Software Engineer - Build Support Engineering

Apple Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 263,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple Inc. in San Diego is seeking a Software Engineer for the Build Support Engineering team to modernize build/deploy systems and introduce AI-driven automation at scale.

You will design backend services in Java/Python, modernize pipelines, and build agentic AI tools to triage issues and support hundreds of developers across Apple.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of industry experience building backend systems.
• Strong programming skills in Java and Python.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes for container orchestration and deployment.
• Familiarity with utilizing and developing AI-driven and agentic tools to improve workflows and productivity.
• Knowledge of algorithms, data structures, and distributed systems principles.
• Experience with databases (relational and/or NoSQL) and scalable service architectures.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.
• BS, MS or PhD in Computer Science/Engineering

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize scalable backend services and APIs in Java and Python that power build, deployment, and hotfix workflows for engineering teams across Apple.
• Collaborate with project managers and partner teams to gather requirements and translate them into technical solutions that improve developer productivity.
• Modernize legacy build-and-deploy pipelines, consolidating multiple build artifact types onto a single standardized containerized image deployed identically across environments.
• Develop and maintain multi-repo developer tooling - build, hotfix, request, and auto-merge systems - that enable hundreds of developers to build, test, and deploy services efficiently.
• Integrate AI-driven and agentic tools into on-call triage, debugging, and developer support to automate workflows, surface intelligent insights, and reduce operational toil.
• Design and build agentic AI systems - tool-using, multi-step agents and skills that autonomously triage pages, investigate build and deployment failures, and assist developers and SREs.
• Build and maintain containerized services using Kubernetes for reliable deployment and orchestration.
• Evolve platform architectures for reliability, maintainability, and performance at scale, while adding unit and integration test coverage and addressing security vulnerabilities.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code that upholds Apple's high standard of engineering excellence.
• Participate in code reviews, architectural discussions, and production troubleshooting, sharing knowledge and elevating quality across the team.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation to enable rapid, safe deployments and hotfixes.

Skills

Java

Python

Kubernetes

AI-driven tools

Distributed systems

Databases

Education

BS in Computer Science/Engineering

MS/PhD in Computer Science/Engineering

Tools

LangChain

HuggingFace

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

San Diego, California, United States Software and Services

Imagine empowering hundreds of developers across Apple Service Engineering to build, ship, and hotfix their services faster, more reliably, and with far less toil.At Apple, we don't just build products, we craft experiences that redefine entire ecosystems. The Build Support Engineering (BSE) team sits underneath that work, owning the build, deployment, and hotfix infrastructure that Apple's Commerce and platform engineering teams depend on to get code into production every day. Join us to develop the next-generation of Apple's cloud services infrastructure.As a Software Engineer on the Build Support Engineering team, you'll play a key role in modernizing large-scale build and deployment systems - untangling years of legacy tooling, standardizing on a single containerized build-and-deploy path, and building agentic AI systems that triage incidents, debug failures, and support developers autonomously. This is about designing robust, scalable systems that let hundreds of developers build, test, and release services efficiently, while continuously simplifying the platform underneath them.We're seeking engineers with a strong foundation in backend development who are also excited about applying AI - including agentic, tool-using systems - in practical, impactful ways. If you're energized by challenges that span distributed systems, build and deployment tooling, container orchestration, and autonomous intelligent agents, and ready to work on systems used by engineering teams across Apple, we'd love to hear from you.Join us, and help craft the future of build and deployment at Apple.

Description

The Build Support Engineering team is looking for a talented Software Engineer to help evolve the core build, deployment, and hotfix systems that Apple's developers depend on every day. You'll join a team responsible for migrating a large legacy codebase into modern, multi-repo workflows, standardizing containerized build artifacts, and scaling the tooling that powers service delivery - with opportunities to enhance these systems using AI-driven tools and practices.This role blends proven engineering practices with forward-looking approaches in agentic AI, intelligent automation, and platform simplification. You'll collaborate closely with project managers, partner platform teams, and SREs to translate clear requirements into production systems that are performant, resilient, and continually improving.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize scalable backend services and APIs in Java and Python that power build, deployment, and hotfix workflows for engineering teams across Apple.
• Collaborate with project managers and partner teams to gather requirements and translate them into technical solutions that improve developer productivity.
• Modernize legacy build-and-deploy pipelines, consolidating multiple build artifact types onto a single standardized containerized image deployed identically across environments.
• Develop and maintain multi-repo developer tooling - build, hotfix, request, and auto-merge systems - that enable hundreds of developers to build, test, and deploy services efficiently.
• Integrate AI-driven and agentic tools into on-call triage, debugging, and developer support to automate workflows, surface intelligent insights, and reduce operational toil.
• Design and build agentic AI systems - tool-using, multi-step agents and skills that autonomously triage pages, investigate build and deployment failures, and assist developers and SREs.
• Build and maintain containerized services using Kubernetes for reliable deployment and orchestration.
• Evolve platform architectures for reliability, maintainability, and performance at scale, while adding unit and integration test coverage and addressing security vulnerabilities.
• Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code that upholds Apple's high standard of engineering excellence.
• Participate in code reviews, architectural discussions, and production troubleshooting, sharing knowledge and elevating quality across the team.
• Contribute to CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation to enable rapid, safe deployments and hotfixes.

Minimum Qualifications

• 2+ years of industry experience building backend systems.
• Strong programming skills in Java and Python.
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes for container orchestration and deployment.
• Familiarity with utilizing and developing AI-driven and agentic tools to improve workflows and productivity.
• Knowledge of algorithms, data structures, and distributed systems principles.
• Experience with databases (relational and/or NoSQL) and scalable service architectures.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative mindset.
• BS, MS or PhD in Computer Science/Engineering

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with build systems and CI/CD tooling, and modernizing legacy build-and-deploy pipelines.
• Experience with containerization and standardized image-based deployment workflows.
• Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and LLM libraries (e.g., LangChain, Hugging Face), or building AI-assisted developer and on-call tooling.
• Experience building agentic AI systems - LLM agents, tool/function calling, orchestration frameworks, or agent SDKs (e.g., Claude, MCP, LangGraph).
• Experience with large-scale codebase migrations and multi-repo tooling.
• Experience with messaging systems (e.g., Kafka) and microservices architectures.
• Passion for developer experience and empathy for building tools that empower other engineers.

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 $142,300 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. 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.

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Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.