Senior Engineering Leader, Apple Ads

At Apple, we build technology that enriches people’s lives, and our Apple Ads team makes it possible for developers, publishers, and advertisers to connect with users in meaningful, privacy-first ways. Our systems power advertising across the App Store and Apple News, enabling discovery and supporting the app ecosystem with integrity. We are seeking a Senior Engineering Leader to guide the next generation of Advertiser Services within Apple Ads. In this role, you will define the technical vision, scale distributed systems that process billions of ad events daily, and shape the architectural foundation that powers Apple’s privacy-first advertising ecosystem. You will lead multiple engineering teams, spanning managers, architects, and developers, to deliver innovative, reliable, and high-performance systems that drive measurable business impact while maintaining Apple’s uncompromising commitment to user trust.

As a Senior Engineering Leader, you will lead and grow a multi-layered engineering organization that develops and operates the advertiser-facing systems, ensuring seamless campaign creation and delivery. You’ll work in close partnership with senior leaders across Product, Data Science, and Platform Infrastructure to define long-term strategies for scalability, reliability, and innovation. Your scope includes both strategic leadership and hands-on technical depth, balancing architectural vision with operational excellence. You’ll be responsible for fostering a culture that values technical rigor, inclusive collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Key Qualifications

• Define and drive the technical and organizational vision for advertiser services, setting clear priorities and aligning teams around shared outcomes.
• Partner with cross-functional executives to translate business goals into scalable system designs and product capabilities.
• Coach and develop senior managers and architects, empowering them to lead with autonomy and purpose.
• Champion engineering excellence through metrics-driven development, platform modernization, and automation.
• Collaborate closely with Product and Program Management to deliver predictable execution, timely releases, and customer-focused results.
• Lead long-term architectural initiatives to evolve service boundaries, improve data consistency, and support Apple’s privacy standards.
• Represent the organization in technical and strategic reviews, ensuring visibility and alignment across Apple Ads leadership.
• 15+ years of software engineering experience, including 7+ years leading multi-tiered engineering organizations with senior managers and architects.
• Proven success in building and scaling distributed systems and real-time data pipelines that handle billions of transactions per day.
• Experience in ad tech or comparable high-throughput transactional systems is required.
• Deep technical foundation across modern backend systems — including the Java/JVM ecosystem, microservices, streaming architectures (Kafka or equivalent), REST/GraphQL APIs, and large-scale data stores (SQL/NoSQL, caching, and time-series systems) — with strong understanding of cloud platforms, CI/CD, and DevOps practices.
• Demonstrated ability to connect high-level vision to technical execution, delivering reliable, scalable solutions under demanding conditions.
• Strong strategic acumen, able to balance innovation with operational realities and business impact.
• Experience leading through influence in a matrixed environment, driving alignment across product, business, and executive partners.
• History of building diverse, high-performing teams, mentoring senior talent, and cultivating an environment of trust and innovation.
• BS degree in Computer Science or equivalent field plus 15+ years of software development experience, or MS degree plus 14+ years of software development experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience leading platform transformations or major architectural re-designs in complex distributed environments.
• Proven record of scaling systems to global reach while maintaining high availability and low latency.
• Experience representing engineering strategy in executive forums or cross-functional leadership councils.
• Demonstrated commitment to privacy-preserving design and responsible data use.