Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET), Creative Apps

Apple; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple in San Diego is seeking a Software Engineer in QA/Automation to architect test frameworks for iOS/macOS features, running in live CI/CD pipelines.

You'll work shoulder-to-shoulder with software engineers and product managers to embed quality into design and releases, applying GenAI-driven testing and robust automation practices.

A 3+ year track record in QA automation and strong Python/Swift skills are required; Bachelor's degree or equivalent demonstrated through industry work.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on experience in SDET, QA automation, or software engineering with a testing focus.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and Swift for building automated test frameworks and tooling—not just scripting.
• Strong SDLC experience with quality gates from design through release.
• Proven track record designing multi-layered test strategies spanning functional, integration, regression, and exploratory testing.
• Direct experience building UI automation with XCUITest or XUI against real Apple platform targets.
• Experience integrating automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines and maintaining them as living infrastructure.
• Applied LLMs/GenAI tooling to test generation or coverage in a real engineering workflow.
• Familiar with prompt engineering in QA or developer tooling that improves output quality.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering or equivalent demonstrated through industry work.

Responsibilities

• Build production-grade automated test suites in Python and Swift that validate iOS and macOS features at scale across unit, integration, and regression layers.
• Own the UI automation infrastructure end-to-end—from XCUITest/XUI framework design to seamless CI/CD pipeline integration.
• Drive test strategy for entire feature areas—defining coverage models, risk tiers, and quality gates that directly gate release decisions.
• Identify and close coverage gaps through root cause analysis, translating triage findings into systemic automation improvements.
• Accelerate team-wide quality practices by evaluating and integrating emerging tooling, including GenAI-assisted test generation and prompt engineering workflows.
• Perform manual functional testing as needed to validate new features, regressions, and complex user workflows that are not yet automated or require exploratory validation.

Skills

SDET/QA automation

Python

Swift

CI/CD pipelines

Root cause analysis

GenAI tooling

Prompt engineering

SDLC process

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering

Tools

XCUITest/XUI

CI/CD tooling

GenAI tooling

Job description

Summary

What if your automation code was the last line of defense before a feature reached a billion devices? This role sits at the convergence of engineering rigor and product quality across Apple's iOS and macOS platforms — where the frameworks you build determine whether releases ship with confidence or not. The team operates end-to-end across the SDLC, and the bar for what 'good' looks like here resets what you thought quality engineering could be.

Description

You'll architect and own test automation frameworks that run inside live CI/CD pipelines, catching regressions before they ever reach a human reviewer. Every sprint, you'll work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with software engineers and product managers who expect quality to be a design input, not an afterthought. The tools you write will compress release cycles, the gaps you find will shape roadmap decisions, and the standards you set will outlast any single product cycle.

Key Responsibilities

Build production‑grade automated test suites in Python and Swift that validate iOS and macOS features at scale across unit, integration, and regression layersOwn the UI automation infrastructure end‑to‑end — from XCUITest/XUI framework design to seamless CI/CD pipeline integrationDrive test strategy for entire feature areas — defining coverage models, risk tiers, and quality gates that directly gate release decisionsIdentify and close coverage gaps through root cause analysis, translating triage findings into systemic automation improvementsAccelerate team‑wide quality practices by evaluating and integrating emerging tooling, including GenAI‑assisted test generation and prompt engineering workflowsPerform manual functional testing as needed to validate new features, regressions, and complex user workflows that are not yet automated or require exploratory validation.

Minimum Qualifications

3+ years of hands‑on experience in SDET, QA automation, or software engineering with a testing focusAdvanced proficiency in Python and Swift, specifically for building automated test frameworks and test tooling — not just scriptingPractical command of the full SDLC with clear experience embedding quality gates at multiple phases, from design review through releaseProven track record designing and executing multi‑layered test strategies spanning functional, integration, regression, and exploratory methodologiesDirect experience building UI automation with XCUITest or XUI frameworks against real Apple platform targetsDemonstrated ability to integrate automated test suites into CI/CD pipelines and maintain them as living infrastructureApplied LLMs or GenAI tooling to test generation, failure analysis, or coverage gap identification in a real engineering workflowBuilt prompt engineering techniques into QA or developer tooling that measurably improved output quality or throughputBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or we may consider an equivalent depth demonstrated through industry work

Preferred Qualifications

Shipped quality automation across both iOS and macOS across multiple full release cycles — not just one platform or one cycleDrove infrastructure improvements — framework refactors, pipeline optimizations, coverage initiatives — with documented impact on defect escape rates or release velocityExtended automation scope beyond functional testing into performance, accessibility, or localization validationFamiliarity with photo and video editing applications or media‑processing workflows, including experience testing or validating complex media‑related features