Firmware Engineer - AirPods

Apple Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 263,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Relocation assistance

Medical & dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Tuition reimbursement

Discounted products

Job summary

Apple Inc. in California is seeking an experienced embedded firmware engineer to design and develop the audio platform for AirPods and other Apple products.

The role emphasizes high visibility firmware work, cross‑functional collaboration, and delivering efficient, low‑latency code on MCU-based systems with RTOS. Strong debugging and communication skills are required.

Qualifications

• BS in Science or Engineering is required.
• 5+ years of firmware/embedded software experience.
• Strong C/C++ coding abilities and RTOS experience.
• Experience with low‑level hardware interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART) and debugging.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering and design teams to define product features and requirements.
• Design, implement, debug, and test embedded C/C++ code running on MCUs for Apple-branded audio products.
• Develop highly efficient firmware designs delivering outstanding performance, optimizing power and memory footprints while meeting latency requirements.
• Enable expansion of our product ecosystem features through creation of performance and test tools.
• Debug real-time systems with limited visibility, working hands‑on with development hardware and lab equipment.
• Align cross-functional teams behind complex problems and solutions.

Skills

Firmware development

Embedded C/C++

RTOS development

Debugging hardware

Education

BS in Science or Engineering

Tools

Git

Job description

The AirPods Firmware team is looking for an enthusiastic engineer to join our team. This is an individual contributor role to develop the technical development of the audio platform for our products. You will have the opportunity to drive the technology and product development for Apple's consumer audio products. In this role, you will work with a wide cross-functional team to continually innovate technology implemented in Apple products.

Description

This is a high visibility role that involves architecting and developing our audio platform. This platform is a key technology that integrates and manages the data and system states for our products. We are seeking someone who is passionate about our products and the drive to improving the quality and innovation of our deliverables. The people here at Apple don’t just build products — they build the kind of wonder that’s revolutionized entire industries. Excellent communication and collaboration is a must, as you will be asked to partner with team members and other engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross-functional engineering and design teams to define product features and requirements
• Design, implement, debug, and test embedded C/C++ code running on MCU’s for Apple-branded audio products
• Develop highly efficient firmware designs delivering outstanding performance, optimizing power and memory footprints while meeting latency requirements
• Enable expansion of our product ecosystem features through creation of performance and test tools
• Debug real-time systems with limited visibility, working hands‑on with development hardware and lab equipment
• Align cross-functional teams behind complex problems and solutions

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Science or Engineering
• 5+ years of proven excellence in firmware, embedded software, embedded product development, or equivalent experience
• Solid C/C++ coding abilities, experience implementing firmware in RTOS environments
• Embedded software fundamentals, including knowledge of design and development‑flows, real‑time constraints, concurrency, multi‑threaded environments
• Software and hardware debugging skills, familiarity with low‑level hardware interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART, etc)
• Passion for product ownership, defining the customer experience, and track record of product development
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Science or Engineering
• Experience with Python and/or other scripting languages
• Experience with configuration and release management (git), continuous integration, unit and regression testing
• Experience working with globally distributed teams working on large scale software projects
• Strong understanding of design strategies for maintainability, scalability, and code reuse
• Experience with development board and/or new silicon bringup
• Experience with SoC power management, flash storage management, filesystems, telemetry and/or logging firmware

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 $142,300 and $263,300, 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. Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace Learn about reasonable accommodations for job applicants

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.