System Design Engineer

Apple Inc.; Cupertino, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 124,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Discounted products and services

Tuition reimbursement

Employee stock plans

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Apple Inc. in Cupertino, California, is seeking a System Design Engineer to design hardware validating board-level system functionality and electrical performance of new Apple products.

You will work cross-functionally with design, firmware, software, and operations teams to ensure quality and deliver exceptional product experiences. Lead the design of testing fixtures, instrumentation, and software tools; develop hardware and software instrumentation in parallel with product timelines;

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• Experience in analog, digital, and power electronics hardware architectures.
• Ability to design and debug complex schematics and PCBs.
• Strong written and verbal communication across cross-functional teams.
• Willingness to travel up to 10% domestically and internationally.

Responsibilities

• Own and lead system architecture, hardware design, and testing from prototype to mass production.
• Develop custom electrical instruments and software tools for data analysis and diagnostics.
• Collaborate with design, firmware, software, and operations teams throughout development.
• Define test plans, stations, and diagnostics for product features and testing processes.

Skills

Analog & digital hardware

PCB layout

Schematic design

Communication skills

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Allegro CAD

Verilog/VHDL

Job description

Cupertino, California, United States Hardware

As a System Design Engineer, you will design hardware to validate board-level system functionality and electrical performance of new Apple products. Working cross-functionally with design, firmware, software, and operations teams, you will play a key role in ensuring Apple's quality standards are exceeded and our customers receive the best possible product experience.

Description

Lead the design of custom hardware testing fixtures, software (firmware and/or FPGA IP), and instrumentation critical to Apple's product integrity. Drive the development of testing hardware and software instrumentation in parallel with product design timelines. Develop a deep understanding of the full product architecture at both the hardware and system level to deliver complete and thorough testing solutions. Collaborate cross-functionally with design, firmware, software, and operations teams to develop and test groundbreaking products. Apply strong communication skills and technical expertise to lead cross-functional efforts from concept through execution.

Responsibilities

• You will own and lead the system architecture, hardware design, and implementation of product testing on new Apple products from prototype to mass production.
• You will lead our organization in developing custom electrical instruments and algorithms, software tools for data analysis, diagnostic tests, or solve any problem or feature in the test process you desire, and design hardware test fixtures both locally and at the factory.
• You will work closely with the system design and diagnostics teams early in the product development lifecycle to learn the system architecture, influence product’s DFT (design for test) and provide suggested tests for functionality and performance.
• Be the technical expert for designing, understanding, presenting, communicating and debugging, the system testing and testing processes of your product
• You will be a key liaison between our organization and the Contract Manufacturers to ensure that our test station hardware and software is validated and ready for manufacturing testing
• This position requires the ability to deal with a dynamic and rapidly changing environment requiring decision-making with ambiguous information.
• This includes documentation of tests and developing/executing product test plans, specifying test stations and diagnostics for testing product features, and implementing test process control and parametric data collection

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• Good understanding analog, digital, and power electronics hardware architectures and design
• Experience in schematic & PCB layout design using Allegro or a similar CAD tool
• Ability to design and debug complex electrical schematics and PCB layouts and propose clear, relevant experiments
• Good oral & written communication skills - be able to communicate complex engineering concepts clearly and concisely to various cross functional teams and leadership
• Willingness to travel domestically and/or internationally up to 10% of the time; estimated 8-10 days per trip.

Preferred Qualifications

• Working knowledge of USB 3.2, USB-PD, Display Port, PCIe, I2C, SPI technologies and
• protocols, and design
• Prior experience with bed of nails test fixture and designing custom test instruments.
• Basic software engineering experience (writing, editing, debugging Python or LUA scripts, C/
• Experience in FPGA development (Verilog, SysVerilog, VHDL)
• Prior technical leadership and/or project management experience
• Prior experience of performing parametric data statistical analysis (CPK, GRR etc)

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 $123,700 and $186,900, 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.

Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace

Learn about reasonable accommodations for job applicants

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.