Using a mixed reality headset in the car to see your real-world environment while keeping an eye on virtual vehicle info: Audi is developing the mobility experiences of tomorrow today – and is using synergies within the Volkswagen Group to do so. As the Group’s software company, CARIAD is working on a unified technology platform. Audi will integrate the CARIAD software into its models in the future, while also developing brand-specific digital features on its own. To this end, the brand with the four rings is bringing additional software expertise on board as the company shifts into the next gear of its workforce transformation: Audi is pushing ahead with transformation in future-related fields, accelerating the build-up with around 400 new IT jobs. In total, up to 2,000 new jobs are planned by 2025.
“Early on, Audi adopted a clear strategy toward e-mobility and digitalization. This enables us to make key hirings now, especially in the crucial fields of the future. In this area, we are pooling our strengths across the Volkswagen Group,” says Markus Duesmann, CEO of AUDI AG. The many-sided task that Audi offers of merging the worlds of software and cars is especially exciting for IT specialists. “From automated driving to the digital ecosystem: additional software competence is how we will put our innovations on the road.”
From head-up displays to electronic sound
Software can be found throughout today’s cars. One example is the augmented reality head-up display in the Audi Q4 e-tron and Q4 Sportback e-tron: it displays virtual and partially dynamic content, such as the navigation system’s turning arrows, in the driver’s field of vision on the windshield.
Particularly in poor visibility conditions, the display ensures greater comfort and safety on the road. The head-up display is made possible in part through innovative software development; the same is also true of the brand’s driver assistance systems.
Last but not least, e-mobility too is opening up new fields of activity for software developers. For example, it is software developers who design the sound of electric cars. They also program the control of the power electronics for electric drive systems, whose components significantly impact the cars’ safety, efficiency, driving behavior, and ecological balance.
Working on visions of the future
At the same time, Audi is already working on future software-driven concepts. A current example: in the Audi activesphere concept, car occupants can view the real-world surroundings and the road through mixed reality headsets that simultaneously allow them to display 3D content and interactive elements in their field of vision – individually configurable for drivers and passengers. This innovative operating concept, known as Audi dimensions, provides an exciting insight into applications of the future that IT experts are already working on today.
Audi as a top employer: Freedom and flexibility for pioneering spirits
“Our aspiration is to be a pioneer in sustainable premium mobility. So we’re looking for brilliant minds with a pioneering spirit and the courage to explore new avenues who will ensure the continued success of the brand with the four rings. At Audi, they will enjoy the freedom of independent, hybrid work in a highly exciting technology environment,” says Audi Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Organization Xavier Ros.
Just recently, the global Top Employers Institute named AUDI AG “Top Employer Germany” for the third time in a row. Audi did particularly well in the fields of Corporate Responsibility, Diversity & Inclusion, and Wellbeing. Projects such as “better normal” and Audi’s “hybrid working” company agreement promote flexible working models. At the same time, professional development programs and employee networks advance diversity in the company, whose workforce at German sites alone is comprised of more than 100 nationalities. Finally, a job guarantee until 2029 provides all Audi employees with the security they need to learn new skills in future fields. The award ranks Audi among the most attractive employers in Germany.
IT jobs online – joint career site demonstrates teamwork
All IT job openings can be found both on the Audi Job Portal and on a new joint career site with Volkswagen and CARIAD. Like all Group brands, Volkswagen Passenger Cars integrates the CARIAD electronic architecture into its models, which primarily serve the volume market. Audi, on the other hand, focuses on individual premium mobility, as the Audi activesphere concept demonstrates with its new operating concept, among other innovations. Through these different development priorities, the Volkswagen Group aims to bring individual features and services to market more quickly.