Senior Systems Engineer, Watch Software

Socket.dev; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 160,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple's watchOS Systems team seeks a senior software engineer to help define the future of Apple Watch. You will build and optimize foundational software that drives performance and power efficiency while collaborating with performance, power, OS, and hardware experts.

This role blends hardware and software, invites investigative research and prototyping new technologies, and requires strong problem-solving and communication as you tackle open-ended challenges.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of industry experience required.
• Experience with low-level OS systems such as kernel, Darwin, or drivers.
• Experience measuring and investigating power and performance.

Responsibilities

• Architect core OS features for watchOS and related systems.
• Lead performance and power optimization initiatives across the team.
• Prototype and evaluate new technologies to influence hardware and software features.
• Collaborate with hardware, OS, and performance teams to resolve complex issues.

Skills

8+ years industry experience

Low-level OS systems

Power and performance measurement

Strong CS fundamentals

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Job description

The watchOS Systems team is looking for a creative senior software engineer to help define the future of Apple Watch. Your core responsibility will be to build and optimize the foundational software that drives the device's performance and power efficiency. You will also have the unique opportunity to conduct investigative research, prototyping new technologies that will help define future hardware and software features. This role is perfect for a collaborative engineer who is passionate about the intersection of hardware and software and thrives on solving complex, open-ended problems.

Description

As a key engineer on this team, you will tackle a wide range of complex challenges and collaborate closely with Performance, Power, OS, and Hardware experts across Apple. Your responsibilities will be dynamic, ranging from architecting core OS features to acting as a performance specialist for other teams. This includes defining and implementing critical system-level functionality, such as new systems to manage the process lifecycle, reclaim memory, or lead the transition to a 64-bit OS architecture. You will also dive into other teams' code to diagnose and resolve significant power issues, and will build and maintain tools to help all engineers model and analyze performance and memory.

Minimum Qualifications

• 8+ years industry experience.
• Deep technical understanding and hands-on experience with software development and lifecycle management.
• Experience with low-level OS systems, i.e. kernel, Darwin or drivers.
• Deep experience with power and performance measurement and investigation techniques.
• Solid computer science fundamentals.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for collaborating with a technical team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience defining and contributing to application or systems architecture.
• Ability to work with technology partners at all levels of the stack, from hardware, sensors, and firmware to frameworks and applications.
• Experience in additional technical areas, like Graphics, UI or networking.
• Strong problem-solving and debugging skills, especially with ambiguous or undefined problems.