Cloud Media Engineer

Socket.dev; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple is seeking a curious, talented, and motivated engineer for the Cloud Media Engineering team to design and implement next-generation media systems and infrastructure. You will help build workflows and services powering media creation and delivery across our services, reaching billions of customers.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, own technical areas, and drive improvements in cloud media features.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Computer Science or equivalent skills and work experience.
• Strong programming fundamentals in Swift, Objective-C, TypeScript, Python, or Rust.
• Familiarity with Apple platform frameworks such as Cocoa, AVFoundation, or iOS/macOS SDK.
• Experience with UI development and APIs.
• Knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and concurrency.
• Curious, systematic problem-solver who cares about quality.

Responsibilities

• Design and build cloud media tools and automated workflows for ingest, transcode, and processing at scale.
• Prototype optimizations across encoding pipelines and explore ML-enhanced metadata.
• Operate live streaming pipelines delivering sports, news, concerts, and events across Apple devices.
• Work with video codecs and codecs like FFmpeg, AV1, and ProRes to optimize quality.
• Learn broadcast distribution tech such as AES67, MPEG-TS, SRT, and Zixi under senior engineers.
• Deploy and maintain containerized services using Docker and Apple Container; scale deployments.
• Collaborate with applications, tooling, and data analytics teams.

Skills

Swift

TypeScript

Python

Rust

Object-Oriented Programming

APIs

Data structures

Algorithms

Concurrency

UI development

Education

Bachelor of Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

FFmpeg

AV1

ProRes

Docker

Kubernetes

AWS

Apple Container

Job description

Apple is a place where people come together to create amazing things. Each new product, service, or experience we develop is made stronger by our shared vision of making something wonderful and sharing it with the world, which can really make a difference in people’s lives. Our diverse team and unique perspectives spark the innovation that fuels everything we do. When we include everyone, we can achieve our best work. Here, you’ll have the chance to contribute to something truly great.

Description

Media is woven into the DNA of everything that makes Apple special. From the moment QuickTime brought movie trailers to the internet in the 1990s, to the iPod putting a thousand songs in your pocket, to the iPhone that redefined how a generation watches, listens, and connects — Apple has always believed that the way people experience media should feel like magic. Today, that legacy lives in every F1 race streamed live on Apple TV, every song that starts playing with spatial audio, and every immersive video created for Vision Pro. The technology behind those moments has never been more ambitious — or more important. The Cloud Media Engineering team needs a curious, talented, creative, and motivated engineer to help design and implement the next generation of that technology — cloud media systems and infrastructure that carry Apple's media legacy forward. Help build the workflows and services that can power media creation and delivery across our services, reaching billions of customers. You will work cross-functionally with a wide range of engineering, design, tooling, and data analytics teams to develop new capabilities. You will provide technical ownership across key areas of the team's work, driving improvements in our cloud media and launching new features that deliver industry-leading experiences to our customers. As an engineer on our team, you'll thrive in a fast-paced, startup-like environment, collaborating closely with a passionate team to achieve a shared mission — your contributions will be instrumental in developing exciting new features that directly impact users. This role offers an incredible opportunity to learn from and collaborate with world-class experts across multiple disciplines, both within Apple and across the broadcast and streaming industry.

What You’ll Do

• Contribute to the design and development of cloud media tools and automated workflows that create, ingest, transcode, and process media — learning how these systems operate at Apple scale.
• Explore and prototype optimizations across encoding pipelines and processing workflows, and help investigate how metadata and ML models can enrich the media experience.
• Support the operation of live streaming pipelines that deliver live sports, news, concerts, and events across all Apple devices — gaining hands‑on experience with real‑world broadcast infrastructure.
• Work with video encoding tools like FFmpeg and modern codecs including AV1 and ProRes, developing practical skills in media processing and quality optimization.
• Learn and apply broadcast distribution technologies such as AES67, MPEG transport streams, SRT packaging, and Zixi under the guidance of experienced engineers.
• Help deploy and maintain containerized media services using Docker and Apple Container, building familiarity with scalable cloud deployment practices.
• Collaborate closely with applications, tooling, and data analytics teams

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor of Computer Science or equivalent skills and work experience.
• Solid programming fundamentals with experience in one or more of: Swift, Objective‑C, TypeScript, Python, or Rust.
• Understanding of Object‑Oriented Programming principles and common software design patterns.
• Familiarity with Apple platform frameworks — Cocoa, AVFoundation, or the iOS/macOS SDK — from coursework, projects, or internships.
• Some exposure to UI development, whether through frontend frameworks (React, TypeScript) or native platform toolkits.
• Basic experience with or understanding of how APIs are structured and consumed.
• A working knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and concurrent programming fundamentals.
• A curious, systematic approach to problem-solving — comfortable digging into unfamiliar systems to find answers.
• Passion for quality and attention to detail in code, testing, and the end‑user experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Video Encoding: Any exposure to FFmpeg, AV1, or ProRes — whether from personal projects, coursework, or prior work.
• Distribution Technologies: Awareness of video transport protocols such as HLS, DASH, SRT, or Zixi.
• Cloud Deployments: Introductory experience with AWS, Kubernetes, or Docker in any capacity.
• AI‑Assisted Development: Familiarity with Claude Code or similar AI‑assisted coding tools.
• Interest in adaptive bitrate streaming and how video players adapt quality in real time.
• Curiosity about ML applications in media — recommendations, quality enhancement, metadata enrichment.
• Any background in broadcast, audio/video production, or digital media workflows.
• Eagerness to independently explore and master new technologies as the media landscape evolves.