Senior Systems Engineer, Watch Software

Apple Inc

Confirmed live yesterday Trusted

Quick summary

Work type
On-site
Location
San Diego, CA
Salary
$205,400–$308,500 / yr
Posted
29 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live yesterday

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $190k
This role $257k
$123k most similar roles pay here $328k

This role pays more than 97% of similar roles. Most pay $158,862–$221,000 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $257k versus about $190k 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 1984 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $175,000–$277,600 across 1590 roles with salary data.

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At a glance

TL;DR · Senior Systems Engineer, Watch Software

The Senior Systems Engineer, Watch Software joins the watchOS Systems team to build and optimize foundational software that drives device performance and power efficiency. This role involves architecting core OS features, managing process lifecycles, reclaiming memory, and leading transitions to 64-bit architectures. The engineer will perform investigative research and prototyping for future hardware and software features while collaborating with Performance, Power, OS, and Hardware experts. Day-to-day tasks include developing tools to model performance and memory, diagnosing issues at the language, runtime, and kernel layers, and implementing new components across the stack from firmware to application layers. Required skills include deep experience in low-level OS systems like Darwin or drivers, power and performance measurement techniques, and solid computer science fundamentals to solve complex problems at the intersection of hardware and software.

What does a Systems Engineer earn in California?

Median $194000 from 61 postings across 16 companies.

See salary data

What you'll do

  • Build and optimize foundational software to improve device performance and power efficiency.
  • Conduct investigative research and prototype new technologies for future hardware and software features.
  • Architect core OS features including process lifecycle management, memory reclamation, and 64-bit architecture transitions.
  • Diagnose and resolve critical power and performance issues across the kernel, runtime, and application layers.
  • Model and project memory demands over the lifetime of new System on Chip (SoC) hardware.
  • Develop and maintain internal tools to help engineers model and analyze system performance and memory.
  • Implement new software components, frameworks, and applications across multiple layers of the system stack.

What we're looking for

  • 8+ years of industry experience.
  • Deep technical understanding and hands-on experience with software development and lifecycle management.
  • Experience with low-level OS systems, such as kernel, Darwin, or drivers.
  • Deep experience with power and performance measurement and investigation techniques.
  • Solid computer science fundamentals.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for collaborating with a technical team.
  • Experience defining and contributing to application or systems architecture (preferred).
  • Ability to work with technology partners across the stack from hardware, sensors, and firmware to frameworks and applications (preferred).

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