Ireland Center to Augment JLR Engineering in U.K.

Jaguar Land Rover is opening a software engineering center in Shannon, Ireland.

Working alongside JLR’s engineering team in the U.K., the Shannon facility will play a key role in realizing the automaker’s plans for electric and autonomous vehicles. It will develop new technologies to support electrification and self-driving features on future Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.

JLR says it chose Shannon, once the country’s major airline hub, because it is recognized as a center of excellence for software engineering talent.

The new center will create 150 jobs.

Nick Rogers, executive director-JLR product engineering, says the new facility provides an exciting opportunity to pioneer future autonomous and electrification technologies.

“The heart of our business will always be in the U.K.,” Rogers says in a statement. “The creation of a team in Shannon strengthens our international engineering capabilities and complements our existing team of more than 10,000 engineers based in the U.K.”

JLR’s Shannon team will start by developing the next-generation electrical architecture as well as exploring advanced driver-assistance systems for future vehicles.

The development has received financial support from the Irish Development Agency. As part of the Irish operation, JLR will work with online education provider Udacity, which specializes in courses such as automated driving, artificial intelligence, robotics and data analytics.