Luminar Technologies Inc. has hired a pair of Silicon Valley managers, including one from Apple Inc., as it ramps up manufacturing of its lidar sensors and related technology for production vehicles.
The company named Taner Ozcelik, who was most recently at On Semiconductor Corp., to head its product development and research efforts as an executive vice president and general manager, it said in a news release. It also hired Christopher "CJ" Moore away from Apple to lead its global software development efforts.
"Luminar is ready for its next phase of leadership as we focus all-in on execution," Luminar CEO Austin Russell said in the news release. "We're attracting the best leaders in the world in their fields to execute our vision and deliver on the future of transportation."
Representatives of Apple and On did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Russell was unavailable for comment.
Ozcelik and Moore also did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent via LinkedIn.
At On, which he left in March last year, according to his LinkedIn page, Ozcelik headed the chip company's efforts to get its camera modules into cars and robots as a senior vice president and general manager, Luminar said. Prior to joining the Phoenix semiconductor maker, he worked at Nvidia Corp., where he started the company's effort to develop autonomous vehicle technology.
Moore is joining Luminar directly from Apple, which hired him only last August as a director of autonomous systems for its secretive car project. Moore previously worked at Tesla Inc., where he helped develop its Autopilot driver assistance system.
Luminar is a developer of lidar devices — laser-based object detection and proximity sensors. Such gadgets are at the core of both self-driving car projects and many in-development advanced driver assistance systems. Its hiring efforts follow deals Luminar has struck with major automakers, including Volvo, Mercedes and SAIC of China, to include its sensors in their upcoming vehicles.
The company recently demonstrated a driver assistance system built around its sensors at TechCrunch's Mobility conference in San Mateo.
Based in Orlando, Luminar was founded in Silicon Valley and still has a major presence in Palo Alto. Moore will continue to work from Silicon Valley, while Ozcelik will relocate to the company's Florida headquarters, Luminar spokeswoman Cara Walker said. Both executives will work directly with Russell.
Moore is only the latest high-profile departure from Apple's car project in recent months. The iPhone maker lost three engineers to a pair of air taxi companies in December. In September, Doug Field, who was heading the car project, left the Cupertino company to join Ford Motor Co.
