIn page. "It has been an incredible ride and I could not be prouder of all we accomplished during my time there, culminating in the Apple Silicon transition with the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max SOCs and systems. I will dearly miss all of my Apple colleagues and friends."
"I'm pleased to share that I have started a new position as Intel Fellow, Design Engineering Group CTO, Client SoC Architecture at Intel Corporation," he continued. "I could not be more thrilled to be back working with the amazing teams there to help create groundbreaking SOCs. Great things are ahead!" Wilcox returned to Intel at the start of January 2022. It's not yet known who Apple intends to replace him with as Director, Mac System Architecture. Nor is it known whether Apple tried to keep Wilcox. Further reading: Apple Aims To Prevent Defections To Meta With Rare $180,000 Bonuses for Top Talent
"I'm pleased to share that I have started a new position as Intel Fellow, Design Engineering Group CTO, Client SoC Architecture at Intel Corporation," he continued. "I could not be more thrilled to be back working with the amazing teams there to help create groundbreaking SOCs. Great things are ahead!" Wilcox returned to Intel at the start of January 2022. It's not yet known who Apple intends to replace him with as Director, Mac System Architecture. Nor is it known whether Apple tried to keep Wilcox. Further reading: Apple Aims To Prevent Defections To Meta With Rare $180,000 Bonuses for Top Talent
Interesting (Score:2)
Re:Interesting (Score:5, Interesting)
Probably more bonus than salary (Score:1)
How much does a "Lead Silicon Designer" get paid?
Not sure if is salary is massively high, probably the lure would have been more a giant bonus and a huge dump of stock options.
Re:Probably more bonus than salary (Score:5, Interesting)
The options may be what he's looking at.
I noticed he left at about the time that Intel seriously started losing its technical capabilities and management then didn't seem to care. Now there is a new CEO (also a rebound who left and returned) and a board which is finally willing to invest in the future.
Apple is already valued very highly and there will be no step-change increase in stock price. But with Intel, there is a possibility that if the new direction is successful there would be a re-valuation upwards as they show success.
Re:Probably more bonus than salary (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe, but I think most people at this level of compensation are as much or more influenced by non-financial aspects of their job.
Wouldn't surprise me at all if the big draw is that at Intel he's going to get to explore ideas and influence deep architectural choices that he wouldn't at apple because they settled those choices over the past 8 years.
I mean what's more fun: designing a new programming language or acting as a gatekeeper during it's slow evolution once it's a widely used stable project?
I think it's both (Score:1)
Maybe, but I think most people at this level of compensation are as much or more influenced by non-financial aspects of their job.
I think you are totally right, that is the main reason someone that high up would leave Apple, for an opportunity to really make a difference at some other company and at Intel right now that is very possible....
Then combine that with options, and he probably feels like he could help steer Intel to a much better position which would also make his options a lot more valuable, so a
Re: (Score:1)
How much does a "Lead Silicon Designer" get paid? I presume it must be well up there in the millions per year
There is the base salary (typically in the mid to high 6 figures), and then there are the stock options and bonuses where the real money is (as the bonus targets, just accidentally, seem to always be met, even on the bad years, as the targets get adjusted, and the stock options will be repriced if the stock does not perform well).
I think one can safely say that Mr. Wilcox has been extremely well compensated at Apple, and will continue to be extremely well compensated at Intel.
Re: Interesting (Score:2)
I dunno dude, but to entice a switch from Apple to Intel it has got to be a dumptruck of cash.
Re: (Score:1)
Or maybe working on Intel's chips, it's high end i9 being almost 2.5x as fast as Apple's best M1 is just a lot more interesting? -
https://openbenchmarking.org/v... [openbenchmarking.org]
Contrary to all the hype, M1s are at best equivalent to low-end i7s in terms of performance by all objective benchmarks. Even a mid-range i7 is twice as fast as the M1:
https://openbenchmarking.org/v... [openbenchmarking.org]
People who harp on about the M1s performance and claim it "blows Intel and AMD out the water" and other such nonsense fundamentally misunderstand th
Great news for the industry (Score:4, Insightful)
As much as I really admire the M1 chips, what I really like more is a healthy processor ecosystem with some good completion... hopefully this guy can help get Intel in better shape compared to Apple and AMD.
I'm sure Apple will sell be enjoying the benefits of this guys work for several years to come as he would have worked on stuff not even shipping yet.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
"...what I really like more is a healthy processor ecosystem with some good completion..."
No you don't, nor would you recognize good competition if it were staring you in the face. You don't give a shit about processor "ecosystems" or even know what that means, you only care about promoting your side. All that matters to you is to associate yourself with a winner. Let's be clear, once Apple Silicon was announced it has been your mission, among many partisan missions, to shit on Intel. Your fake magnanim
Jumping between jobs quickly... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
Changing jobs (or threatening to change jobs) is the only way to get a decent raise.
Re: (Score:3)
Well, there's always sleeping with the boss....
Re: (Score:1)
Personally, I prefer to have sex with them, but each to their own.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know.
First time I changed jobs, I got a decent raise in pay and benefits, and continuing raises after that.
But last time I changed jobs, I got a drop in pay. (I got let go in 2009, after the company had already let go of about half the staff. So no big surprise - the new job was still way better than unemployment, even if it was 10% to 15% fewer hours and a little lower pay.)
After eight years? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Chances are you're in an "at will" state, which means you're a mercenary with no safety net whether you know it/like it, or not. I'm sure both have made these people sign NDAs that involve organ harvesting provisions if they snitch.
non-compete agreements are not enforceable in CA (Score:3)
non-compete agreements are not enforceable in CA
Re: (Score:3)
non-compete agreements are not enforceable in CA
Non-compete agreements are different from Non-disclosure agreements.
NCAs are not enforceable in California, but NDAs are.
All states except Montana are "at will". But anyone at this level has a written employment agreement that will supersede the "at will" default.
Re: (Score:2)
Opposing forces are at work. Since I'm sure Apple has patented the hell out of anything remotely useful in their processors, and patents are publicly available, I wonder what would be left that Apple could claim violated the NDA. Obviously, if Wilcox took any documents or materials owned by Apple, that would be a clear violation, but I don't think that Apple can claim any ownership of the experience that the guy gained while at Apple. Therefore, just
./ please upload a new Intel logo (Score:2)
...one that isn't 16 months old.
We win again thanks to CA's lack of non-compete (Score:5, Interesting)
Good, I'm happy to see Intel working on systems on a chip (these are likely going to be the future for consumer systems) and we all benefit from more competition in this space. And likely none of this would have been possible if Apple (or Intel before them) could have enforced a contractual rule against leaving to work for a competitor. Evidently, the lack of such a contractual rule didn't dis-incentivize innovation here and it is helping to spread expertise in ways that benefit us consumers.
Re:We win again thanks to CA's lack of non-compete (Score:4, Interesting)
Evidently, the lack of such a contractual rule didn't dis-incentivize innovation
The evidence says the opposite. Jurisdictions where non-competes are unenforceable have more innovation and higher salaries.
This is one thing that California did correctly. Other states would be wise to do the same.
Re: (Score:2)
"Jurisdictions where non-competes are unenforceable have more innovation and higher salaries."
Citation please.
"This is one thing that California did correctly. Other states would be wise to do the same."
Yes, because it is the right thing to do, not because of some made up bullshit that is your trademark.
Re: (Score:2)
It's a non-compete, not a non-poach.
Non-competes in a lot of jurisdictions aren't necessarily enforceable - it's one of those "it really depends" things.
A few places demand that if you do a non-compete, it must be in a very particular geographical region for a well defined non-excessive length of time. And they really mean "particular". If it's in a city, the region might be restricted to a few blocks of the office - seeing as making you travel outside can be considered unreasonable. And time must be define
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, that's what I said. Please reread my comment again. I'm pointing out that if CA had non-complete agreements then this employee likely couldn't have switched back and forth and if he hadn't there would have been less innovation.
Re: (Score:2)
I realize I used a lot of negatives but let's analyze the sentence.
The lack of such a contractual rule = the fact CA doesn't enforce non-compete agreements.
didn't dis-incentivize innovation = we didn't get less innovation because CA doesn't enforce non-compete agreements.
Re: (Score:2)
"Evidently, the lack of such a contractual rule didn't dis-incentivize innovation here ..."
How does news of one extremely highly-paid person changing from one filthy rich employer to another say anything about innovation?
"...is helping to spread expertise in ways that benefit us consumers."
Developing expertise benefits "us consumers", not pushing it around. This isn't about "spreading expertise" either, it's about one person getting even more money.
Re: We win again thanks to CA's lack of non-compet (Score:2)
Run along, adults are talking.
Succession Planning and a 2IC (Score:2)
An alternative motive (Score:2, Interesting)
Fellows at Intel are basically academic positions (Score:3)
The man is essentially retiring at Intel. I have no idea why people think any kind of innovation is going to happen at Intel now that some big name guy is sunsetting his career there.
Nobody with the title of âoefellowâ innovates. They arenâ(TM)t even given management or hiring authority.
Anyone wanting to leave Apple for Intel (Score:1)
I don't think anyone wanting to leave Apple for Intel, would be a lose for Apple, I am sure they can be quickly replaced and it will ultimately be to Apples advantage.