Micro Linear follows Cadence to Scotland Alex Mayhew-Smith Micro Linear is to follow Cadence Design Systems as the second semiconductor design firm to set up at Scotland's Alba Centre. The US company, which is a designer of analogue chips, will create 50 design and engineering jobs over the next two to three years at its Scottish development centre. The firm will locate within the Alba Centre, Scotland's systems integration design campus in Livingston.
Micro Linear, which was attracted to the area by Locate in Scotland and Lothian and Edinburgh Enterprise, will first focus on developing high speed communication integrated circuits. "We expect the size and scope of our Scottish development centre to continue to grow as the initial cost effective products designed there... are successfully introduced into a very competitive market," said David Gellatly, CEO of Micro Linear. Lord Macdonald, the Scottish Office business
and industry minister, said the choice of Micro Linear to locate in the area would help ensure Scotland's future at the forefront of high-tech development. Kevin Clark, director of the Alba Centre, has said previously that he expected the Alba campus to be full in four to five years' time. He emphasised that the Centre is a long term project which aims to only attract sustainable jobs. Micro Linear, headquartered in San Jose, California, also has a facility in Cambridge employing ten people developing integrated circuits for the wireless market.