Software Engineer - Universal Media

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

Job summary

Apple’s ASE Video team in San Diego is hiring a Software Engineer to join the Universal Media Engineering group, building the data platform powering the Apple TV app and tvOS, delivering scalable, low‑latency services used by millions of users.

You will design and build backend services, collaborate with data scientists and other engineers, and contribute to code reviews and best practices to raise code quality.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building resilient, high‑scale distributed microservices in production.
• Proficiency in Java or another object‑oriented language.
• Experience with event‑driven / streaming systems (Kafka, Kinesis, Pulsar).
• Hands‑on experience building large‑scale data pipelines with Spark.
• Experience productionizing personalization / recommendation / ranking algorithms.
• Experience with notification / message‑delivery systems across channels.
• Proficient in SQL & NoSQL stores (PostgreSQL, Cassandra, DynamoDB, MySQL) and Redis.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS, CE, EE, or equivalent industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Partner with data scientists to productionize personalization algorithms and deploy at scale.
• Design and build data pipelines for large‑scale datasets used in personalization.
• Develop and maintain systems for delivering personalized notifications across channels.
• Monitor production systems for latency, throughput, and reliability, scale as needed.
• Collaborate with data scientists, product managers, and engineers to translate requirements into robust solutions.
• Contribute to code reviews, design discussions, and engineering best practices.

Skills

Java

Distributed systems

SQL/NoSQL

Data pipelines

Notifications systems

Algorithms & data structures

REST APIs

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS, CE, EE, or related

Tools

Kafka

Kinesis

Pulsar

Spark

Job description

San Diego, California, United States Software and Services

Apple Services Engineering (ASE) teams power the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, Fitness+, the iTunes Store, and more. We do this on a significant scale, delivering a huge variety of software in over 35 languages to more than 150 countries. Our engineers build secure, end-to-end solutions. They develop the custom software used to process all the creative work, the tools that providers use to deliver that media, all the server-side systems, and the APIs for many Apple services. Thanks to Apple's unique integration of hardware, software, and services, engineers here partner to get behind a single unified vision. That vision always includes a deep commitment to strengthening Apple's privacy policy, one of Apple's core values. Although Services are a bigger part of Apple's business than ever before, our teams remain small, nimble, and highly cross‑functional, offering greater exposure to the array of opportunities here.

Description

What happens when the world’s most innovative engineers collaborate with the world’s most creative storytellers? TV gets reinvented. Meet the re‑inventors: Apple Services' Video Engineering (ASE Video). ASE Video teams have embarked on a journey to build the next‑generation sports and media experience. In the ASE Video teams, we work every day to create products that enrich people’s lives. The teams build and manage the Apple TV app as well as tvOS, which redefined and refined the way people watch movies, TV shows, sports, and so much more. The ASE Video group is looking for a Software Engineer to join our Universal Media Engineering team. The Universal Media Engineering team leads the data platform and related tools that power the Apple TV app. We are looking for enthusiastic, self‑starting individuals who can bring new ideas and innovations to the platform and push the boundaries of scalability, latency and quality. Does this sound like you? If so, we want to speak with you. As a Software Engineer, you will be responsible for designing and building services that directly impact millions of users. You'll collaborate closely with a diverse set of teams that include engineering, project management, business operations, design and curation, working toward a common vision of delivering the best possible Apple TV experience for our customers. Our engineers employ their talent and tools to write the code that makes these experiences possible. They work multi‑functionally with teams across Apple to build a seamless experience. This group is seeking a highly skilled Backend Engineer to help design, develop, and deliver new experiences for our customers. Join the team to see what else is possible!

Responsibilities

• Partner with data scientists to productionize and deploy personalization algorithms, ensuring models are scalable, reliable, and performant in production environments.
• Design and build data pipelines to generate and process large‑scale datasets used for personalization and user targeting initiatives.
• Develop and maintain systems for delivering timely, personalized notifications to users across multiple channels.
• Monitor and optimize production systems for latency, throughput, and reliability, implementing improvements as usage scales.
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with data scientists, product managers, and other engineers to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Contribute to code reviews, technical design discussions, and engineering best practices to raise the overall quality and health of the codebase.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years building resilient, high‑scale distributed microservices in production (serving millions of users or comparable event/request volume)
• Proficiency in Java or another object‑oriented language
• Production experience designing and operating event‑driven / streaming systems (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis, Pulsar) — pub/sub, async, or stream processing at scale
• Hands‑on experience building large‑scale data pipelines on a big‑data framework (e.g., Apache Spark)
• Experience productionizing personalization / recommendation / ranking algorithms — deploying, serving, and monitoring them in a live system (not offline training only)
• Experience building or operating notification / message‑delivery systems across one or more channels (push, email, SMS, in‑app)
• Proficient in algorithms and data structures
• Experience with SQL & NoSQL datastores (e.g., PostgreSQL, Cassandra, DynamoDB, MySQL) and Redis
• Bachelor’s degree in CS, CE, EE, or a related technical field — or equivalent industry experience
• Effective written and verbal communication; able to make progress with incomplete requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience partnering directly with data scientists to move models from notebook to production
• Feature stores, online/offline serving, model monitoring, and A/B experimentation
• Multi‑channel delivery at scale — rate‑limiting, dedup, and delivery‑guarantee design
• Experience with CI/CD and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Advanced stream/data processing (e.g., Flink, Beam, Spark Structured Streaming)
• Master’s degree in a related technical field

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.