Rajesh Ambati to take on Apple engineering VP role, senior display leadership retiring

Apple's senior display executives Wei Chen and John Zhong are moving into advisory roles as the company reshuffles its engineering leadership. Rajesh Ambati, who has spent nearly 18 years at Apple, is now stepping up as a vice-president of engineering.

In Short

• Apple display executives Wei Chen and John Zhong are moving into advisory roles
• Rajesh Ambati has been promoted to vice-president of engineering
• Rajesh has been with Apple for over 18 years

Apple is reportedly preparing for a major leadership transition in its hardware division, with two senior display executives moving towards retirement. The company is also promoting a new set of engineering leaders, including Rajesh Ambati, who is set to become a vice-president of engineering, as CEO John Ternus looks to streamline its hardware operations.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s top display executives Wei Chen and John Zhong are transitioning into smaller, advisory-like roles after spending nearly three decades each at the company. Their moves are part of a multiyear succession plan, with Victor Yin, whom the two executives have mentored for years, already leading much of Apple’s display development work.

The company has also promoted Rajesh Ambati, Louie Sanguinetti and Derek Shaeffer to vice-president positions as part of its usual October promotion cycle. The three executives work on the hardware and software that allow Apple devices to connect to the internet.

Who is Rajesh Ambati and his role at Apple?

Rajesh Ambati has spent nearly 18 years at Apple, working his way up from a senior software engineering manager to vice-president of engineering. Before his promotion in September 2026, he was a senior director of software engineering, overseeing connectivity, cellular and satellite software. His work included software design and development, performance, certification, verification and stability.

Ambati joined Apple in 2009 after nearly seven years at Motorola, where he worked as an engineering manager. During his time at Apple, he has worked on wireless software and cellular technologies across products, including the first-generation iPad and cellular connectivity on the iPhone.

Now his promotion puts him among Apple’s vice-presidents in engineering, alongside Louie Sanguinetti and Derek Shaeffer. The three executives work on technologies that help Apple devices connect to the internet, including cellular and wireless connectivity. Ambati’s experience in connectivity software is likely to be particularly relevant as Apple continues to develop its hardware and software ecosystem.

Apple reshuffles engineering leadership under John Ternus

The latest leadership changes come as Apple continues to restructure its hardware operations. Earlier this year, the company combined its hardware engineering and hardware technologies groups under Johny Srouji, who was named chief hardware officer.

Apple has also been cutting management layers in its hardware division. In recent weeks, the company has laid off some hardware programme managers as Srouji and Ternus look to simplify the organisation and improve coordination between engineering teams.

The changes come as Ternus begins his tenure as Apple CEO. The company is looking to make its product development process more efficient by reducing the number of management layers between engineers and senior leadership.

Apple’s future display plans

Meanwhile, Apple is also preparing to introduce new display technologies across its product lineup.

The company is expected to unveil a higher-end MacBook Pro with a touch-screen OLED display this week. The laptop will be available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes and will also feature the Dynamic Island, a screen element familiar to iPhone users.

The company is also said to be working on OLED versions of the MacBook Air and iMac, although those products are not expected to arrive soon.

With Yin taking charge of much of its display development and Chen and Zhong moving towards retirement, Apple is preparing its engineering teams for the next phase of product development under Ternus.

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