Hardware Engineer - Apple Maps

Cupertino, California, United States Software and Services

Apple is where individual imaginations gather together, committing to the values that lead to great work. Every new product we build, service we create, or Apple Store experience we deliver is the result of us making each other’s ideas stronger. That happens because every one of us shares a belief that we can make something wonderful and share it with the world, changing lives for the better.

It’s the diversity of our people and their thinking that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do. When we bring everybody in, we can do the best work of our lives. Here, you’ll do more than join something — you’ll add something!

This role is within the Apple Maps Hardware Team. We are a forward-thinking team that designs and builds data collection rigs. There is no normal days in this group - we all wear many hats each day to support our mission of creating world-class mapping and data collection hardware.

This is a unique hardware systems integrator role where you will ensure our complex hardware moves successfully from concept to production. In this hands‑on, high‑impact role you will be solving the toughest cross‑functional challenges that arise at the intersection of electrical, software and mechanical engineering. We operate like an independent start‑up doing design, manufacturing, production, and field support team to enable our larger Apple Maps team.

• Lead the technical management of external vendors and design partners, driving them to meet our technical, quality, and schedule requirements
• Conduct rigorous technical reviews of schematics, layout, and DFM provided by partners to ensure system integrity
• Develop and implement comprehensive plans for system validation, characterization, and testing
• Lead hands‑on bring‑up, debugging, and validation of new hardware prototypes in the lab, identifying and driving root‑cause analysis for complex issues
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for electrical hardware issues discovered during prototype and production builds

• BS in Electrical/Computer Engineering or equivalent
• 5+ years of industry experience in a hardware development role
• Strong electrical engineering fundamentals, with an ability to analyze and debug complex analog, digital, and power systems
• Deep experience in system integration, including grounding, shielding, EMI/EMC mitigation, and power distribution strategies
• Proven experience overseeing the full PCB development cycle, including specification, architecture, design, simulation, prototype, bring‑up, testing, and release to production
• Hands‑on experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, VNAs) for bring‑up and debugging of difficult hardware issues
• Experience working with microcontrollers and firmware, sufficient to perform system bring‑up and debug low‑level hardware/software interactions
• Ability to drive and mentor junior engineers, fostering best practices in system design and validation

• Strong desire to dive deep into system level issues and drive problems to closure in a team‑based environment with a proactive attitude
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills for communicating with internal teams and external vendors
• Experience managing and resolving technical issues with PCB, component, and assembly vendors
• Experience using scripting languages (e.g. Python, Bash) to automate testing and data analysis
• Expertise in using low‑speed control interfaces (e.g. I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, RS‑422) for component configuration and debugging
• Familiarity with high‑speed interfaces (e.g. PCIe, MIPI D‑PHY, Display Port) and their design and validation challenges
• Exposure to specification and integration of components like PMICs, LDOs, MCUs and FPGAs
• Experience in the selection and specification of connectors and custom cabling for power delivery, low‑speed control, and high‑speed data interfaces
• Knowledge of cameras and optical systems, with a focus on CMOS image sensors and opto‑mechanical packaging constraints
• Knowledge of layout strategies for rigid, rigid‑flex and…