Senior Software Engineer, Swift - macOS

Apple Inc.; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 263,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical and dental

Retirement benefits

Employee stock programs

Discretionary bonuses and relocation

Product discounts and service perks

Job summary

Apple currently seeks a senior Swift engineer to join a focused team building an on-device AI pipeline for macOS. This is a systems-level role spanning runtime, orchestration, platform integrations, and adaptive UI, with a multi-stage pipeline and strict dependency management.

You will ship real macOS desktop software, own your surface end-to-end, and collaborate with a small team to ensure high-quality, verifiable results while adhering to Swift 6 concurrency standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS or equivalent software engineering experience.
• 7–10+ years of software engineering experience with Swift.
• Experience shipping macOS desktop software (not iOS-only).
• Strong Swift concurrency knowledge (actors, async/await, Sendable).
• Experience with layered modular architectures and strict dependency management.

Responsibilities

• Own one or more technical surfaces within the native AI pipeline: runtime/orchestration, platform/integrations, deterministic execution, or adaptive UI.
• Design and implement production Swift code within a layered SPM architecture (20+ targets).
• Build and maintain on-device AI orchestration using Foundation Models and MLX.
• Implement and harden platform integrations, entitlements, sandboxing, and data access boundaries.
• Develop macOS adaptive UI using SwiftUI with AppKit interop and accessibility.
• Write automated tests with XCTest and participate in validation and benchmarks.
• Collaborate with a small senior team to plan sprints and ensure release readiness.

Skills

Swift

Swift concurrency

Xcode

SwiftUI

AppKit interop

macOS desktop software

Modular architectures

Education

B.S. in Computer Science

Tools

XCTest

MLX

Swift Package Manager

Job description

San Diego, California, United States Software and Services

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Description

We are looking for a senior Swift engineer to join a small, focused team building an on-device AI pipeline for macOS. This is a systems-level role where you'll work across native AI runtime and orchestration, platform integrations and enterprise connectors, deterministic data execution, or adaptive macOS UI depending on your strengths and interests. The architecture is a multi-stage pipeline with layered Swift Package Manager targets, strict dependency boundaries, and no shortcuts.You'll work on problems that matter. The software you build protects customer data, keeps critical systems running, and delivers tools that organizations from schools to hospitals trust every day. We're looking for someone who ships real macOS desktop software, takes ownership of their technical surface, and cares about the people who use what we build. This is not a chatbot — it's a structured, multi-stage pipeline that turns natural language into verified, traceable results.

Responsibilities

• Own one or more technical surfaces within the native AI pipeline: runtime/orchestration, platform/integrations, deterministic execution, or adaptive UI.
• Design and implement production Swift code within a layered SPM architecture (20+ targets) with strict dependency boundaries — Layer 0 (Foundation) through Layer 2 (Orchestration) to App.
• Build and maintain on-device AI orchestration using Foundation Models and MLX, including structured intent extraction, sufficiency gate routing, tool calling, context shaping, and synthesis quality.
• Implement and harden platform integrations — MCP client connections, enterprise connector data access, entitlements, sandboxing, identity, and persistence boundaries.
• Build deterministic execution pathways — joins, aggregations, rankings, filters — with full data provenance and traceability. Layer ephemer graph staging where relationship-heavy queries require it.
• Develop the macOS adaptive UI using SwiftUI with AppKit interop — desktop windowing, keyboard-first workflows, streaming content updates, canvas state systems, and accessibility.
• Write and maintain automated tests using XCTest and Swift Testing frameworks. Participate in evidence surface development (golden question validation, accuracy benchmarks).
• Ensure all shared mutable state uses actors or Sendable value types with correct isolation annotations. Maintain Swift 6 strict concurrency compliance.
• Collaborate closely with a small senior team (4-5 engineers) where each person owns their surface. Participate in sprint planning, architecture reviews, and release readiness.
• Work within a structured, AI-assisted development workflow using Xcode and modern coding intelligence tools for repo-scale operations and project conventions.

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science or equivalent software engineering experience
• 7-10+ years of software engineering experience with Swift
• Experience shipping macOS desktop software (not iOS-only)
• Strong understanding of Swift concurrency (actors, async/await, Sendable, structured concurrency)
• Experience working within layered, modular architectures with strict dependency management

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Apple Foundation Models, guided generation, structured output, tool calling, and streaming on-device inference. Familiarity with MLX or similar on-device ML frameworks.
• Experience building or integrating with MCP (Model Context Protocol) or similar tool-use/connector frameworks. Familiarity with enterprise data access patterns (OData, REST, SSE).
• Experience with deterministic data systems — joins, aggregations, rankings, filters, provenance tracking — using Swift (TabularData or equivalent). Familiarity with graph/vector retrieval or entity resolution is a plus.
• Experience building production SwiftUI applications with AppKit interop, adaptive layouts, keyboard-first workflows, streaming UI updates, and accessibility compliance on macOS.
• Experience with SPM multi-target architectures (20+ targets), strict layered dependency enforcement, and protocol-based dependency injection.
• Experience with macOS system services including process lifecycle management (launchd, SMJobBless), code signing, notarization, entitlements, and sandboxing.
• Experience with actor-based concurrency patterns, including data race prevention with Thread Sanitizer (TSan) and strict concurrency checking under Swift 6.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines, test automation (XCTest, Swift Testing), and agile development practices. Skilled with git, branching processes, and release coordination.
• Experience working collaboratively on small, senior teams where clear communication and shared accountability are essential; where everyone owns their surface end-to-end.

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 $263,300, 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.
• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• retirement benefits
• a range of discounted products and free services
• reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition
• discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation

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.