A

Apple

Designs and sells hardware and software

Operations Manufacturing Design PhD Intern

Summer 2026
No salary listed
Internship
PhD
United States
In Person

About the job

Requirements
  • Currently pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering, material science, or industrial engineering or related field
  • Experience in a hands-on manufacturing environment
  • Proven capability in developing quality plans, validating test methods and gauges, and driving corrective actions/failure analysis efforts
  • Deep knowledge of quality and reliability concepts, supplier management, and general manufacturing operations
  • Significant project management experience and a deep understanding of problem solving tools including design of experiments, root cause analysis and statistical process control principles preferred
  • At the end of the internship, you must return to school to continue your education or the internship must be the last requirement for you to graduate
Responsibilities
  • Lead selection, implementation and optimization of manufacturing processes for mechanical enclosure subassemblies for our legendary products
  • Utilize mechanical engineering expertise and work cross functionally with Product Design Engineering and Industrial Design
  • Evaluate product features for manufacturability, and recommend the most capable processes and equipment
  • Innovate new manufacturing processes to enable future product design and conducting design of experiments to validate process capability
  • Partner with global supplier managers to identify and qualify capable suppliers, assess their secondary processes for capacity, quality and cost
  • Partner with suppliers to define and refine mechanical tooling, fixtures and establish capability and readiness
  • Implement post production quality and cost improvement activity related to fixtures and processes
  • As an MQE: Utilize engineering, factory management and supply chain skills in developing and implementing high efficiency inspection equipment, groundbreaking quality systems and ultimately the best products available
  • Lead the creation of state of the art inspection and measurement equipment for Apple products
  • Lead the development of specific product quality plans (PQP) appropriate to program and commodity
  • Provide technical direction and mentorship to other quality engineers supporting the implementation of the PQP
  • Identify and direct studies to implement improvements in measuring method where appropriate
  • Lead quality engineering functions for multiple programs in the product category
  • Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to ensure accurate definition of quality expectations and appropriate assurance techniques are used for the product
  • Partner with supplier quality management through assisting in the supplier selection process for new products and sourcing activities. You will also drive supplier production control and quality programs, identify shortfalls to expectations, and directly secure agreement to correct. Through measurement of production line statistics, company inspections, and audits, you will supervise each supplier’s performance
  • As an SME: Act as a technical expert within the Manufacturing Design team. In this very hands-on role, SMEs display deep knowledge in their field while collaborating with their Industrial Design, Product Design, and Manufacturing Design partners to develop manufacturing processes to scale with our suppliers
  • Leading innovative process development trials, SMEs deliver to challenging cosmetic and functional requirements
  • Tooling SMEs lead the development of new metal forming and plastic injection tooling projects to meet a wide range of product performance and cosmetic requirements. Work with Apple suppliers to lead tool design and build, tool and process development and tool qualifications at the supplier
  • Surface Finishing SMEs research new methods for creating cosmetic surface finishes combining mechanical surface preparation (blasting, polishing, texturing, etc) and decorative surface finishing techniques (anodizing, electroplating, etc.) to meet challenging new targets
  • Coatings SMEs are responsible for driving the development of deposition processes such as painting, printing, physical vapor deposition, and chemical vapor deposition to implement a variety of decorative and functional coatings across Apple’s suppliers
  • Surface Science SMEs define, develop and scale best-in-class wet cleaning and chemical surface pre-treatment processes that aid in delivering world class cosmetic and functional anodizing, PVD, electroplating, and coatings
  • Automation SMEs drive automation design, development, and implementation activities with industrial partners for critical enclosure and module manufacturing processes, necessitating a hands-on and innovative approach to mechanical, control, and vision systems in order to deliver unprecedented capabilities and best-in-class performance
  • As an OPM: Be pivotal to the dynamic development and execution of key strategic projects in the Product Operations team. A successful OPM is a leader and facilitator; is driven, organized, and detail oriented; excels in program/project management; communicates with ease at all levels; and is self-motivated to succeed in ambiguous environments
  • Lead the execution of initiatives from inception to completion, ensuring alignment across multiple organizations
  • Demonstrate a strong sense of ownership and autonomy in driving projects forward, taking initiative to overcome obstacles and deliver results
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external partners to the Product Operations team
  • Expected to go deep into details and processes with complexities and nuances
  • Influence teams and outcomes in project areas non-traditional to Product Operations
  • Drive quality, cost, and labor initiatives across multiple cost markets and product groups
Desired Qualifications
  • Technical experience with any of the following: mechanical enclosures, casings, plastic parts, injection molding, tooling, jigs, fixtures, or automotive high volume quality manufacturing engineering
  • Experience of geometric dimension and tolerance, as well as statistics
  • Experience of mechanical properties of materials as they relate to manufacturing requirements
  • Experience of design of experiment principles
  • Ability to travel periodically domestic and overseas
  • Extraordinary interpersonal skills — verbal, written and executive presentations

About the company

Apple designs, manufactures, and sells hardware and software across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, plus services like the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Pay. The products work together through an integrated ecosystem where devices run Apple’s own operating systems and sync data via iCloud, delivering a seamless user experience. It differentiates itself by controlling both hardware and software end-to-end, maintaining a unified design, and expanding services and spatial computing. Its goal is to provide a cohesive, high-quality experience across devices while growing services revenue and expanding its ecosystem.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Cupertino, California

Founded

1976

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • September 2026 iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo launches refresh Apple's premium upgrade cycle.
  • Apple raised iPhone 18 Pro prices to $1,199 and $1,299, expanding monetization.
  • Services keep compounding; Apple still funds heavy buybacks despite capital spending pressures.

What critics are saying

  • John Ternus cut managers in September 2026, signaling instability during leadership transition.
  • EU App Store changes in October 2026 reduce fees and weaken Apple's platform control.
  • Vision Pro and Siri layoffs in August 2026 expose weak adoption and AI execution gaps.

What makes Apple unique

  • Apple controls hardware, silicon, software, and services across iPhone, Mac, and Vision Pro.
  • A20 Pro, N1, and C2 chips deepen Apple's vertical integration in September 2026.
  • Apple TV and App Store embed recurring revenue into its installed base.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

401(k) Company Match

Tuition Reimbursement

Performance Bonus

Relocation Assistance

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

↑ 0%

1 year growth

↑ 0%

2 year growth

↓ -5%
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