Principal Applied Research Engineer / Scientist

AECOM; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company is seeking a Principal Applied Research Engineer/Scientist to drive innovation in machine learning and AI. The role involves full-stack ML development and collaboration with cross-functional teams to bring cutting-edge AI technologies into reality. Ideal candidates will have a strong background in ML and an understanding of transformer-based models, contributing to transformative industry projects.

Qualifications

• Experience advancing the state of the art through hands-on work.
• Strong programming skills with ML development.
• Understanding of transformer-based models.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement production-ready ML models.
• Drive data generation and evaluation for ML systems.
• Prototype AI solutions that solve real-world problems.

Skills

Machine Learning

AI

Programming

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning

Tools

Machine Learning tools

Job description

Principal Applied Research Engineer / Scientist

**Cupertino, California, United States**

**Machine Learning and AI**

**Summary**

Posted: **Jun 03, 2025**

Role Number: **200607563**

Our team is seeking adept machine learning scientists and engineers to build
cutting-edge AI-driven products at Apple. This role focuses on full-stack ML
development, from prototyping to production implementation, working closely
with hardware, software, and design teams across the company. You'll be joining
a select group of accomplished professionals who have made significant
contributions to cutting-edge LLM projects in a collaborative environment that
fosters innovation and pushes the boundaries of AI and machine learning. Your
work will have far-reaching impact, influencing key strategic decisions and setting
precedents for how AI technologies are integrated across our product ecosystem.

**Description**

In this role, you will be responsible for the entire ML development lifecycle,
working with cross-functional teams to bring innovative AI technologies into
reality. You'll design high-performance ML models, create and influence ML
tooling and infrastructure, drive evaluation efforts, and implement model
inference solutions.
The team values rapid iteration, based on bringing models into reality so
stakeholders can understand cutting-edge technology and research. You'll
collaborate with hardware, software, and design teams across Apple, both
representing the technology and implementing complete engineering solutions
ready for product development.
This unique opportunity places you at the forefront of innovation, working on
projects that have the potential to redefine user experiences and technological
capabilities at a company-wide level. Each team member brings unique expertise
from their work on transformative industry projects, contributing to an
environment that consistently pushes the boundaries of what's possible with AI
and machine learning.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, build, and implement production-ready ML models and infrastructure in
partnership with designers, software/hardware engineers, and applied R&D
teams
- Drive data generation, curation, and evaluation efforts for ML systems
- Develop and optimize model inference solutions
- Rapidly prototype AI solutions that solve real-world problems
- Communicate and advocate for novel research directions to product-oriented
leadership
- Influence modeling architecture decisions and translate research innovations
into practical implementations
- Engage with diverse teams across Apple to represent AI technology and
implement it into prototypes

**Minimum Qualifications**

+ Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related technical

+ field, or equivalent practical experience

+ Proven experience advancing the state of the art of machine learning through

+ hands-on work in product development, prototyping, or research environments

+ Strong programming skills with experience in machine learning development

+ Understanding of transformer-based models and their applications in product

+ development

+ Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to diverse audiences

+ Track record of rapid prototyping in ML/AI contexts

**Preferred Qualifications**

+ Deep technical expertise in transformer-based large language models (LLMs)

+ and multi-modal foundation models that integrate text, visual, and audio

+ encoders with cross-modal attention mechanisms

+ Experience across areas such as pre-training, fine-tuning, performance

+ optimization, and safety alignment

+ Expertise in designing and implementing AI agents capable of complex

+ reasoning, task planning, and autonomous decision-making in diverse

+ environments

+ Forward-thinking creativity and curiosity about shaping AI capabilities into

+ compelling product experiences that deliver genuine user value

+ Demonstrated ability to influence modeling architecture decisions and translate

+ research innovations into practical, product-ready implementations

+ Strong collaborative skills with experience effectively communicating and

+ advocating for novel research directions to product-oriented leadership

This posting is not for a specific job opening and by submitting your resume you are expressing interest in being contacted about this type of role at Apple in the future.

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 (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088\_EEOC\_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf) .

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 (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088\_EEOC\_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf) .

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