Senior Machine Learning Engineer - SIML, ISE

Apple Inc.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 308,500; Full time

Job summary

Apple Inc. in Seattle is seeking a Senior Machine Learning Research Engineer to design scalable ML systems for on-device and server AI experiences, with emphasis on Generative AI and Multimodal Foundation Models.

You will contribute to a centralized ML platform, accelerate training and inference, push PyTorch-based innovations, and may open‑source your work. A PhD or MS with 3+ years in AI/ML is required.

Qualifications

• PhD or Master's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent industry experience, with 3+ years in AI/ML.
• Solid understanding of software–hardware co-design principles and algorithms.
• Solid understanding of the PyTorch software stack and state‑of‑the‑art ML frameworks.
• Strong understanding of LLM architectures and their core building blocks.

Responsibilities

• Design software systems and algorithms enabling scalable training and inference for Apple's AI-driven experiences.
• Develop core components for a scalable ML platform and push training/inference speed and efficiency.
• Contribute to on-device and server environments, with opportunities to open-source work.

Skills

PyTorch

LLM architectures

software–hardware co-design

high-performance ML infrastructure

Education

PhD or Master’s in Computer Science

Tools

PyTorch Distributed

DeepSpeed

FairScale

Job description

Senior Machine Learning Research Engineer, AIML

Seattle, Washington, United States – Machine Learning and AI

Are you passionate about Generative AI and excited to work on groundbreaking modeling technologies that will enrich the lives of billions? The AIML team within Apple's software organization is a multidisciplinary group operating at the intersection of Multimodal Foundation Models, Efficient and Scalable ML Infrastructure, and Personalized Intelligent Experiences. As a senior machine learning engineer on our team, you will design software systems and algorithms that enable performant, scalable training and inference for Apple's AI-driven experiences across both on-device and server environments. This role also includes opportunities to open source your work. Join our team of highly skilled, impact-focused engineers!

Description

We're seeking strong senior machine learning research engineers to help build next-generation tools for large‑scale deep learning. You'll join a team focused on accelerating training and inference speed, improving scalability, and advancing Apple's centralized ML platform. Candidates should bring polished coding skills and a passion for machine learning and computational science. We offer a respectful work environment, flexible responsibilities, and access to world‑class experts and growth opportunities. In this role, you will develop core components for our scalable ML platform, push the limits of existing training technologies, and create new techniques to overcome system constraints. Your work will be deployed on high‑impact tasks across teams building Apple Intelligence products, with opportunities to open‑source your contributions. We are especially looking for PyTorch‑focused ML experts driving system‑level efficiency from on‑device to large‑scale models. If you have deep experience with PyTorch internals and high‑performance ML infrastructure, we'd love to hear from you. We encourage releasing contributions as open source.

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD or Master's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent industry experience, with 3+ years of experience in the AI/ML field.
• Solid understanding of software–hardware co‑design principles and algorithms.
• Solid understanding of the PyTorch software stack and experience maintaining state‑of‑the‑art ML frameworks.
• Strong understanding of LLM architectures and their core building blocks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on AI/ML‑optimized runtime stacks.
• Familiarity with parallelization algorithms for large model training.
• Familiarity with recent developments in foundation model architectures.
• Experience with parallel training libraries such as PyTorch Distributed (torch.distributed), DeepSpeed, or FairScale.
• Experience building ML models for on‑device inference.
• Publication record at ML conferences such as MLSys, NeurIPS, etc.

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 $175,000 and $308,500, 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.