China's self-driving boom creates huge demand for high-tech talents

By Zhang Shixuan

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10:42

Automobiles are no longer just simple transportation tools. Instead, they are becoming advanced transportation vehicles with multiple functions such as automatic pilots and smart cockpits, thereby created a huge demand for high-tech professionals in the sector.

Vehicles manufactured today come with a variety of sensors that keep track of almost everything happening inside and outside the vehicle, allowing tiny onboard computers to make decisions.

Designing and programming entire automotive systems has been the job of 26-year-old Shawn Chen since he took his graduate degree at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.

He had studied automobile mechanics in his undergraduate years, but it was the great potential of intelligent applications to automobiles that triggered his interest in learning more about the new technology. All that knowledge gave him a very smooth ride when the time came for him to look for a job.

"Last year was tough for many job seekers because of the pandemic. But for anybody who had learned about autonomous driving and intelligent vehicles, it was way easier," said Chen, who is demo platform engineer for SenseTime.

"I applied for a job at SenseTime while I was in quarantine, and got an offer after just one week of interviews. I actually applied to three companies, and got two offers," said Chen.

Chen has already been working on several large projects expected to go into production soon, and he's just one of some 500 RD staff at SenseTime's intelligent automobile systems business.

Having been working on AI applications to vehicles for five years, the Chinese tech giant just last month launched a new brand specifically aimed at intelligent solutions for automobiles. That meant a big new demand for comprehensively trained professionals like Chen who know both automobile mechanics and AI. The company is sparing no effort to attract them.

The smart car allows a tiny onboard computer to make decisions when driving on the road. /VCG

Peter Xu, vice president of Intelligent Cabin from SenseTime, said that the intelligent vehicle industry has been growing so fast that it's still short of talent.

"There are almost 50 newcomers. And traditional car manufacturers are also looking for transformation, establishing software companies. We want talent in both AI and the traditional automobile industry. Both are in short supply, and there's a lot of turnover," said Xu.

The company plans to expand this group by another 10 to 20 percent within the next year. And of course the automakers themselves are looking for more qualified professionals as well.

Chinese new energy vehicle maker NIO plans to hire more than 2,000 fresh graduates this year, four or five times more than it hired last year, in areas including RD, production, sales and client service.

"We are hiring people from other industries, like autonomous driving, internet companies, smart hardware developers and mobile phone manufacturers. And we want fresh graduates too," said Owen Zhou, vice president of Human Resources at NIO.

"Though the hiring season hasn't really started yet, we've already been hiring for a month. Top graduates can submit their resumes and have interviews in advance, and get job offers in advance too. We want the best students in AI, computer science and automobiles."

And to hold on to the professionals once it's found them, all staff are shareholders in the company and share in development bonuses.

"In terms of the supply chain and RD system, with more talents joining the industry, they will become the foundation of the bigger talent pool in the future. To customers, this means that completely innovative smart electric cars will arrive sooner. I think it's the process of multi-party operation," said He Xiaopeng, the chairman and CEO of Xpeng.

Xpeng: China's EV industry bracing for a knockout round

So far this year, job offers for autonomous driving system research and development and smart cockpit design have already jumped 1.8 times from a year earlier. Engineers specializing in perception algorithms, AI and autonomous driving took up half of the 10 most demanded jobs in the new energy vehicle sector. Universities and colleges are actively responding to the new demand.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University got on the road three years ago, and began working with companies with a background in AI to offer courses in algorithm development for autonomous driving. More than 100 students apply every semester, but only the top 25 or 30 are selected. The university is now even holding a national competition for the best.

"In 2019, we realized that our original course was too traditional, and lacked information about AI deep learning. So we started to using Huawei's AI platform and hardware. We held the first autonomous driving competition that year, attracting 20 teams from across the country," said Huang Hongcheng, deputy director of Institute of Intelligent Vehicles from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

"In 2020, 198 teams of 777 students took part in the competition. In 2019, two of my postgraduate students were doing so well that they got job offers from Huawei before they graduated," said Huang.

Huang said the industry is so hot now that postgraduate students specializing in autonomous driving are getting three or four job offers with average starting salaries of 200,000 yuan ($30,944) a year.

A smart car comes with a variety of small sensors that keep track of almost everything happening on the inside and on the outside. /VCG

Despite aggressive campaigns to woo talent, companies are still facing a shortage of qualified personnel. Guan Mingyu, partner at McKinsey Company, said skills shortage is a major concern for companies.

"They are not only competing with their automotive peers, but really with a broader technology oriented industry as a whole," said Guan.

Guan suggested electric vehicle (EV) companies take measures necessary to attract and retain talent.

"In addition to financial incentives, I think one is the working modes. The second one is working environments. These technology companies have a certain advantage of inspiring those talents. The third one is the sustainability, and the future of the EV companies," said Guan.

Guan also noted that he believes the education sector can do lot to prepare for the industry's big challenge. "There will be over 20 percent of the broader work force that requires significant re-skilling," said Guan.