Google ramps up hiring for its Singapore engineering centre as AI drives demand for tech talent
The tech giant has hired over 85 specialists in six months.
Google is expanding its engineering presence in Singapore as artificial intelligence drives demand for skilled tech workers, despite automation of certain tasks. The company has hired over 85 engineers for the first phase of its Google Cloud Singapore Engineering Center, which was officially launched on September 15. The center is co-located with Google DeepMind's Singapore AI research lab, fostering collaboration among AI researchers, software engineers, and customer-facing engineers to develop solutions for local and global use.
Moe Abdula, Google Cloud's vice-president of technology and customer engineering for Asia-Pacific and Greater China, attributes the rapid staffing of the new engineering center to Singapore's strong talent pool. He emphasizes that the hiring process remains rigorous and that the availability of talent has exceeded expectations. Abdula notes that while AI may automate some aspects of software development, it also enhances productivity for engineers by handling repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on designing better user experiences.
The expansion comes after a period of contraction for the global technology workforce during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Alphabet, Google's parent company, has recently seen a return to growth, with its employee count reaching 198,933 as of June 2026, up from 187,103 a year earlier. Google has more than 3,000 employees in Singapore, with its net hiring in the region growing year on year. The SEC accounts for a significant portion of these additions.
Beyond AI-specific roles, there is a growing demand for cybersecurity, data analytics, and software engineering talent as companies integrate AI into their operations. Engineers who possess a combination of coding skills and consultative expertise will be particularly valuable, according to Abdula. An example of Google's approach is its partnership with Grab, a Southeast Asian ride-hailing service, to develop a translation system that accounts for language nuances, improving communication and reducing errors in customer interactions.
The Google Cloud SEC's establishment has drawn some Singaporean Googlers back to the company. Software engineer Chris Chen, who relocated from Google's London office, now works on the Cloud interconnect team at the center, developing private network infrastructure for enterprise clients. Fellow software engineer Zhang Xinyi, who previously interned at Google Taiwan, sees the SEC's creation as a culmination of timing and opportunity, highlighting the region's favorable time zone, location, and talent pool for growth in cloud products.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
