By Aidan Malley
Published: 06:45 PM EST
As always, Apple is expanding its workforce; new postings, however, suggest that the company is investigating a return to carbon elements in its computers, expanding the iPhone's camera functionality, and prepping for the next generation of MacBooks.
Senior Carbon Composite Engineer
Apple may be making a return to the use of carbon composites in its products, according to a new
job listing for an experienced carbon composites engineer.
Poised to work at Apple's Cupertino, California main campus, the engineer would help develop new parts out of carbon and function as the Mac maker's primary carbon materials expert -- including the chief advisor on when and how to use composites in new products.
While Apple is not specific as to the nature of any products it might make using carbon, the posting is unusual for the company and recalls the company's past experience in notebook design. Long-term Mac veterans will remember that the original, titanium PowerBook G4 used carbon composites for its supporting framework to maintain a stiff design without significantly affecting weight.
Current MacBooks are not known to use carbon framing or outer shells.
iPhone Photo and Camera Apps Developer
Not content with the relatively basic camera and photo management software on today's iPhone, Apple is searching for a
developer at its main campus to bring both capturing and browsing imagery "to the next level," a recent posting says.
In addition to experience with the needed operating system skills, the role would also need experience with manipulating images and camera metadata, such as the EXIF tags that reveal information about the hardware and settings used to take photos.
As of the present day, the camera on the iPhone is limited to capturing still photos without zoom or flash, and allows users to browse photos as well as e-mail them or set them as wallpaper.
MacBook Hardware Design Engineer
The most far-reaching of Apple's more recent job postings, listed at the start of this month, seeks a
design engineer to help produce the "next generation" of the company's MacBook line.
The designer would primarily be responsible for nurturing the creation of the portables from their very conceptual beginnings to the final production stage, and would address virtually every aspect of the systems from board layouts to heat concerns and power use.
Apple has listed multiple jobs for MacBook design engineers since October, suggesting a renewed concentration on the design of the company's computers. However, most previous postings before now have been more specialized and focused on specific stages of development rather than the entire platform.
