Who is Rajesh Ambati? Meet the Indian-origin Apple engineer promoted to VP of engineering: His role and career journey
Rajesh Ambati, an Indian-origin software engineer who has spent nearly 18 years at Apple, is set to take on the role of vice-president of engineering as the technology giant reshapes its leadership under CEO John Ternus.
Ambati's promotion is part of Apple's October 2026 leadership changes, which also saw Louie Sanguinetti and Derek Shaeffer elevated to vice-president positions. All three executives work on technologies that enable Apple devices to connect to the internet, including cellular and wireless connectivity.
Ambati has built his career around software engineering and connectivity technologies. Before his latest promotion, he was a senior director of software engineering at Apple, overseeing connectivity, cellular and satellite software.
His responsibilities covered several stages of software development, including design, performance, certification, verification and stability. These areas are central to ensuring that Apple devices maintain reliable connections across networks and services.
Ambati joined Apple in 2009 as a senior software engineering manager after working at Motorola for nearly seven years as an engineering manager. He subsequently moved up the ranks, becoming a director of software engineering in 2014 and a senior director in 2019.
His elevation to vice-president marks the latest step in a career spanning engineering management and software development at two major technology companies.
Ambati's promotion comes as Apple reorganises its hardware operations under Ternus, who is seeking to simplify the company's structure and accelerate product development.
The company has also promoted Sanguinetti and Shaeffer as part of its regular October promotion cycle. Their work, alongside Ambati’s, focuses on the connectivity technologies that allow Apple products to communicate with cellular and wireless networks.
Apple has been reviewing management structures within its hardware division, including changes intended to reduce organisational layers and improve coordination between engineering teams.
Earlier this year, the company brought its hardware engineering and hardware technologies groups under Johny Srouji, who was appointed chief hardware officer. The broader restructuring has also included layoffs among some hardware programme managers.
These changes reflect Apple's efforts to streamline operations as it develops new products and technologies under its new chief executive.
Apple is also preparing for a succession in its display engineering operations. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, senior display executives Wei Chen and John Zhong are moving into smaller, advisory-like roles after nearly three decades at the company.
Victor Yin, whom the two executives have mentored, has already taken on much of the responsibility for Apple's display development, the report said.
The transition comes as Apple works on new display technologies for its product range. The company is reportedly developing OLED versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac, although their launch timelines differ.
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