In 2014, Intel closed its assembly and shipping facility in Belén, northwest of San José, where 1,500 employees worked in the assembly and distribution of computer components. Recently the company disclosed that 2,000 full-time employees now work at the Intel facility in Belén, and the company has projected to increase its payroll due to the expansion of its operations in Costa Rica.
At present, Intel Costa Rica focuses on two major areas: its Research and Development Center, which includes the Laboratory Testing Facility, and the Center for Global Services, as well as several support groups. The company now requires that its employees be college graduates, such as engineers and others trained for specialized positions in administration, finance and human resources.
The Center for Research and Development currently is the country’s largest division and is dedicated to design, prototype, testing and validation of IT solutions and software development. In this department, 1,250 people make up a number of different sub-departments that perform increasingly complex and specialized tasks, to keep up with the advancement of technology. The groups of engineers at the facility in Belén are in direct coordination with company divisions around the world, with the mission to assist in the development of new technology products that will be introduced to the market in the coming years.
The other major group working at the Global Services Center has 600 employees who perform specialized tasks that are vital to the operation of the day-to-day corporate global business. For example, in this department, wages for more than 56,000 Intel employees are paid every month, representing about $8 million in salaries per year. Financial statements are prepared and presented for auditing for the Global Services sector, and 75 percent of the $141 million of Intel’s production throughout the Americas is reflected in the financial statements that are prepared in Belén.
See also: From classrooms to the office, Intel addresses high-tech gender gap in Costa Rica
Intel Costa Rica is in a phase of much value-added services that greatly impact the company’s growth. Timothy Scott, manager of government affairs and public relations for Intel Costa Rica, recently said, “We have shown that we have the human talent necessary to execute increasingly complex positions in terms of finance and human resources. It is noteworthy to mention that the group of leaders at the center in Belén consists of 100 percent Costa Ricans.”
The Global Services Center maintains a continuous focus on innovation, and many processes are designed and implemented from the facility in Belén. Recently a group of Costa Ricans at the Global Services Center collaborated with the integration plan of the firm McAfee, which is now known as Intel Security.
Working alongside the Center for Research and Development and the Global Services Center are two specialized centers of support groups with 150 employees.
Intel Costa Rica currently has about 60 open positions for its operations at the Research and Development Center as well as the Center for Global Services in Belén. The company is offering positions for application developers, systems analysts, network engineers, tax analysts, operations managers and other areas, including information technology, auditing and a call center. Interested parties can send their résumés via the website Intel.com/jobs.
The author, Tom Rosenberger has lived and worked in Belén, Costa Rica, for 23 years, inspecting land, homes, condominiums and commercial buildings for clients who want to purchase existing property or build new construction in Costa Rica. You can contact him at: tom@CostaRicaHomeBuilder.com.
