Harley-Davidson to Open New Home in Silicon Valley
Motorcycle company is recruiting top EV talent to build its exciting new products, including LiveWire electric bikes.
“This is an exciting time in Harley-Davidson’s incredible history, and it’s also an exciting time to join our company and help shape our future,” said Harley-Davidson president Matt Levatich at a recent press event to announce the MoCo’s many exciting upcoming projects.
On September 5, the iconic motorcycle company revealed plans to build an all-new research and development campus in the heart of Silicon Valley to support its future product portfolio, including the MoCo’s first complete line of hotly-anticipated LiveWire electric motorcycles.
As part of that strategy, Harley-Davidson will launch its first LiveWire in 2019. That motorcycle will be the first in a broad, no-clutch “twist and go” portfolio of electric two-wheelers designed by the company. It will be followed by additional models through 2022 to broaden the portfolio with lighter, smaller and even more accessible product options to inspire new riders with new ways to ride.
Harley-Davidson could not have picked a better place to rev its first all-electric engine than in Northern California. Silicon Valley has some of the world’s most brilliant engineers, creative design teams, and top dog executives. There is no doubt that the Silicon Valley research and development center will greatly contribute to Harley-Davidson’s impressive legacy.
The company has already begun recruiting top talent in electrical, mechanical and software engineering, with experience in developing and delivering a wide variety of EV systems from design through production. The facility will initially employ a staff of approximately 25, most of which the company intends to hire from within the Silicon Valley area.
‘This is an exciting time in Harley-Davidson’s incredible history, and it’s also an exciting time to join our company and help shape our future.’
While revealing the location of its new campus, Harley-Davidson declared that the Silicon Valley facility will have a strong dependency on the Willie G. Davidson Product Development Facility in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The two facilities will blend their strengths to create products and accessories worthy of the Harley-Davidson name. The new facility in California is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2018. Once the red ribbon is cut, Harley-Davidson will begin to expand its product portfolio in a variety of ways.
It will initially focus on electric vehicle research and development, including battery, power electronics, development and advanced manufacturing. Long term, the company may consider expanding the center’s focus to an increased range of advanced technologies that uniquely leverage the rich talent in the Silicon Valley and support its most comprehensive and competitive lineup of motorcycles across a broad spectrum of price points, power sources and riding styles.
Interested in becoming a part of the harley-davidson crew? For a variety of career opportunities at Harley-Davidson, including roles at the new research facility, click here.