by Karyl Scott While Broadcom may not have Intel's brand recognition or a cute chip name like Qualcomm's Snapdragon, it has unsurpassed reach. An estimated 99 percent of Internet traffic touches a Broadcom communication chip found in mobile phones, routers, switches, servers, GPS devices and set-top boxes. "Connecting everything" isn't just a slogan. Broadcom is the largest fabless semiconductor company in the world. It works with contract manufacturers to produce nearly 2 billion chips a year. The company specializes in system-on-a-chip (SoC) technologies and counts among its customers Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell and Samsung. The communications sector is hot, and Broadcom is hiring. It currently has 170 openings in the U.S. and 160 abroad. It’s looking for design, hardware, software and circuit engineers, among others. The openings range across all skill levels from interns and recent college grads to experts in the field. Broadcom has more than 11,000 employees worldwide in 75 design centers and 49 sales and marketing locations. It’s very much an engineering-driven culture, with 76 percent of its workforce in engineering positions. More than 875 of those hold doctorates. Even the chief financial officer has an engineering degree, says Terri Timberman, EVP of Human Resources at the company’s Irvine, Calif., headquarters.
What They Look For
“We’re pretty selective in our hiring,” Timberman says. “We look for people who are collaborative and can work in a global environment.” Broadcom employees do a fair amount of travel, working with customers and project teams around the globe. “We believe there’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction,” Timberman explains. Innovation and creativity are chief among the attributes that Broadcom hiring managers look for. The company is aggressive in developing intellectual property, currently holding close to 18,000 patents and applications. It encourages an entrepreneurial spirit in employees to help it continue to innovate in new markets and grow its IP portfolio. Broadcom uses a variety of methods to recruit employees, from its website and job boards to alumni organizations, its own Broadcom Foundation, as well as the Broadcom Master,s program. “We take a long-range view of finding and developing engineering talent,” Timberman says. The Master's program, for instance, sponsors middle-school science fairs in the U.S. and abroad. The goal is to keep kids interested in science and math throughout their school years. The science fairs award top prizes of $25,000 toward the winning students’ college tuition.
How to Connect
The best way to connect with Broadcom is to follow it on social media, Timberman says. “If we don’t have the right job for you today, stay connected, because we likely will in the future.” Image: Oskay via Flickr
