In January, Shell had approximately 300 active job listings, less than half of what it had in September 2020. At this point, the GlobalData jobs database recorded more active job listings for Shell than Total, BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil combined.
However, the company has had significant bursts of hiring thus far in February. The company posted more than 150 jobs on 4 February, then closed approximately 250 listings on 15 February.
The company has hired a steady stream of data scientists and analysts over recent months. Most of these jobs have centred around Chennai and Bengaluru in India. These roles spread across the company’s retail, marketing, and operations businesses, with the last of these working with machine learning.
Meanwhile, the company hired AI researchers to work on similar tasks. One listing focused on reactor engineering, using AI for research and development. Another would use AI to improve company workflows and business decision making.
Shell has consistently recruited staff to work on machine learning, generally in junior or mid-level roles. Most of these listings involve teaching machines to process big data sets, for a variety of applications.
Currently, Royal Dutch Shell’s job listing are spread approximately evenly between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Between them, 90% of the company’s active job listings lie in these two continents, with only 6% in the US for comparison.
In Europe, the company has sought two deals structurers to grow the company’s portfolio. One of these has a specific focus on gas and electric power, reflecting Shell’s expectations of how the market will grow.
Interestingly, on 16 February Shell posted three unusual jobs in Australia as part of its “nature-based solutions” unit. This unit consults on ways of using land to generate carbon credits. Two of the posted jobs centre around vegetation, with the third looking at management of livestock.
The unit has previously worked across several countries, with several projects focusing on reforestation projects in China. These jobs mark Shell’s first environmental project in Australia, following the unit’s acquisition of Australian environmental services company Select Carbon in August 2020. This marks Shell’s first nature-based services acquisition.
