A Qualcomm subsidiary has announced plans to open a new R&D facility in Cork city, which will create hundreds of highly skilled roles.
Wireless tech company Qualcomm is looking to expand its presence in Ireland. A subsidiary of the company, Qualcomm Technologies, said it plans to invest €78m in a new R&D facility at Penrose Dock in Cork city.
The expansion is expected to create hundreds of highly skilled engineering roles over the next four years, the company said. The project is supported by IDA Ireland. The agency’s CEO, Martin Shanahan, described it as a “terrific project for Cork and the south-west region”.
Last month, Qualcomm Technologies’ local affiliate moved into the new 4,600 sq m facility at Penrose Dock. It will be recruiting for roles in digital, analogue, machine learning, automotive, CAD, automation, system validation and advanced design.
These new roles will help develop new technologies and software engineering to work on the next generation of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips.
‘Really welcome news for Cork’
Ajay Bawale, vice-president for engineering at Qualcomm Technologies, said: “We are excited about the new workplace in Penrose Dock. Not only are the offices state of the art, but they also have specially purposed and designed labs to enable continued groundbreaking security and validation work.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, TD, added: “This is really welcome news for Cork. Ireland is known for being one of the leading research, development and innovation locations in the world and today’s announcement is further evidence of our strength in this area.”
Qualcomm recently reported a strong fourth quarter that beat both analysts’ expectations and the company’s own highest estimates. In the three months ending 27 September 2020, GAAP revenues rose 73pc to reach $8.3bn, with net income approaching $3bn. The fourth-quarter surge brought the company’s full-year revenues to $23.5bn and net income to $5.2bn.
More information about jobs and vacancies at Qualcomm can be found here.
