"I was born and raised in the (Galilee) village of Majd al-Krum and was infatuated by the field of technology from an early age. I remember my father buying us a computer, which was not a given. I shared the computer with my brothers," NVIDIA VP software engineering Ali Ayoub told Globes technology editor Assaf Gilead at the Globes Putting the North at the Center Conference held in cooperation with Bank Leumi and Strauss Group.

Ayoub spoke about AI and whether it will replace engineers and juniors, how to hire employees in the North, how to integrate Arab society into tech professions, NVIDIA's cooperation with academia, and how he reached his current position at NVIDIA.

Ayoub's path to NVIDIA VP included several stages: he earned a degree in computer engineering at the Technion, worked at Mellanox, moved to the US, where he worked at Google and founded a startup, and after 10 years, he returned to Israel and Mellanox, and remained there even after the acquisition by NVIDIA. At the US chip giant, he founded the DOCA feature group and today manages hundreds of employees at NVIDIA in Israel and around the world. He is also the cofounder of the HAAT food delivery company.

When asked why he chose to return to Israel, he replied: "People usually ask why I left the center of the country and came to the north. I left the center of the world, Silicon Valley, and returned to the north. This is home. In high-tech, they always talk about the importance of work-life balance, the north is 'life', and also being close to family, and NVIDIA is 'work'. For me, the stars aligned, and looking back, this is one of the best decisions I made."

NVIDIA plans to build a large development center in Kiryat Tivon over the next decade, housing 8,000-10,000 employees. Why in the north, and specifically in Kiryat Tivon?

"The north has excellent human capital, and tech companies are really looking for the best. In the north, first of all, there are very good universities. Also, in general, if you want to find good people, it is worth looking where others are less likely to look. In NVIDIA's eyes, the north is an area with excellent human capital and growth potential, and it is no coincidence that they chose Tivon. From our point of view, there is raw material here, and it is full of talent that we would be very happy to recruit to NVIDIA to drive even greater growth. In my opinion, not only is there talent here, but also untapped talent here."

Can you expand about NVIDIA's activities in Israel?

"NVIDIA Israel, which employs 5,000, is the company's biggest branch worldwide outside the US. The employees are the nervous system of data centers. They focus on networking and the transformation of AI. NVIDIA makes GPUs (graphics processing units), and the AI engine. If hundreds of GPUs were once enough to build AI data centers, today thousands are needed. They must be connected to a very fast network, and this is where NVIDIA Israel comes in. We provide these fast networks. This is the beating heart of the AI revolution, not only in Israel, but around the world."

How do you hire employees in the North?

"Firstly, you have to believe that they exist, look for them, and then find them. It's a matter of cause and effect. In all kinds of jobs, not just in high-tech, there is a lot of stress on the balance between work and home. The North brings the home part, and we have to work on the work part. So, companies must set up branches here and focus on here and create the opportunity to work in quality jobs. This is, in my opinion, the number one element that will keep people here. NVIDIA does not see the North as a periphery but sees it as the center of the AI revolution, and you have to believe in it and see it, and when you look, you find it."

Are you working with universities in order to build a pool of employees in the future?

"For us, universities are not just a collaboration, but complement us. This is not done as a favor to the universities, but we want to bring the best to us. Personally, every two months, there is a high school or school that comes to visit. It starts even before the universities."

Ayoub spoke about collaboration with the universities: "We work very closely with them. This is reflected in job fairs, and we have a program that provides AI tools to lecturers and students, and this brings us very close together."

On the change required in universities and the integration of AI tools, he said, "I think universities are changing. They also turn to us and we suggest how to change the syllabus and courses. The juniors and students we hire do an excellent job and integrate into AI very quickly. We take people when they have the basic tools, and we do the education and use of AI tools within the company."

On the difficulty of juniors finding tech jobs, he said, "We hire a lot of juniors and we are at the center of the AI revolution that will require more work. We need to hire people. The reason we are doing this is because we believe in juniors and do not believe that AI will replace them."

You are NVIDIA VP software engineering, and this is the area most vulnerable to the impact of AI. There are companies where employees and programmers have not programmed for six months. Do you believe that the programmer will be replaced by AI?

"Not at all. AI will not replace the engineer, but any engineer who does not use AI will be replaced by another engineer who does use it. Almost every engineer at NVIDIA uses AI. Things that take weeks to do alone, today can be done in days or hours. It is such an essential tool that anyone who does not use it will be left behind. AI will certainly create new jobs for those who look at it from the right angle."

What would you recommend to your young children when they grow up to study: software or electrical engineering?

"You cannot do one without the other. I studied software and work in it, but the software I make is software that complements the hardware. The hardware is the body, and the software is the mind. You cannot have a body without a mind, and vice versa. They complement each other."

You have previously told me that when you were growing up, your family took it very hard that you went to study computer engineering.

"My parents wanted me to be a doctor, maybe to this day," laughs Ayoub. "I remember when I wanted to enroll in school, there was the option to choose two majors. But I asserted myself, and I only registered for the first major."

How has Arab society changed in recent years, and how easy is it for young people to integrate into the tech industry?

"We see them at the Technion, but many give up after their degree and go do other things. But still, almost 16% of the students today in technology subjects are from the Arab society. At the Technion, close to 20% of students are Arab, which is very close to the percentage of the population. 50% of Arab students are female students, and this representation we are very proud of. Tech companies are looking for diversity, and we see it as a blessing and something good that brings better products."

Ayoub stresses that more work is needed because there are not many entrepreneurs from Arab society: "Today there is more openness and exposure to technology, and we need more role models to say 'When I grow up, I will be a tech professional'. I think it is happening, but we need to give it more push."

Full disclosure: The conference was held in cooperation with Bank Leumi and Strauss Group, and sponsored by Aura Investments, Tel-Hai Academic College, Propdo, and with the participation of Netivei Israel National Transport Infrastructure Co.