Software Engineer, Applied AI

Apple’s Reliability team is looking for an Applied AI engineer to help build AI/ML applications at cloud scale. This role focuses on creating production-ready, GenAI-oriented software systems, including full-stack tools and a multi-tenant platform running on Kubernetes.

Based onsite in San Diego, CA, you will work across the full project lifecycle, from concept and scoping through deployment, while partnering with a team of external contractors to deliver high-quality engineering outcomes.

What you’ll do

• Build robust, full-stack GenAI-oriented applications using modern engineering practices, including a Python/FastAPI backend and a React/Next.js TypeScript frontend.
• Use AWS RDS and ElastiCache for data storage and caching, and deploy containerized services on AWS EKS using Helm and Terraform.
• Extend and maintain a multi-tenant EKS platform that supports users building, deploying, and running their own applications in Kubernetes pods.
• Support high-scale execution at 5,000+ pod scale with integrated build pipelines, sidecars, and a session-affinity reverse proxy.
• Design and integrate GenAI capabilities across the platform, including agentic workflows, AI agent skills, LLM-powered web features, and production-grade inference pipelines.
• Own engineering projects from concept through deployment, driving scope as work progresses through the full lifecycle.
• Collaborate with external contractors, including code reviews and engineering support to enable fast, high-quality delivery.
• Implement and operate production observability using OpenTelemetry tracing, Prometheus metrics, and structured logging to support reliability and performance.

Required qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, Machine Learning, or a related field.
• Experience with software engineering through internships, with a strong foundation in CS fundamentals such as data structures and algorithms.
• Exposure to building web applications using Python (including FastAPI and SQLAlchemy) and TypeScript (including React/Next.js), along with containerized services on Kubernetes (including EKS, Helm, and Terraform).
• Exposure to applied AI engineering, including building production-level software solutions that use GenAI and ML to address business needs and improve organizational workflows.
• Ability to follow direction from an engineering lead regarding feature scope, collaborate with stakeholders, review and refine requirements, and move projects toward completion.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to diverse audiences in a fast-paced environment.

Technologies

• Python, FastAPI, React, Next.js, TypeScript
• AWS RDS, ElastiCache, AWS EKS, Helm, Terraform, Kubernetes, EKS
• OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, SQLAlchemy
• GenAI, ML, LLM, agentic workflows, LLM-powered web features

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• Retirement benefits
• Discounted products and free services
• Reimbursement for certain educational expenses, including tuition
• Opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs
• Discretionary restricted stock unit awards
• Purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Potential discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation (eligibility may apply)

Preferred qualifications

• Passion for quality and attention to detail, including proactive research and evaluation of emerging technologies (AI/ML models, protocols, and techniques) for production use.
• Exposure to multi-tenant platforms that execute user-submitted code, including container image builds, workload isolation, RBAC systems, and secure callback architectures.
• Experience building or integrating agentic AI systems, LLM tool-use patterns, or AI-assisted development workflows.
• Exposure to production observability stacks such as OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, structured logging, distributed tracing, and dashboarding tools such as Grafana.
• Track record of growing engineering projects from initial proof-of-concept to organization-wide production tools.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, and object-oriented design through school projects or internships.
• Exposure to computer vision technologies and techniques, especially for segmentation, anomaly detection, and objective grading.

Pay

• The base pay range for this role is $122,700 to $214,300 per year.
• Apple employees may be eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards and can purchase Apple stock at a discount through the Employee Stock Purchase Plan if voluntarily participating.
• Learn more about Apple Benefits.
• Note: Apple benefit, compensation, and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.