Secure Systems Engineer - Platform Architecture Security Team

Apple; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 185,000 - 278,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Medical and dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Apple's Platform Architecture group in Austin seeks a senior security architect to define architecture and oversee distributed systems that enforce security policy across development, manufacture, deployment and operation of Apple products.

This largely self-directed role suits an engineer with deep hands-on experience building and operating secure systems who is ready to grow into an architectural role, collaborating across teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/engineering or equivalent experience.
• Experience designing secure services and scalable infra.
• Proficient in cryptography and security protocols.
• Hands-on experience with distributed systems and cloud platforms.
• Experience with threat modeling methodologies.
• Proficient in Python or Go; strong security mindset.

Responsibilities

• Define security requirements and drive architecture for distributed systems.
• Identify threats and develop threat models for services.
• Manage security policy across services and Apple products.
• Build prototypes and tooling to validate designs and policy enforcement.
• Lead cross-functional teams through design, deployment and operation.
• Promote robust security design and best practices across teams.
• Communicate security needs clearly to engineering under pressure.
• Stay ahead of evolving risks with PKI architecture and signing policies.

Skills

Security architecture

Threat modeling

Cryptography concepts

C/C++

DevOps (CI/CD)

Python/Go

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related engineering

Tools

TLS

PKI

Key Management

Secure Boot

Job description

At Apple, our Platform Architecture group is responsible for connecting our hardware, software, and servers into one unified system. You'll join a team of architects who are dedicated to securing the world's most advanced consumer devices. Our products are trusted for storing personal data, and our goal is to ensure cutting-edge safeguards for our users. The services our team supports exist to make those products secure: they establish the trust each device depends on, from the factory floor through every day in a customer's hands. We're looking for dedicated and inspired individuals to help improve on the security of Apple's products.

Description

In this role, you will define the architecture and oversee the operation of distributed systems that set and enforce security policy for the development, manufacture, deployment, and operation of Apple products, ultimately driving continuous security improvements for these products. This role is largely self-directed and suits an engineer with deep hands-on experience building and operating secure systems who is ready to grow into an architectural role.

Responsibilities:

• Define the security requirements and drive the security architecture for the distributed systems that set and enforce Apple's product security policy.
• Identify emerging threats and develop threat models for those services.
• Manage the security policy enforced by those services, reasoning about how they interact with Apple products to ensure end-to-end security guarantees are upheld.
• Build prototypes and tooling to validate security designs and automate policy enforcement.
• Lead cross-functional teams throughout the service lifecycle, from design through deployment and operation, to resolve system-level issues without sacrificing security or compromising availability and performance.
• Use a wide range of interpersonal and technical skills to champion robust security design and best practices across the teams that build and operate those services.
• Leverage strong written and oral communication skills to partner with engineering teams, demonstrating the confidence to advocate for security requirements even under pressure.
• Apply natural curiosity and a problem-solving mindset to tackle unfamiliar systems and ambiguous project scopes, adapting quickly to keep security initiatives moving forward.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Ability to understand complex systems, employing strong critical thinking skills to identify security issues in implementation and architecture.
• Knowledge of cryptographic principles (e.g., symmetric vs asymmetric crypto, confidentiality vs integrity) and technologies such as authentication and authorization, key management, TLS, certificate lifecycle management, secure boot, and PKI.
• Experience designing and developing secure services and scalable infrastructure for highly available applications, such as distributed systems, micro-services, and cloud platforms.
• Familiarity with, or practical application of, threat modeling methodologies such as STRIDE or Trike.
• DevOps experience, such as continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), infrastructure as code (IaC), or automation of development, testing, and deployment pipelines.
• Ability to track emerging security trends and threats and proactively incorporate them into PKI architecture and signing policy to stay ahead of evolving risks.
• Experience with systems programming languages such as C or C++.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, related engineering degree or equivalent job-related experience.
• Experience applying security practices to the design, development, or operation of production services.
• Experience with common programming languages such as Python or Go.
• Experience conducting security architecture reviews, threat modeling, or identifying vulnerabilities in complex distributed systems.
• Experience with cryptography and security protocols, including at least two of the following: PKI, TLS, Key Management, Secure Boot, or Authentication/Authorization.

Pay & Benefits

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 $184,700 and $277,600, 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 t