On Thursday, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD wrote about a job listing at RIM for a senior iOS developer and wondered why the beleaguered Canadian company would want an Objective-C expert on staff. The explanation eventually provided by RIM suggests this hiring is not as controversial as it first seems.

According to RIM's statement, the company needs an iOS developer to code a handset management client for the iPhone and iPad. The iOS software is part of a larger, cross-platform product called BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, which lets companies manage iOS, BlackBerry and Android devices on their network.