Steve Jobs as Apple's Chief Engineer

This article from MIT's Technology Review describes the role that industrial design plays in Apple's product development process. One quote highlights the role Steve Jobs has played in reinforcing Apple's dedication to well-designed products that do exactly what the customer wants - no more.

"Critical to Apple's success in design is the way Jobs brought focus and discipline to the product teams," Norman says. "[Jobs] had a single, cohesive image of the final product and would not allow any deviation, no matter how promising a new proposed feature appeared to be, no matter how much the team complained.

The ability to define and then maintain the "single, cohesive image of the final product" is the distinguishing characteristic of a true Chief Engineer. If you ever ask yourself whether or not every development project really needs one, just look at the success of the iPod, iTunes and the resurgence of the Mac