If you were gearing up to launch a tablet computer — and these days, who isn’t? — who would you hire to market it? One obvious candidate would be Michael Tchao, one of the original developers of Apple‘s groundbreaking but failed Newton personal digital assistant.

Mr. Tchao joined Apple on Monday as vice president of product marketing, Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman, confirmed. He will report to Phil Schiller, a senior vice president. Mr. Tchao is returning to his old Cupertino stomping grounds after an absence of 15 years.

During that time, he has had a high-profile career, most recently as the general manager of Nike Techlab, the company’s technology arm, which designed armbands and sneakers that integrate with the iPod.

It is not clear what his new duties at Apple will entail; Apple would not comment further on the matter, and Mr. Tchao did not immediately respond to a phone message. But identifying a market for the much-rumored Apple tablet could certainly be among them. Mr. Tchao gets the credit (or perhaps the blame) for convincing John Sculley, Apple’s former chief executive, to integrate the company’s handwriting-recognition technology into a consumer device.

“He’s got the scars and the great ideas” about tablet computing, said another former Apple employee who worked with Mr. Tchao. He did not want to be named because the hiring was not yet public.