Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Apple, Inc.; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 325,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA, is seeking a senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to architect and operate scalable ML/cloud platforms. You will design microservices, implement IaC, and optimize data pipelines for high throughput and low latency. This role emphasizes security, reliability, and collaboration with ML engineers and data scientists.

Ideal candidates have 10+ years in software engineering, strong Go skills, and proven experience with AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform in production.

Qualifications

• BS and minimum 10 years industry experience.
• Strong Go programming skills for systems development.
• Experience designing production microservices.
• Proven track record influencing cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and operate secure, scalable cloud infrastructure and services supporting ML and synthetic data platforms.
• Design and implement microservices and APIs, from system design through production deployment and operations.
• Build and optimize data storage, messaging, and service-to-service communication patterns for high throughput and low latency (e.g., S3, Postgres, SQS).
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, Helm Charts, Kubernetes Manifest) and automation for reliable, repeatable environments.
• Apply quantitative approaches to optimize performance, cost, and reliability while meeting demanding experience goals.
• Drive cross-functional architecture alignment; influence partner teams and senior technical stakeholders through design reviews and technical proposals.
• Mentor engineers and establish engineering best practices for robustness, security, testing, and operational excellence.
• Participate in Agile development workflows and contribute to continuous improvement across planning, execution, and delivery.

Skills

Go (Golang)

Distributed systems

Cloud infrastructure

Microservices

Performance optimization

Education

BS degree

Tools

AWS (EC2, EKS, S3, ELB, SQS)

Kubernetes

Terraform

Postgres

NoSQL

Job description

The Synthetic Data Group (SDG) Cloud Infrastructure team at Apple is responsible for building the next generation of secure, high-performance cloud services to support machine learning/GenAI and synthetic data initiatives. We are a multi-functional team solving challenging engineering problems across distributed systems, large-scale data infrastructure, and cloud services.

Description

In this role, you will architect and develop the cloud infrastructure powering Apple’s Machine Learning and Synthetic Data Platform. You will design scalable services and pipelines to process and manage large volumes of data, enabling cutting‑edge ML applications. This role involves tackling complex distributed system challenges — from optimizing data storage andretrieval to ensuring low‑latency, high‑throughput computations — all while maintaining world‑class security and reliability. You will collaborate closely with machine learning engineers, data scientists, and other engineering teams to integrate new algorithms and data sources into our platform. Your work will involve full‑stack ownership of cloud services: from defining system architecture and APIs to implementing back‑end services and deploying infrastructure as code. We use a broad range of technologies including AWS services, Kubernetes, Terraform, Golang, and modern databases. We value simplicity and rigor: you will drive for clean, maintainable designs and use data‑driven insights to continuously improve performance and scalability. You will also mentor other engineers and play a key role in setting technical direction. You’ll have the opportunity to innovate — exploring alternative technologies, prototyping new solutions, and influencing product direction to better serve our internal customers. If you are excited by the prospect of building critical cloud infrastructure for AI/ML at a large scale, this role will allow you to do the best work of your life at Apple.

Responsibilities

• Architect, build, and operate secure, scalable cloud infrastructure and services supporting ML and synthetic data platforms
• Design and implement microservices and APIs, from system design through production deployment and operations
• Build and optimize data storage, messaging, and service‑to‑service communication patterns for high throughput and low latency (e.g., S3, Postgres, SQS)
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure‑as‑Code (Terraform, Helm Charts, Kubernetes Manifest) and automation for reliable, repeatable environments
• Apply quantitative approaches (modeling, iterative prototyping, analysis, tooling) to optimize performance, cost, and reliability while meeting demanding experience goals
• Drive cross‑functional architecture alignment; influence partner teams and senior technical stakeholders through design reviews and technical proposals
• Mentor engineers and establish engineering best practices for robustness, security , testing, and operational excellence
• Participate in Agile development workflows and contribute to continuous improvement across planning, execution, and delivery

Minimum Qualifications

• BS and a minimum of 10 years relevant industry experience
• 5+ years of software engineering experience building and operating cloud infrastructure or distributed systems at scale
• Hands‑on experience with AWS services including EC2, EKS, S3, ELB and SQS
• Experience with Kubernetes‑based container orchestration and production operations
• Proficiency with Infrastructure‑as‑Code tools such as Terraform
• Strong programming skills in Go (Golang) for systems and service development
• Experience designing and building microservices‑based architectures in production
• Experience with relational databases (e.g., Postgres) and NoSQL datastores in production environments
• Demonstrated ability to use a quantitative approach to architect and develop robust, secure, high‑performance cloud services (modeling, iterative prototyping, analysis, tools)
• Track record of influencing cross‑functional architects and high‑performance teams to define architecture

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing and building applications using container and serverless technologies
• Good exposure to Agile software development and DevOps practices such as Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Continuous Integration, and automated deployment
• Experience with CI tools (e.g., Jenkins)
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Experience with film and game development pipelines (plus)

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $184,700 and $324,800, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong. Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace Learn about reasonable accommodations for job applicants