Senior Software Engineer, Platform Apps & Technologies, Developer Workflows

Apple Inc.; Cupertino (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 325,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple Inc. is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Platform Apps & Technologies, Developer Workflows team in Cupertino. You will lead backend services powering CI, architect scalable APIs, and drive reliability across the developer workflow.

You’ll partner with UI to unify backend/frontend experiences and mentor engineers while owning critical production systems. The role emphasizes technical leadership, system design, and proactive improvement of on-call practices, with a strong focus on

Qualifications

• 6+ years in backend services or platform infrastructure.
• Proficiency in Scala, Java or Kotlin for backend systems.
• Experience with SQL/NoSQL databases at scale.
• Strong design principles and distributed systems knowledge.
• Proven track record leading technical work end-to-end.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and API integration.
• Familiarity with observability tools like Splunk or Grafana.
• On-call, incident response, and improving service health.
• B.S. or M.S. in CS or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Own design and architecture of APIs for CI services at scale.
• Design systems that annotate PRs with build/test results.
• Architect/maintain services that trigger CI builds from various sources.
• Collaborate with UI to ensure cohesive backend/frontend integration.
• Develop services that surface failure information from logs.
• Evolve services that integrate with developer workflows.
• Use metrics to design, validate, and improve reliability.
• Lead on-call and incident response for critical services.

Skills

Backend services

Scala/Java/Kotlin

SQL/NoSQL

Distributed systems

Technical leadership

Cloud infrastructure

Observability tools

Production operations

CS degree

Education

B.S./M.S. in Computer Science

Tools

Splunk

Grafana

Job description

Senior Software Engineer, Platform Apps & Technologies, Developer Workflows

Cupertino, California, United States Software and Services

Apple's Software Developer Workflows team delivers fast, reliable CI systems that make Apple's software easier to develop and ship. We believe that streamlined development unlocks creativity, innovation, and potential for developers.We're looking for a senior engineer to help drive the foundational services that power Apple's continuous integration, the systems that let Apple's software engineers build, test, and validate code changes at scale. This is a role for someone who is a go-to expert in backend systems, takes the lead on major features, spots where the platform needs to improve, and takes real ownership of how reliably we operate.We value diverse perspectives and unique skills. More than specific experience, we seek an engineer passionate about building great software, continuous learning, and solving complex technical problems.

Description

In this role, you'll lead across the backend services that form the backbone of Apple's CI infrastructure, partnering closely with the UI team where backend and frontend meet. You'll architect systems that scale reliably, set the direction for how services integrate with diverse workflows, and drive improvements to the developer experience for teams across the company. As a technical leader, you won't just contribute to the platform, you'll identify where it needs to go next, rally the team around that direction, and own the outcomes. Your work will directly shape how efficiently Apple's engineers can validate and ship code.Success requires flexibility, proactivity, and thriving in a supportive environment full of challenging problems. You'll bring excellent judgment for timely, high-stakes technical decisions, the ability to lead design discussions and build alignment across teams, and the technical depth to make informed tradeoffs on systems that must stay reliable at scale. You'll also raise the bar operationally, championing strong on-call practices, incident response, and the long-term health of the services we run, and mentor engineers as you set the standard for quality.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and architecture of APIs for Apple's CI services, supporting diverse project and pipeline configurations at scale
• Design systems that reliably annotate PRs with build and test results
• Architect and maintain the services that initiate CI builds from multiple sources, guaranteeing reliable, high-throughput invocation across a wide range of use cases
• Work closely with the UI team to integrate features seamlessly across backend and frontend, ensuring clean contracts and a cohesive developer experience
• Build and evolve services that extract and surface relevant failure information from logs, driving improvements in failure analysis and developer productivity
• Drive the evolution of services that integrate with developer workflows, shaping how they scale and where they should improve
• Use metrics and data to analyze, design, and validate solutions for performance and reliability
• Lead on-call and incident response for critical services, troubleshooting complex issues, resolving them durably, and continuously improving system reliability and operational practices

Minimum Qualifications

• 6+ years of industry software engineering experience, focused on backend services or platform infrastructure
• Proficiency in a language suited to backend systems work such as Scala, Java or Kotlin
• Experience working with database systems, including SQL and/or NoSQL, for storing, querying, and managing large-scale data
• Strong understanding of software design principles, distributed systems, and service architecture
• Proven track record of leading technical work from design through production, including driving alignment on cross-functional efforts
• Experience designing or owning systems that handle scale, reliability, and integration across multiple services, including cloud infrastructure, databases, and APIs
• Skilled in using observability and analytics tools such as Splunk, Grafana, or similar tools to analyze system performance, diagnose issues, and validate reliability improvements
• Experience with production operations — on-call, incident response, and improving the health of services
• Proven ability to work independently on complex problems and collaborate effectively across teams
• B.S. / M.S. in Computer Science or equivalent professional experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with API gateways, authentication, or authorization frameworks
• Familiarity with observability, logging, and distributed tracing for diagnosing production issues
• Experience with CI/CD systems, build pipelines, or developer platform infrastructure
• Background with version control systems integration and SCM-related workflows
• Familiarity with macOS or iOS development environments and build processes
• Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to team-level technical standards
• Ability to identify and tackle problems quickly and optimally
• Strong leadership, communication, and project management skills
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools and using them to improve engineering productivity
• Programming languages like Swift or Python are nice to have

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 $324,800, 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.