's job offerings include plenty related to smart driving and 1,050 hires for a retail trainee position.

(Image credit: Zeekr)

Zeekr, Geely's premium electric vehicle (EV) brand, today announced the official launch of its spring 2022 campus recruitment, the first we've seen from an EV maker to do so.

Zeekr is offering 134 positions for college students in China and abroad who will graduate this year, with the vast majority of those needs being for one or two people, but several positions related to smart driving are in demand for 10 people.

According to the job page, Zeekr is offering at least 18 smart driving-related positions for recent graduates, with a total demand of 92 people.

These positions involve smart driving simulation software development, decision algorithms, smart driving control, inference and prediction algorithms, data analysis, perceptual data analysis, fusion perception algorithm design, and high precision composition algorithms.

In addition to the large demand for talent for smart driving-related positions, Zeekr also plans to hire 1,050 people for the retail trainee position, heralding a significant expansion of its sales network.

Applicants can submit their applications from now until May 31.

In March 2021, Zeekr was officially launched. On April 15, Zeekr's first model, the Zeekr 001, was announced.

Zeekr delivered 3,796 Zeekr 001 units in December, up 88.7 percent from November, according to figures it announced on January 1.

The brand made its first delivery of the Zeekr 001 on October 23, with 199 units delivered in October and 2,012 units in November.

Zeekr has set a delivery target of 70,000 units for 2022, local media Cailian said on January 10, citing the company.

Zeekr plans to export the Zeekr 001, the company's first model, to the EU market early next year, the report said, adding that the company expects to export up to 100,000 units in 2025.

Zeekr plans to launch a cumulative total of seven models by 2025, according to the report.

It is worth noting, however, that while the Zeekr 001 has been widely praised for its mechanical performance, its on-board systems have been criticized and L2 assisted driving features are not yet available to users.

Zeekr launched its spring campus recruitment ahead of other local peers, highlighting the current talent shortage in China's smart car industry.

A report by Economic Information Daily, headed by Xinhua News Agency, last August highlighted the battle for talent among car companies.

Demand for self-driving R&D and smart cockpit design positions increased by more than 1.8 times year-on-year, the report said, adding that top talent in NEV technology, R&D categories are highly sought after and the new scramble for talent is intensifying.

Intelligent manufacturing, perception algorithm experts, AI platform technology experts, deep learning engine framework research and development engineers, data algorithm engineers have become the focus of competition among auto China car companies.

With the rapid development of the NEV industry, the talent gap will reach hundreds of thousands or even millions in the next four to five years, the report said, citing industry sources.

China's Ministry of Education and other three departments previously predicted that the total number of energy-saving and NEV talents would reach 1.2 million in 2025, while the talent gap reached 1.03 million.

Zeekr reportedly aims to deliver 70,000 units this year, plans Europe entry in early 2023