When Brian Jacobosky started at Intel more than 25 years ago, he was excited to work in tech and was open to see where his career could take him. For a number of years, he explored different opportunities at Intel—in IT, technical marketing, and embedded systems.
“I like the challenge of taking the things you've learned, broadening the scope, and seeing how you can solve problems with insights,” says Brian. “There are so many things that are standard across the company, so while I may have changed teams a few times, I was always at home at Intel.”
He was working out of the Chandler, Arizona office when an opportunity came up in the graphics department at the campus in Folsom, California. He’d never worked in graphics before, but his wife convinced him to give it a shot.
That was 12 years ago, and since then, graphics have become Brian’s passion. Currently, he’s an engineering manager, responsible for a team that focuses on graphics software development in machine learning and Microsoft DX applications. Which put simply, means that Brian and his team work on deploying Intel’s AI capabilities into video and image processing applications.
“It's a really deep technology area,” says Brian. “There’s something about being able to see the results of what you’re working on. One of my children really likes to make videos, so it's really cool to be able to say, ‘Hey, go get the latest version of this app and click that button,’ as a way of showing her the technology I’ve worked on.”
But what Brian finds particularly exciting is the newest generation of graphics architecture his team recently deployed called Xe. The program is at the forefront of products currently in development dedicated to discrete graphics, ranging from things that fit in a laptop to those powering the biggest supercomputers in the world.
Brian notes, “It’s a once-in-a-generation sort of thing, the kind of thing that only happens once in your career. And being able to play a key role in it is so cool. It’s like a rush of adrenaline when these products launch to the public.”
But Brian’s passion goes beyond graphics. Something else he’s also deeply passionate about? Developing a strong team.
“In my book, everybody has the opportunity to become a great leader,” says Brian. “The type of people I look for to nurture and grow within the team are people who are, first and foremost, excellent engineers.”
His advice for individuals who may want to grow in their field—be it graphics or AI—is to apply AI itself as a problem-solving tool. Then, look for opportunities that allow you to be part of a larger team that solves problems bigger than you could solve on your own.
“When an engineer can step forward and see an opportunity to help,” says Brian, “even if that opportunity might be a little out of their comfort zone … when they take initiative and collaborate with their peers, the impact always outsizes the risk of discomfort.”
At Intel, this type of behavior is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. And it’s one of the main reasons Brian has continued at Intel for so many years.
“It’s hard to get bored here,” he says. “When you reach the point where the work no longer excites you, there are a lot of opportunities to try new things within the walls of Intel.”
When he’s not leading the graphics team, Brian enjoys getting outside with his kids by hiking, camping, and biking, especially as they near the age where they will soon head off to college.
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