Staff Tools Engineer - Intelligent Productivity and Automation - Ads Platform

Apple Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Employee stock programs

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Apple Inc. seeks a Staff Tools Engineer for Intelligent Productivity and Automation within the Ads Platform in San Francisco.

You will design AI/LLM-powered internal tooling, automation frameworks, and developer tools to boost quality and productivity across Apple Ads, spanning mobile, backend, API, and data platforms. You will drive multi-agent testing, end-to-end automation, and cross-functional validation, partnering with product and engineering to accelerate tooling adoption, improve failure

Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science or related field.
• 10+ years of experience building scalable test automation frameworks across web, mobile, APIs, and data platforms.
• Strong programming in Python or Java with Playwright or Selenium; mobile testing (iOS/XCTest/XCUITest); distributed systems (Hadoop, Hive, HDFS).
• Experience driving adoption of AI/LLMs, MCP, and agentic systems for intelligent automation.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement multi-agent testing frameworks for Apple Ads across UI, API, mobile, and data pipelines.
• Architect end-to-end automation solutions to streamline integrity workflows and empower autonomous engineering teams.
• Collaborate with product and engineering to deliver intelligent tooling for debugging, test data setup, and failure analysis.
• Drive innovation by reusing proven technologies to boost development velocity and productivity.
• Lead cross-functional validation to ensure seamless end-to-end product quality.
• Develop tools to enhance developer confidence, speed, and reliability across domains.
• Partner with engineering to validate advertising feature deliveries.
• Shape testing strategy for critical user flows across web, mobile, and TV platforms.

Skills

Python/Java

Playwright/Selenium

iOS/XCTest/XCUITest

Hadoop/Hive/HDFS

AI/LLMs

MCP

Agentic systems

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

MS preferred

Tools

Kafka

Spark

Job description

Staff Tools Engineer - Intelligent Productivity and Automation - Ads Platform

San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States Software and Services

We support ads and sponsorships across Apple Services, including the App Store, Apple News, MLS Season Pass and now F1 ! . Everything we do is designed for trust, connection, and impact: We respect user privacy, integrate advertising thoughtfully into the experience, and deliver value for advertisers of all sizes—from small app developers to news publishers to big, global brands. Because when advertising is done right, it benefits everyone.We are seeking a Senior Tools Engineer to help build intelligent internal platforms, automation frameworks, and developer tools that improve quality, and engineering productivity across Apple Ads.This is a hands‑on engineering role focused on building AI/LLM-powered internal tooling and automation systems across mobile, backend, API, and data platform ecosystems. The ideal candidate combines strong software engineering fundamentals with experience building scalable automation, developer infrastructure, and full-stack engineering platforms.

Description

In this role, you will help build AI/LLM-powered internal tools that help to continuously understand signals across products, detecting risk patterns early, and enabling autonomous validation and recovery workflows. You will work on unifying fragmented solutions across multiple Apple Ads business lines into a single intelligence layer integrated with a unified validation platform, replacing bespoke tooling with a scalable and adaptive ecosystem accessible through prompts, APIs, and MCP servers. This role is focused on leveraging existing AI models and platforms to build intelligent internal developer tools rather than developing or training AI/ML models. We are looking for candidates who can operate effectively in ambiguous environments, drive clarity across complex problem spaces, and influence cross‑functional teams through strong technical leadership and excellent communication skills, including experience partnering with senior engineers and engineering leadership.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement multi-agent testing frameworks for Apple Ads, covering UI, API, mobile, and data pipeline validations.
• Architect, develop, and implement end-to-end automation solutions that streamline business integrity workflows, empowering engineering teams to operate autonomously and efficiently.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional partners—including product and engineering—to deliver intelligent tooling for debugging, test data setup, and actionable failure analysis.
• Apply pragmatic innovation by reusing and refining proven technologies to improve development velocity and productivity.
• Drive comprehensive, cross‑functional validation efforts to guarantee seamless end‑to‑end product quality.
• Develop tools that enhance developer confidence, speed, and reliability across multiple domains.
• Cross‑Functional Validation: Partner with engineering and cross‑functional teams across Apple to validate advertising feature deliveries.
• Drive the testing strategy for user-critical flows across web, mobile, and TV platforms in our advertising ecosystem.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS in Computer Science or related field.
• 10+ years of experience building scalable test automation frameworks and leading QE strategy across complex distributed systems spanning web, mobile, APIs, and data platforms
• Strong programming expertise in Python or Java, with deep experience in modern automation frameworks such as Playwright or Selenium, mobile testing ecosystems including iOS/XCTest/XCUITest, and distributed systems such as Hadoop, Hive, and HDFS
• Proven ability to drive adoption of emerging technologies such as AI/LLMs, MCP, and agentic systems to enable intelligent automation and self‑serve developer workflows
• Expertise in debugging complex system‑level issues, validating APIs and data pipelines, and driving root cause analysis across integrated services and platforms
• Demonstrated ability to influence engineering standards, operate effectively in ambiguous environments, and collaborate with senior engineers and engineering leadership across cross‑functional teams

Preferred Qualifications

• MS preferred
• Experience designing AI driven or agent based automation systems, including MCP aligned architectures
• Experience building scalable validation strategies for data platforms, including streaming systems (Kafka, Spark)
• Strong background in API testing, data validation, and building self service QE platforms
• Experience in advertising technology or similar large scale, high complexity ecosystems
• Proven track record of leading cross org initiatives and driving alignment across multiple teams

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 $184,700 and $324,800, 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.