Principal Research Scientist, Siri Innovation Studio

Apple Inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 263,000 - 394,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California, seeks a Principal Research Scientist for the Siri Innovation Studio to lead end-to-end incubations, applying state-of-the-art ML research to build new Siri capabilities with privacy by design.

You will mentor teams, publish findings, and collaborate with hardware, software, and design partners to ship impactful ML features for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS.

Qualifications

• MSc or PhD in Computer Science, ML, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience leading an ML team.
• Deep understanding of the ML model lifecycle for large‑scale systems.
• Demonstrated publication record in major ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, ACL).
• Proficient modeling skills; familiar with JAX, PyTorch, and/or TensorFlow.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end incubations with full technical ownership from ideation and prototyping.
• Drive advances in applied ML research and development to address strategic priorities across the company.
• Co-invent novel ML modeling approaches and architectures for new product capabilities.
• Raise the bar for technical excellence within the team through mentorship and collaboration.
• Partner with software, hardware, and design teams to shape product direction and deliver scalable ML technologies.

Skills

Team leadership

Research leadership

ML lifecycle

Publications

Executive communication

Education

MSc or PhD in Computer Science / ML

Tools

JAX

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

Principal Research Scientist, Siri Innovation Studio

Cupertino, California, United States Machine Learning and AI

Join the team redefining what a deeply personal and integrated assistant can be. As part of the Siri organization, you will help shape one of the world's most widely used AI assistants, powered by our next-generation of Apple Intelligence, with capabilities like personal context understanding and on-screen awareness, built with privacy from the ground up. Your work will have direct, meaningful impact for users across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS. This is a rare opportunity to build at the intersection of cutting-edge AI and human-centered design, shipping technology that is centered around users and their needs. The Siri team is looking for an exceptional Principal Research Scientist with a strong background in ML modeling who is passionate about incubating and deploying innovative technologies and features. The mission of our incubation team is to ideate, prototype, and ship high impact user experiences, partnering with teams across software, hardware, and design to unlock new capabilities for Siri as well as speech-related products such as Dictation. We are an elite team of strongly technical and creative thinkers who pursue both critical missions and strategic explorations collaboratively as a team. This position offers the right person a chance to play an important role in bringing the promise of AI and agentic assistance to millions of Apple users in a safe, reliable, and delightful way. It is a chance to "think different" about AI, the Apple way.

Description

You are a technical leader with a demonstrated track record of identifying the right problems, taking calculated risks, and shipping at scale. In this role, you will lead end-to-end incubations from early ideation to deployment, applying state-of-the-art ML research, algorithmic innovation, and agentic systems to challenges with both immediate and long-term company-wide impact. You bring deep intellectual curiosity, the ability to operate at the frontier of applied research, and the excellent communication skills to align executives and cross-functional partners alike. When your work breaks new ground, you will have the opportunity to publish your findings and engage with the broader academic community all while driving real-world impact at Apple's global scale.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end incubations with full technical ownership from ideation and prototyping
• Drive advances in applied ML research and development to address strategic priorities across the company
• Co-invent novel ML modeling approaches and architectures that unlock new product capabilities
• Raise the bar for technical excellence within the team through mentorship, collaboration, and example
• Partner with teams across software, hardware, and design to shape product direction, define technical strategy, and deliver scalable ML technologies that delight users

Minimum Qualifications

• MSc or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field; or equivalent track record of incubating and shipping ML features, platforms, and/or products
• 5+ years of experience leading an ML team
• Deep understanding of the ML model lifecycle for large-scale systems
• Demonstrated expertise in ML with a publication record in relevant conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, KDD, ACL, ICASSP, InterSpeech)
• Proficient modeling skills; deep familiarity with toolkits such as JAX, PyTorch, and/or Tensorflow

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to influence high-level architecture decisions and advocate for novel research directions with product and executive leadership
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, able to translate complex technical work for a broad audience
• Experience working across hardware, software, and design partnerships to bring ML capabilities to production
• Passion for building AI that is both technically rigorous and meaningfully human

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 $262,500 and $394,000, 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.