Intel is dropping the "fellow" and "senior fellow" titles it has bestowed on top scientists since 1980, replacing them with "distinguished engineer" and "senior distinguished engineer."

The change, which Intel announced to employees in late August, affects 50 to 100 researchers across the company. Many hold positions in Hillsboro, where Intel runs its most advanced research operations. Their pay is not changing.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday, Sept. 1, that Chief Technology Officer Pushkar Ranade described the shift in a memo to staff. "This is not simply a change of title," Ranade wrote. "It reflects a new standard of technical leadership at Intel to meet the opportunities and challenges ahead."

Ranade's memo said the new titles signal heightened expectations that senior researchers contribute directly to business results. Intel acknowledged the memo but declined to elaborate, according to The Oregonian.

The fellow designation carried weight inside Intel. Employees treated it as a mark of sustained technical achievement and a signal of a researcher's importance to the company. Intel created the title in 1980 and added the senior fellow rank in 2002.

Hillsboro's research campuses produced many of the company's most prominent fellows. Past Oregon-based fellows and senior fellows include Mark Bohr, Genevieve Bell, Yan Borodovsky, Ajay Bhatt, Sam Sivakumar, Stephen Pawlowski and Matt Prince.

The title change lands during a period of deep restructuring at Oregon's largest corporate employer. Intel cut close to 7,000 Washington County jobs in 2024 and 2025. State records show those layoffs included 10 Oregon fellows in 2024 and three more in 2025.

Intel's Washington County workforce now stands at about 16,000. The company employed roughly 23,000 people across Oregon as recently as 2024. Globally, Intel has shrunk from nearly 132,000 employees in 2022 to around 81,000, The Oregonian reported in July.

The cuts came alongside a financial turnaround. Intel's stock price has nearly quadrupled over the past year, driven by demand for processors used in artificial intelligence systems and growing investor confidence in Intel's chip-manufacturing business. In August, The Oregonian reported Intel said it planned to sell at least $15 billion in stock to fund AI-related investments.

CEO Lip-Bu Tan has pushed to flatten Intel's management layers and speed up decision-making. Ranade's memo framed the title change as part of that broader push, saying Intel's future depends on leaders who pair deep technical expertise with measurable business results.

No timeline has been announced for when a new cohort of distinguished engineers might be named.