Senior Design Engineer​/Prototyper ISE Incubation-Proactive

Senior Design Engineer / Prototyper ISE Incubation-Proactive

Cupertino, California, United States Software and Services

The ISE Incubation team is looking for an exceptional Senior Design Engineer / Prototyper to own and drive the design vision across multiple high-impact, early-stage projects. In this role, you will serve as the design authority for the team — leading end-to-end design execution while working in close partnership with engineers to bring ambitious ideas to life. You are equally comfortable operating in ambiguity and delivering with precision, and you bring a rare combination of design craft, technical fluency, and strategic thinking to everything you create.

Our team nurtures early-stage ideas into well-developed, usable experiences. For this big idea to work, is there a piece of experience that must feel great? Is there an enabling technology we need to build? Software is the tool we use most frequently to bring concepts to life on our devices. But we try to use the best tool for the job: anything that helps us see, touch, or feel an idea.

We often work directly with other teams to leverage expertise from across the company, and share our work with others to find out what works and what doesn’t. Gradually, those fuzzy notions turn into tangible, brand-new ideas that can lead the future of software on our devices. The products we build are part prototype, part proof of concept and part sales pitch, so communicating clearly and being able to empathize with other people's perspectives are key skills for our team.

So is the ability to give and receive feedback.

• Own Design End-to-End:
  Lead and execute the full design process across multiple concurrent incubation projects, from early ideation through high-fidelity prototype delivery
• Drive Design Vision:
  Establish and maintain a cohesive design direction across projects, ensuring quality, consistency, and a high bar for craft at every stage
• Partner Directly with Engineering:
  Serve as the primary design interface with engineering teams, translating design intent into technically feasible solutions and advocating for the user experience throughout development
• Build & Prototype:
  Produce a wide range of prototypes — from rapid concept models to polished, interactive proof-of-concepts — to validate ideas and communicate design decisions
• Influence & Align Stakeholders:
  Present design work confidently to senior leadership and cross-functional partners, driving alignment and shaping product direction
• Mentor & Elevate:
  Contribute to the broader design culture of the team by sharing expertise, establishing best practices, and raising the bar for design quality
• Explore & Innovate:
  Actively explore emerging technologies, interaction paradigms, and design approaches to push the boundaries of what’s possible within Apple’s ecosystem

• 8+ years of experience in design engineering, interaction design, or a prototyping-focused discipline
• Proven track record of owning and delivering design work across multiple complex projects simultaneously
• Experience with industry-standard design tools such as Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Figma Suite or similar
• Strong command of visual design, interaction design, and systems thinking
• Experience writing prototype-quality code
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate directly with engineering teams and communicate design intent at a technical level
• Experience presenting and defending design decisions to senior stakeholders

• Experience in an incubation, R&D, or 0-to-1 product environment
• Background in industrial design, HCI, software engineering, or a related field
• Ability to independently scope and structure design work-streams with minimal oversight
• Strong point of view on the future of human-computer interaction

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 $181,100 and $318,400, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

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