LG Electronics is stepping up efforts to recruit overseas research and development talent to support its expansion into robotics, AI data-center cooling and mobility.
The South Korean electronics-maker hosted about 100 doctoral researchers, engineers and R&D professionals from leading US universities, technology companies and startups at its North America Tech Conference in San Francisco on Saturday.
Participants included researchers from Stanford University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. LG CEO Lyu Jae-cheol was joined by senior executives overseeing technology, artificial intelligence, software, robotics and mobility.
Lyu, who studied mechanical engineering and joined LG as an engineer before rising through the company’s business divisions to become CEO, highlighted his career as an example of the opportunities available to technical specialists.
“LG Electronics is a company where people with deep technical expertise can grow into key leaders who shape its future,” he said.
“Ultimately, it is talent that changes the future. Together with people who are not afraid of bigger challenges, LG will create meaningful change in the world.”
LG is developing robotics platforms that combine robot hardware, machine intelligence and data capabilities. It is also pursuing cooling solutions for AI data centers and vehicle intelligence platforms based on AI-defined vehicles and software-defined vehicles. Commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, mobility and physical AI are among its key growth areas beyond established businesses such as home appliances and organic light-emitting diode televisions.
The company said its competitive strengths include decades of manufacturing and production data, insights from hundreds of millions of connected products used worldwide, and expertise in HVAC and automotive components. LG also plans to draw on cooperation among its affiliates and robotics subsidiaries, as well as partnerships with global technology companies.
LG will hold recruiting events at MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Michigan, Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and other North American universities beginning Sept. 9. In South Korea, the company is recruiting entry-level employees in robotics, production technology, electrical engineering and electronics.
herim@heraldcorp.com