Engineering Manager, CloudKit Infrastructure - iCloud

Apple, Inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 196,000 - 338,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee stock purchase plan

Discretionary bonuses

Relocation assistance

Comprehensive medical and dental

Retirement benefits

Discounted products

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Apple Inc. is seeking an experienced Software Engineering Manager to lead CloudKit, Apple's privacy-focused foundational database platform. You will guide the vision and roadmap for core components, overseeing architecture, data consistency, recovery, and self-healing at scale, while mentoring engineers across iCloud teams.

You will partner with SRE and solutions engineering to deliver reliable, secure cloud infrastructure and foster a high-performance culture with mentorship and technical rigor.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience with 3+ years in leadership.
• Experience building and operating large-scale, multi-tenant distributed systems.
• Ability to manage multiple complex priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong engineering culture: transparency, mentorship and technical rigor.
• Excellent communication across organizational boundaries.
• Experience in large organizations with high standards for quality and reliability.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Own vision and roadmap for CloudKit components and ensure data consistency and recovery.
• Lead a team focused on distributed databases, job frameworks, and cloud-native infra.
• Oversee execution, architectural decisions, and release processes.
• Scale operational practices and develop the next generation of engineering leaders.
• Collaborate with SRE and solutions engineering for seamless data-critical subsystems.

Skills

Distributed systems leadership

Strategic thinking

Mentorship

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/SE or related field

Tools

Java

C

C++

NoSQL databases (FoundationDB, DynamoDB, Cassandra)

Netty

gRPC

Temporal

Kafka

AWS

GCP

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Seattle, Washington, United States Software and Services

We are looking for an experienced Software Engineering Manager to lead a team responsible for the systems that enable our cloud infrastructure to operate at scale with exceptional reliability, integrity, security, and efficiency. This is a technically grounded role, ideal for leaders passionate about distributed databases, storage systems, and building large-scale, resilient infrastructure. You will be working on CloudKit, Apple’s foundational, privacy-focused database platform, which stores and syncs user data across all their Apple devices. It is the foundation of Apple’s signature cloud services, such as Photos, Drive, Backup, Notes, Mail, News, and many third-party applications. CloudKit manages data at a truly massive scale! It is a strongly consistent database of structured data that serves billions of active Apple customers. It is purposely built to be performant, highly available, and extremely scalable, with privacy at its core. CloudKit empowers developers to build highly collaborative and secure applications.

Description

As an engineering manager in CloudKit, you will own the vision and roadmap for a core component of the CloudKit platform, guiding foundational technologies that ensure data consistency, recovery, and self-healing. You will lead a team that manages a wide surface area of projects by overseeing execution, facilitating technical decisions, guiding architectural directions, scaling operational practices, and developing the next generation of engineering leaders within iCloud.

Responsibilities

• Technical Excellence: Guide complex architectural decisions and contribute to hands‑on development to maintain CloudKit’s reputation for data availability and scalability.
• Engineering Culture: Oversee development velocity, code quality, testing practices, and release processes to ensure consistent delivery of high-quality software.
• Operational Oversight: Support the availability, durability, and performance of production systems operating at scale.
• Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the technical and infrastructure roadmap for CloudKit in collaboration with key partners.
• Team Management: Build, mentor, and lead a high‑performing engineering team focused on distributed databases, job frameworks, and cloud‑native infrastructure.
• Collaboration: Partner with cross‑functional teams, including site reliability engineering (SRE) and solutions engineering to ensure efficient and seamless integration of data‑critical subsystems.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of proven experience in software engineering with 3+ years in engineering leadership roles.
• Experience building and operating large‑scale, multi‑tenant distributed systems.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex priorities in a fast‑paced collaborative environment.
• Passion for building strong engineering cultures rooted in transparency, mentorship, and technical rigor.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work across organizational boundaries.
• Experience operating in large, complex organizations with high standards for quality and reliability.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or an equivalent discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong background in Java, C, C++, and programming in concurrent / multi-threaded environments.
• Strong background in NoSQL and key-value (KV) database technologies, e.g., FoundationDB, DynamoDB, or Cassandra.
• Expertise in synchronous and asynchronous network application I/O frameworks, e.g., Netty and gRPC.
• Strong fundamentals in relational storage systems, e.g., schema design, indexes, and transactions.
• Familiarity with orchestration and durable scheduling frameworks, e.g., Temporal.
• Familiarity with event streaming and queueing systems, e.g., Kafka.
• Experience using AWS, GCP, and cloud-native technologies, e.g., Docker and Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with identity, authentication, and authorization systems at scale.

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 $195,700 and $338,400, 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

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

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.

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Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.