Machine Learning Engineer, Sensing Technology - Incubation

Cupertino, California, United States Hardware

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, great ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring curiosity, passion, and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish! Our Camera Incubation team is a multi‑disciplinary team responsible for looking down the road and prototyping new experiences, architectures and technologies. We collaborate with design and product teams to bring new features across the Apple product line.

Join us as together we explore concept prototypes, helping shape what intelligent cameras can sense, understand, and do—and the experience they create for the people who use them.

We're looking for a creative ML Research Engineer to join our incubation team, where you'll work across the full stack, from model training and systems integration to rapid prototyping. While working on a diverse portfolio of exploratory projects, you'll bring deep practical knowledge of ML/AI architectures and multimodal sensing applied to physical spaces, paired with a design‑centric approach to moving ideas from experiment to integrated system.

The ideal candidate is energized by open questions, comfortable navigating ambiguity, quick to reorient when new data shifts the direction, and always able to clearly articulate the motivation, tradeoffs, and risks behind their approach.

• BS and a minimum of 3 years relevant industry experience in machine learning or AI engineering
• Familiarity with state‑of‑the‑art architectures including transformers, reinforcement learning, and predictive inference
• Strong coding skills across modern ML frameworks (e.g. PyTorch), with a practical approach to tooling that includes AI‑assisted development as a natural part of the workflow
• Proven experience building end‑to‑end ML pipelines, from data acquisition and preprocessing through training, evaluation, and deployment
• Experience architecting and integrating sensing systems that fuse multimodal signals (e.g. vision, audio, IMU, LiDAR) with ML models running on mobile, wearable, or robotic platforms

• MS or PhD with substantial applied research experience in a relevant area
• Ability to clearly communicate technical tradeoffs, risks, and rationale to both technical and non‑technical collaborators
• Demonstrated comfort with ambiguity and a track record of adapting quickly when direction shifts
• Experience working in a research, incubation, or early‑stage exploratory environment
• Familiarity with on‑device or edge ML deployment and its associated constraints
• Background in robotics, embedded systems, or real‑time sensing pipelines
• Knowledge of practical Bayesian reasoning and methods
• Experience with physics‑based machine learning — including physics‑informed neural networks, simulation‑to‑real transfer, or learned physical models
• Cross‑disciplinary collaboration experience — hardware, software, design, and research

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.