Facebook has hired the manager who led the development of Apple's widely criticized Maps app.

Richard Williamson joined the social network as its director of engineering this month, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that he has been at Facebook for the past few weeks.

Last November, Williamson was fired by Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice-president of Internet software and services, following numerous user complaints that Maps had major bugs. When it launched last September with iOS 6, the app's problems included: omitting transit directions, providing poor navigation and displaying incomplete 3D views that distorted national monuments. Many compared Maps unfavorably to Google Maps, which was replaced by Apple's in-house mapping service, but later reinstated.

Williamson began working at Apple as a senior software engineer in 2001, and took over as the director of iOS software four years later. In January 2012, he became the senior director of iOS platform services, overseeing the creation of Apple Maps.

Facebook's new director of engineering is not the only ex-Apple employee to head to Menlo Park. Several members of Apple's iPhone software group also defected, as Facebook expands its mobile team, according to Bloomberg.

In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly apologized for Maps following its debut, saying it "fell short" on its commitment to "make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers."

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.