Software Development Engineer - Location Technologies

Our mission is to personalize the user experience on Apple devices based on where you go, when, and what those places mean to you. You’re experiencing our work whenever you see a suggested location in Maps or Calendar, or browse your Memories in Photos. We’re working for you whenever your phone engages Do Not Disturb While Driving or remembers where you parked. We’re looking for motivated, experienced technical leaders to help take our software to the next level of capability, quality, and impact. Do you have a background in GPS, WiFi location, or embedded sensing, and are looking to move up the stack? Do you know recommendation engines, and want to apply that experience to a deeply impactful and broadly applicable domain? Are you excited by the optimization problem of providing rich contextual intelligence within a constrained resource footprint? If any of these describe you, read on.

In this job, you’ll develop the next frontier of mobile technology, in partnership with teams in sensing, Siri, and apps. Hungry for the responsibility to work on complex problems from end to end? In this position, you will:

• Conceptualize, explore, and define new inferential and predictive location- and motion-based capabilities for Apple's platforms.
• Collect, curate, and analyze real-world data sets of varying size and complexity.
• Aggregate, filter, and cluster data on mobile devices, from a variety of local sensors: GPS, WiFi, accelerometer, and others.
• Design and implement algorithms, then integrate them into production code.
• Test your work. Dog-food it. Collect metrics, and iterate. Don’t forget to sweat the edge cases—an issue that impacts 1% of a billion devices is a big issue. A dedication to users’ privacy and security is core to how Apple does business. We want their devices to exhibit the high level of intelligence and proactivity that can only come from deep contextual understanding. We don’t want their sensitive data coming back to Apple or being exposed to third parties. Other companies solve similar problems in very different ways. Our way is more work. We believe it’s worth it.

Key Qualifications

• 5+ years experience developing commercial software. Most of the code you write will run on mobile devices, in the hands of hundreds of millions of Apple customers. We use Objective-C, but if you know C, modern C++, or Swift, you shouldn’t have a problem.
• A working knowledge of statistics fundamentals. Your code will make estimates, identify patterns, and quantify how strong they are. You should be comfortable using histograms, basic probability, and Bayes’s Theorem. If you have a background in signal processing, data science, or machine learning, that's even better.
• An ability to evaluate and optimize for system performance: memory, CPU, radios, etc. Our software needs to provide a high level of service while sipping power. We think this is a really exciting challenge.

Education & Experience

Additional Requirements

• Real passion for the location domain. We believe that mobility is transformative, and that to realize that transformation, your devices need to understand the places you go and what they mean to you. That’s what we do. If you have experience in location estimation—GPS/GNSS, WiFi positioning, indoor localization, or discrete localization—we're especially eager to speak with you.
• A proven track record working effectively across teams. One of the cool things about Apple is how much you will work with people who have different expertise and responsibilities than you: apps, sensors, connectivity, and others. You’ll need to communicate clearly, plan collaboratively, execute flexibly, and cope with what will sometimes feel like a high degree of uncertainty.
• Experience with Spark, Hadoop, or NoSQL data stores.

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 $147,400 and $272,100, 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.