Lead Developer, AI Workflows & Media Supply Chain

Apple; Culver City (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple is seeking a Lead Developer for AI Workflows & Media Supply Chain within the Original Content Services group.

The role focuses on designing, building, and maintaining AI-driven automation and agentic workflows across ingest, metadata enrichment, QC, and distribution throughout the media supply chain.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in CS/Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of experience as automation and workflow engineer.
• Experience designing and shipping automated end-to-end workflows (ingest, metadata enrichment, QC, delivery).
• Experience applying AI/ML automation to production systems beyond prototyping.
• Experience programming in Python and SQL to build automation, integrations, or data pipelines.
• Experience with media file formats and QC/delivery standards used in streaming or entertainment operations.
• Experience writing tested production code and following standard software engineering practices (code review, version control, CI/CD).
• Ability to be onsite; this role is an in-person, onsite position.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain AI/ML-driven automation and agentic workflows across ingest, metadata, QC, and downstream distribution.
• Bridge AI models and internal data systems via secure interfaces and API integrations with MAM, inventory, and metadata platforms.
• Create automated validation loops and human-in-the-loop review systems for AI-generated metadata and decisions.
• Develop internal tools (dashboards, UIs, CLI utilities) for operators to visualize and control autonomous workflows.
• Collaborate with AI/ML developers to determine where AI/ML adds value versus deterministic automation.
• Establish processes to detect and resolve data and workflow inconsistencies across the supply chain.
• Prototype and deploy automation scripts, micro-services, and workflows to resolve bottlenecks in ingest, QC, and delivery.
• Act as technical lead and provide design reviews for engineers working on supply chain and automation.
• Manage multiple priorities and adapt to a fast-changing production environment.
• Mentor teammates and incorporate diverse technical perspectives into decisions.

Skills

Automation & workflow engineering

Python

SQL

CI/CD

Production-grade code

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering or related field

Equivalent practical experience

Tools

Airflow

Temporal

Kafka

SQS

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Summary

The Original Content Services group, part of Apple Services, focuses on creating the premiere video experience for all content types, with impact throughout the industry, for a worldwide digital audience. The team brings together expertise in Partner Relations, TV App Services, Video Services, Technical Operations, and Quality Control to support that mission. We're looking for a Lead Developer, AI Workflows & Media Supply Chain to join our Integration and Technology team. This role is centered on building and maintaining the software systems that automate our media supply chain, including title and asset management, metadata curation, archival policy, system governance, technical workflow improvement, and distribution standardization with AI/ML applied with the same engineering discipline, testing, and accountability expected of any production system. We're looking for someone who is passionate about building scalable media supply chain workflows and can contribute to a diverse organization.

Description

• Design, build, and maintain AI/ML-driven automation and agentic workflows that streamline ingest, metadata enrichment, QC, asset validation, and downstream distribution across the media supply chain.
• Bridge AI models and internal data systems by deploying secure, scalable interfaces (e.g., Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers) and robust API integrations with Media Asset Management (MAM), inventory, and metadata platforms.
• Build automated validation loops and human-in-the-loop review systems to ensure AI-generated metadata and decisions meet accuracy, compliance, and auditability standards before hitting systems of record.
• Design, build, and maintain internal tools (dashboards, UIs, CLI utilities) that give operators visibility into and control over autonomous AI-driven workflows.
• Collaborate with AI/ML developers to determine where AI/ML genuinely improves supply chain efficiency versus where deterministic automation is the better tool.
• Establish processes to detect, reconcile, and resolve data and workflow inconsistencies across the media supply chain, ensuring outputs consistently meet Apple's delivery specifications.
• Prototype and deploy targeted automation scripts, micro-services, and workflows to resolve emerging bottlenecks in content ingest, QC, and delivery pipelines.
• Act as a technical lead and review for other engineers working on supply chain and automation initiatives, and represent the team's technical direction to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Manage multiple concurrent priorities and adapt to shifting requirements in a fast-changing production environment.
• Mentor or review the work of other engineers, and incorporate differing technical perspectives into technical decisions.

Minimum Qualifications

We are looking for experienced professionals who have built and operated production automation or AI/ML systems within the media, entertainment, or technology industries.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience as an automation and workflow engineer.
• Experience designing and shipping automated, end-to-end workflows (e.g., ingest, metadata enrichment, QC, delivery) that measurably reduced manual effort or turnaround time.
• Experience applying AI/ML or LLM-based automation to production systems, beyond prototyping.
• Experience programming in Python and SQL to build automation, integrations, or data pipelines.
• Experience working with professional media file formats and QC/delivery standards used in streaming or entertainment operations.
• Experience writing tested, maintainable production code and following standard software engineering practices (code review, version control, CI/CD).
• Direct experience handling sensitive and confidential information with integrity and discretion.
• Ability to be onsite; this role is an in-person, onsite position.
• Available to work some nights and weekends as needed.
• Up to 10% travel required; both domestic and international.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or operating secure API layers (e.g., MCP servers) that give AI agents standardized access to order or asset management systems.
• Experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) or metadata indexing techniques for querying large-scale content archives.
• Experience with workflow orchestration (e.g., Airflow, Temporal), message queuing (e.g., Kafka, SQS), and containerized deployments (Docker/Kubernetes).
• Experience building human-in-the-loop review processes to validate automated or AI-generated outputs before they reach systems of record.
• Experience with JavaScript/TypeScript and shell scripting to build internal tools such as dashboards or CLI utilities.
• Experience communicating technical trade-offs to non-technical partners and adjusting a technical direction based on their input.