Camera Design Module Engineer

Apple; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple’s Camera Hardware Engineering group seeks a Camera Module Lead to own end-to-end performance and integration of high-complexity camera modules, spanning optics, actuators, firmware, ISP, and computational imaging.

You will work across disciplines to deliver architectural decisions, participate in trade-off studies, and drive production-ready solutions while traveling to supplier facilities as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Optics, Image Science, or equivalent field.
• Experience collaborating across technical disciplines and contributing to design or system integration decisions.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end performance and integration for high-complexity camera module projects from architecture through production.
• Identify risks across functional, feature, safety, and integration domains and ensure clear ownership and closure paths.
• Act as the technical orchestrator, ensuring hardware, firmware, and software are integrated, tested, and functioning cohesively; remove blockers and maintain momentum.
• Lead definition and trade-off studies of RGB camera optics, sensors, and actuators to meet image quality targets.
• Evaluate manufacturing capability related to image quality, including assembly, testing, calibration, and yield analysis.
• May travel internationally to supplier facilities for development and production support.

Skills

Multidisciplinary collaboration

System integration

Technical leadership

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Optics/Image Science or equivalent

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

Python

MATLAB

JMP

Job description

Summary

Apple is where individual imaginations gather together, committing to the values that lead to great work. Every new product we build, service we create, or Apple Store experience we deliver is the result of us making each other's ideas stronger. That happens because every one of us shares a belief that we can make something wonderful and share it with the world, changing lives for the better. It's the diversity of our people and their thinking that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do. When we bring everybody in, we can do the best work of our lives. Here, you'll do more than join something — you'll add something.

Description

The Camera team at Apple creates the world’s most popular camera, capturing people’s most precious moments and putting professional-grade storytelling tools in the hands of every iPhone user.

Apple’s Camera Hardware Engineering group is responsible for all research, design, development, test, and qualification of camera hardware for Apple’s products. As a Camera Module Lead, you will be the end-to-end technical owner at the interface of hardware and software across our camera platform.

You’ll operate at the intersection of optics, actuators, hardware, firmware, image signal processing, and computational imaging — understanding what’s required to deliver the best image quality to our users, building the frameworks to bridge hardware and software, and aligning diverse engineering teams toward shared system-level outcomes.

You will be in a technical leadership position requiring demonstrated ability to learn rapidly across disciplines, communicate with precision across organizational boundaries, and drive complex system integration to successful production outcomes.

A genuine passion for photography and image quality is essential.

Key Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end performance and integration for high-complexity camera module projects — from architecture through production, across optics, actuators, firmware, ISP, and computational imaging.


• Identify risks across functional, feature, safety, and integration domains and ensure clear ownership and closure paths.


• Act as the technical orchestrator, ensuring hardware, firmware, and software are integrated, tested, and functioning cohesively; proactively engage contributing teams to remove blockers and maintain program momentum.


• Lead definition and trade-off studies of RGB camera optics, sensors, and actuators in support of image quality targets.


• Evaluate manufacturing capability relevant to image quality, encompassing assembly processes, end-of-line testing, calibration, and parametric yield analysis.


• May require international travel to supplier facilities for product development and production bring-up support.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Optics, Image Science, or an equivalent relevant field.


• Experience collaborating across technical disciplines and contributing to design or system integration decisions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master, PhD, or 3+ years of relevant industry experience, preferably in roles spanning hardware and software system boundaries.


• You have a passion for photography and can evaluate image characteristics such as sharpness, noise, dynamic range, color accuracy, and bokeh in consumer and technical contexts.


• You communicate complex technical information clearly across disciplines and can influence decisions at leadership level without direct authority.


• You have experience with experimental design and statistical modeling.


• You're proficient in data analysis and visualization with tools such as Python, MATLAB, or JMP.


• You have experience with cameras, image sensors, or computational imaging and have the curiosity to go deep on how optics, ISP pipelines, and optical characterization fit together across the full camera system.


• You have delivered hardware products into mass production.