One of Android's long-time engineering leads is leaving. Dave Burke, VP of engineering at Android, said Thursday he's leaving after 14 years, but staying with Alphabet and exploring "AI/bio" projects within the company.

Other projects Burke was a part of include working with the Nexus and Pixel mobile phones, developing Chrome for mobile phones, starting Android TV, and leading efforts to build and ship developer tools.
 A string of layoffs and restructuring at Alphabet this year has preceded Burke's resignation. As part of this, the company laid off more than 1,000 of its employees in January, including most of its AR hardware team and, in April, merged together its hardware and Android teams, driving efforts to bring AI in all its products. That latter choice resulted in Hiroshi Lockheimer, who had run Android, Chrome and ChromeOS, considering other roles within the company and Rick Osterloh, SVP of devices and services, was appointed to lead the new business. Sameer Samat, who reported to Lockheimer, becomes the president of the Android Ecosystem .
Burke states in a post on X that he will remain as an adviser as he looks for another project.

So… 14 yrs of leading Android engineering and I've decided it is now time for a change. An inspiring ride in helping build the largest OS on the planet (+ many Nexus/Pixel). I'm forever thankful for the opportunity. I will continue as advisor while figuring out what's next in AI/bio. More here:… #Dave Burke (@davey_burke) Jun 13, 2024
In a letter to his colleagues, which Burke has published on LinkedIn too, he said he wanted to understand how AI could further advance drug discovery.
 
"AI has tremendous potential to play a pivotal role in accelerating drug discovery, with wide applicability, including in hard-to-treat pediatric cancers, close to my heart. Working with Sundar to explore relevant roles at Alphabet," he said.