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Apple gearing up for 'major hiring campaign' at Israel R&D center

Apple is expected to begin the hiring process for dozens of new positions for its research and development center in Israel over the coming weeks.

The "major hiring campaign" by Apple will kick off in the next few weeks, according to Israel's Ynetnews. The new positions will work at Apple's R&D center in Haifa.

Apple began actively recruiting employees for its Israeli R&D operations in March, but the company is expected to kick its recruitment into high gear in the near future. The company is expected to rely on the assistance of a "headhunter" who will handle the hiring of "dozens of candidates simultaneously."

The new employees will join the roughly 200 personnel at Anobit, a flash memory company that Apple purchased in late 2011 for a rumored $490 million price. That strategic acquisition is expected to help Apple secure capacity of flash memory for devices like the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook lineup.

Apple's new hires will be located in Haifa's Scientific Industries Center, an international technology center known as Matam. Other companies with operations there include Google, Intel, IBM, Microsoft, and Yahoo.

Apple's development center is being run by Aharon Aharon, a veteran of Israel's technology industry. Monday's report said that he will be joined by Etai Zaltsman, who was previously the deputy CEO of Texas Instruments in Israel.

It was said that competition for the dozens of new Apple positions in Israel will be "tough." The project is Apple's first strategic development center located outside of the company's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. Any activities outside of the company's campus have, to date, been related to marketing, sales and support.

Though Apple has publicly confirmed the acquisition of Anobit, the company has unsurprisingly said very little else about how it will use its expertise. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in January that Anobit has "fantastic technical talent," and that he feels "fortunate to have them join us."