Research Scientist, Applied Machine Learning Security (Agent Systems)

Apple Inc

Confirmed live 3 days ago High trust

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
Cupertino, CA
Salary
$184,700–$277,600 / yr
Posted
51 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live 3 days ago

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $214k
This role $231k
$152k $291k
below market most similar roles pay here above market

This role pays more than 68% of similar roles. Most pay $177,300–$250,350 — the blue band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $231k versus about $214k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Apple Inc

Apple Inc. is a multinational technology company known for designing and manufacturing consumer electronics, software, and online services, including the iPhone, Mac, iPad, and App Store. Industry: Consumer Electronics & Software

Apple Inc currently has 3535 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $166,600–$277,600 across 2738 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Research Scientist, Applied Machine Learning Security (Agent Systems)

Research Scientist, Applied Machine Learning Security (Agent Systems), SEAR joins the Security Engineering & Architecture organization to develop intelligent security systems for Apple Intelligence. This role focuses on applied security research for production machine learning systems, specifically targeting agentic and tool-using models deployed at scale. You will lead original research to identify vulnerabilities like indirect prompt injection, tool misuse, and privilege escalation while designing adversarial testing frameworks that reflect real attacker behavior. You will translate research findings into architectural decisions, launch requirements, and hardening strategies for platforms involving APIs, memory, and workflows. Key requirements include a Ph.D. or equivalent experience in machine learning, security, or systems, with demonstrated expertise in applied ML security, adversarial ML, or systems security to drive risk reduction in production environments.

What does a Research Scientist earn?

Median $216000 from 43 postings across 16 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Conduct original security research on deployed agentic ML systems interacting with tools, APIs, and sensitive data.
  • Identify and characterize vulnerabilities such as indirect prompt injection, tool misuse, and privilege escalation.
  • Build and maintain adversarial testing frameworks that reflect real attacker incentives and multi-step attack patterns.
  • Develop security mitigations that meet production requirements for latency, reliability, debuggability, and privacy.
  • Define trust boundaries and threat models for agentic ML across platforms to create actionable security requirements.
  • Translate research insights into architectural decisions, design guidance, and launch requirements for product engineering teams.
  • Set standards for applied ML security research and mentor other researchers within the organization.

What we're looking for

  • Ph.D. or equivalent experience in machine learning, security, systems, or a related field.
  • Demonstrated experience in applied ML security, adversarial ML, or systems security with real-world impact.
  • Strong experimental and engineering skills with an emphasis on reproducibility and operational relevance.
  • Experience researching or securing LLM-based or tool-augmented ML systems (preferred).
  • Ability to work fluidly across research, engineering, and security review processes (preferred).
  • Track record of influencing production systems through research-driven insights (preferred).
  • Publications in top venues are a plus (preferred).

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