On the heels of Intel’s reaffirmation that it will deliver the first U.S. exascale computer in 2021, which will feature the company’s new Intel Xe architecture, we bring you our interview with our 2019 Person to Watch Jim Keller, head of the Silicon Engineering Group at Intel. [Ed. note: the interview was conducted prior to Monday’s Aurora announcement, but allusions to the future design are made.]

Jim joined Intel from Tesla, where he served as vice president of Autopilot and Low-Voltage Hardware. Prior to Tesla, he held roles at AMD (where he led the development of the Zen architecture) and P.A. Semi (which was acquired by Apple Inc.).

Overall, Jim has more than 20 years of experience in x86 and ARM-based microarchitecture design across a broad range of platforms, including PCs, servers, mobile devices, and cars. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.