Janko reported today that Intel Media lost its VP of engineering, Jim Baldwin. According to the Janko:

An Intel Media spokesperson confirmed this when contacted by GigaOM, saying that “Baldwin left Intel Media to pursue opportunities outside the company.” Baldwin’s Linkedin profile put the change a bit more bluntly, listing “retired” as his current job. Intel Media’s spokesperson didn’t have any further comment on the circumstances of his departure, and Baldwin didn’t respond to a request for comment.

I’ve been skeptical about Intel’s revived interest in the living room from the start, and while you can never underestimate a company with Intel’s resources, executive departures prior to launch are usually not a good sign.

Still, for all my skepticism, I don’t think the departure of one exec is a sign of crisis…yet. There are all sorts of reasons for an executive departure, including differing visions or personality conflicts.  I’ll give Intel the benefit of the doubt here and chalk it up to one of those reasons, rather than a seasoned exec jumping off a potentially sinking ship.

However, if any other execs start leaving? Then that’s a sign of a ship taking on water.