Apple

Designs phones, computers and their operating systems

Machine Learning System Software Engineer - Apple Neural Engine

Systems Software EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours

Full-timeSunnyvale, CA, USANo salary listedIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A Bachelor of Science degree and at least 10 years of relevant industry experience are required.
Experience defining interfaces used by other teams or external developers, including lifecycle, error handling, and forward compatibility, is required.
Deep proficiency in C and C++ for large, production system software is required.
Understanding of runtime systems, including process and thread models, memory management, interprocess and remote procedure calls, and resource lifecycle, is required.
Understanding of software-hardware interfaces, including registers, direct memory access, command queues, or similar accelerator interaction patterns, is required.
Experience shipping production system software is required.

Responsibilities

Design and implement application programming interfaces for Apple's Neural Engine that define how clients load, compile, schedule, and execute models on device.
Architect APIs that provide client control of model lifecycle management, memory allocation strategies, multi-model scheduling, and concurrent execution while ensuring the runtime scales with new hardware capabilities.
Collaborate with driver, firmware, and compiler teams to co-design the runtime-to-silicon interface and expose new hardware features with correct abstractions.
Profile and optimize end-to-end inference paths by identifying bottlenecks in scheduling, compilation, and inference execution.
Support clients in adopting APIs and ensure efficient integration.

Desired Qualifications

Experience building or extending machine learning runtimes, inference engines, or accelerator driver stacks such as TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, XLA, Metal, or Vulkan compute.
Familiarity with Swift, Rust, or another memory-safe systems language.
Familiarity with machine learning model compilation pipelines and how runtime APIs interact with compiler outputs, including graph intermediate representations and compiled binaries.
Experience with multi-client runtime scenarios, including arbitrating hardware access, managing priority and quality of service, and handling client lifecycle such as connection, disconnection, and crash recovery.
Knowledge of neural network inference, including operator execution, tensor memory layout, pipelining, and batching strategies.
Experience working across framework, compiler, and hardware team boundaries.

Summary

At Apple, we're on the cutting edge of delivering transformative experiences through Artificial Intelligence. If you're passionate about pushing the boundaries of AI and hardware optimization, we want you to join our team! As a Machine Learning System Software Engineer on the Apple Neural Engine (ANE) team, you'll work to bring high-performance, low-power AI solutions to life on iconic Apple products like the Vision Pro, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more.

Minimum Qualifications

BS and a minimum of 10 years relevant industry experience Experience defining interfaces that are used by other teams or external developers, with attention to lifecycle, error handling, and forward compatibility Deep proficiency in C and C++ in large, production system software Understanding of runtime systems: process/thread models, memory management, IPC/RPC, and resource lifecycle Understanding of software-hardware interfaces: registers, DMA, command queues, or similar accelerator interaction patterns Experience shipping production system software

Preferred Qualifications

Experience building or extending ML runtimes, inference engines, or accelerator driver stacks (e.g., TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, XLA, Metal, Vulkan compute, or similar) Familiarity with Swift/Rust or another memory-safe systems language Familiarity with ML model compilation pipelines and how runtime APIs interact with compiler outputs (graph IR, compiled binaries) Experience with multi-client runtime scenarios: arbitrating hardware access, managing priority/QoS, and handling client lifecycle (ex: connect, disconnect, crash recovery) Knowledge of neural network inference: operator execution, tensor memory layout, pipelining, and batching strategies Strong communication skills and experience working across team boundaries (framework teams, compiler teams, hardware teams)

Description

This is a dynamic opportunity to work in a creative, collaborative environment while developing groundbreaking technologies that will shape the future of computing! We are looking for an engineer with deep expertise in system software technology who is eager to tackle new challenges and responsibilities as the role evolves. As the position progresses, there will be opportunities to demonstrate technical leadership, influence key design decisions, collaborate with and support other engineers, and help guide the direction of Apple's AI-driven capabilities across the ecosystem. Are you ready to help us deliver the next groundbreaking Apple products?

Responsibilities

Design and implement API's for Apple's Neural Engine - defining how clients load, compile, schedule and execute models on device Architect APIs which provide client control of model lifecycle management, memory allocation strategies, multi-model scheduling, and concurrent execution — ensuring the runtime scales with new hardware capabilities Collaborate deeply with driver, firmware and compiler teams to co-design the runtime-to-silicon interface, ensuring new hardware features are exposed with correct abstractions Profile and optimize end-to-end inference paths, identifying bottlenecks in scheduling, compilation, and inference execution Support clients in adopting APIs and ensuring efficient integration

About the Company

Apple

Designs phones, computers and their operating systems

Apple designs and sells consumer electronics, from iPhone smartphones and Mac computers to tablets and wearable devices. Its operating systems manage apps and built-in functions for communication and work, while iCloud stores files and synchronizes data across devices. Customers buy additional digital services through subscriptions such as Apple Music and Apple TV, and developers distribute software through the App Store. Apple earns money from hardware sales, subscriptions and digital transactions, selling directly to customers and through retailers and mobile carriers around the world. It was founded in 1976 and has its headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Company size: 10,001+
Company stage: IPO
Headquarters: Cupertino, CA
Founded: 1976

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