Calling all engineers and fans of Gorillaz

I cannot remember a more exciting time to be working for Jaguar.

Not only are we manufacturing industry-leading cars that are redefining how people see the brand, but as a result, the business is expanding like never before.

That kind of growth comes with a certain pressure. Not only to design cars that continue to appeal to customers around the world, but also to deliver the capability and skills required for the brand to remain at the forefront of the automotive and technology industry.

This is an important distinction: Jaguar is a technology company, and an ever-expanding one at that.

With fresh blood comes fresh ideas. The difference between moving forward at pace, or stuck where you are. It’s a cliché, but if you’re not moving forward, you’re going backwards. This, I guess, is particularly apposite to the car industry.

And that brings me to our current recruitment drive. Here at Jaguar we have identified a need within the business to increase our capability in the increasingly important areas of electrical and software engineering.

With buzzwords like “autonomy” on the tips of everyone’s tongues, and electric vehicles hitting the roads in ever increasing numbers, it is easy to see why these skills are in high demand. Jaguar is already making headway in these areas too, with the hotly anticipated all-electric I-PACE on the horizon and Jaguar Racing’s Formula E team.

Jaguar prides itself on its ability to stay at the cutting edge. To innovate.

So, recruiting talented specialists in graphics performance, cyber systems, software systems and app development is critical to the future of our business. That much is clear.

What might be less obvious, is how we’re going to do it.

Jaguar is working with Gorillaz – the most successful virtual music act in history – to recruit this next generation of engineers.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. What?

Well, I will admit that to begin with, I asked myself the same question. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that it made perfect sense.

They are a four-piece band that exists purely in the virtual world. They have no physical form.

They are a series of ‘0s’ and ‘1s’ stitched together to produce incredibly catchy songs. The living embodiment of innovation and future thinking – and they’ve been going for almost 20-years. That makes them pioneers.

Couple this with the band’s truly global fanbase, whose interests include science, technology and video games, and it is easy to see why this partnership is such a perfect fit.

We have already started working with the band’s guitarist, Noodle. She was announced at the end of last year as an ambassador for the Jaguar Racing Formula E team and all STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activity for the brand.

By working with Noodle and her bandmates, Jaguar wants to excite young people and help to demonstrate what a brilliant, inspiring, creative and diverse career engineering can be.

It might seem strange at first, but we see Gorillaz as the perfect partner for this.

We might be an established company of 80 years, but we have a very young and creative mindset.

Cue, therefore, the launch of Jaguar’s latest involvement with Gorillaz’s as part of their very own alternate reality app.

For those that download it, I would imagine it is the modern-day equivalent of what people must have thought when first reading Alice in Wonderland over 150-years ago. Somewhat psychedelic, the app is an immersive experience from within the unique universe Gorillaz have created.

Even further through the looking glass and hidden within it, is a two-part, Jaguar-themed challenge.

We are going to use this as a recruitment tool to find as many as 1,000 new electrical and software engineers over the next year. This will be part of an overall drive that Jaguar Land Rover hopes will see an influx of as many as 5,000 new employees in the next 12 months.

The first of its kind, we hope this new project attracts a diverse range of talent and fresh thinking to the Jaguar brand. We want to look beyond traditional qualifications and engage a new audience, because we believe that many of the skills we’re looking for are not always taught in the classroom.

This may not be a traditional means of recruitment, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

First up, applicants will be asked to head to the ‘garage’ area of the app for a lesson in electric vehicles and to assemble the Jaguar I-PACE. The second challenge will require budding electronics and coding experts to crack a code and cipher in the alternate reality format.

This might be set in a light-hearted environment, but these tasks are designed to test a number of facets, including: problem solving, logical reasoning, computer science, coding proficiency, Git knowledge, cryptography, approach and solution design.

Upon successful completion of the two challenges, applicants will be sent a confirmation email and details for a follow-up telephone interview. They’ve passed the first test.

The process is open to applicants of all ages, as we have always believed that talent does not fit into any one mould. We are offering apprentice (16-18 years of age), graduate (18-22) and direct employment (22+) roles. However, for those wishing to apply in a more conventional way, our traditional means of application will also be open at www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com.

It’s a brave new world out there. As a three-year-old sat on the floor of my parents’ house drawing cars, I never would have believed that I would one day get to do that for a living. Now, some 40-years after taking my first job in the industry, I’m talking about using an alternate reality app as a recruitment tool.

To some, this might be daunting. For me, this embodies the speed at which the industry is changing and an exciting tipping point from which we can all jump.

For those both smart and skilled enough to make it through the process, Jaguar can guarantee an environment that is more fast-paced and dynamic than I can ever remember.

So, calling all software and electrical engineers. Fans of Gorillaz. Or both.

This is your chance to join me, 2D, Murdoc, Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs, alongside a diverse and talented team of automotive industry experts at Jaguar Land Rover.

We look forward to meeting you.