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Sr. Prototyping Software Engineer

Santa Clara, California, United StatesHardware

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Summary

Posted: Apr 24, 2026

Role Number:200659846-3760

Join a team of passionate and creative engineers dedicated to building technologies that will shape the future of the home. We are a cross-functional group that thrives on collaboration, innovation, and tackling challenging problems to create products that are both profoundly useful and delightful to use. Our work lies at the intersection of groundbreaking hardware, software, and design, and we are looking for a key contributor to help us explore what's possible. We are seeking a versatile Sr. Prototyping Software Engineer with end-to-end expertise to accelerate the exploration of new home product concepts. In this role, you will be responsible for the entire lifecycle of complex prototypes — from initial hardware design and sensor integration to software development and the application of machine learning. You are a builder at heart, someone who can seamlessly navigate the stack from low-level firmware to high-level applications to bring innovative home experiences to life, fast. You take pride in the craft — your prototypes don't just work, they look and feel like finished products.

Description

As a Sr. Prototyping Software Engineer, you will be a critical member of a multi-disciplinary team, responsible for rapidly prototyping and validating novel home product concepts. Your work will directly influence future product direction by demonstrating the viability and potential of new technologies to senior leadership. The prototypes you build will be used in high-visibility executive demos, so a relentless attention to detail and polish — from reliability to great UI — is essential. You thrive in ambiguity, pick up new skills and tools quickly, and adapt your approach as projects evolve.

Responsibilities

• Rapidly designing, building, and iterating on end-to-end functional prototypes that explore new home product concepts.
• Integrating multimodal sensor systems (e.g., cameras, microphones, depth sensors, environmental sensors) into prototype hardware.
• Developing perception, sensor fusion, and on-device intelligence pipelines tailored to home use cases.
• Writing low-level firmware, developing apps, and working with real-time operating systems (RTOS) to bring up custom hardware.
• Applying machine learning (ML) models to solve problems in areas such as perception, context awareness, and user intent.
• Prototyping polished, intuitive user interfaces and interaction models for human-device experiences in the home — at a quality level suitable for executive review.
• Collaborating closely with industrial designers, ML researchers, and hardware engineers to define and achieve project goals.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong foundation in mathematics, including linear algebra, probability, statistics, and signal processing.
• 6+ years of hands-on experience designing, building, and integrating systems that span both hardware and software.
• Proficiency in Swift, C/C++, and/or Python for systems-level or embedded development.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn new technologies, tools, and domains, and to adapt your skillset as project needs evolve.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience in rapid prototyping — quickly bringing together custom hardware (sensors, actuators, enclosures) and software (firmware, applications, perception) into functional proof-of-concept systems.
• Hands-on fabrication skills including CAD design (e.g., SolidWorks, Fusion 360), 3D printing, and physical prototyping of enclosures and mechanical assemblies.
• Practical electronics experience — comfortable with schematic capture, PCB layout, soldering, and bench debugging of custom circuits and sensor boards.
• Experience with a variety of sensor modalities (e.g., cameras, microphones, depth sensors, IMUs, environmental sensors) and developing perception or signal-processing algorithms.
• Proficiency with embedded systems development, including firmware, real-time operating systems (RTOS), and low-level device drivers.
• Experience applying machine learning (ML) techniques to on-device problems such as perception, sensor fusion, or context-aware behavior.
• Strong UI/UX sensibility — experience building polished, demo-ready interfaces using frameworks such as SwiftUI, UIKit, or equivalent, with a keen eye for detail, animation, and interaction quality.
• Familiarity with home-related technologies such as wireless protocols (Thread, Matter, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), audio/acoustic systems, or smart environment sensing.
• Experience designing, building, or deploying robotic or electromechanical systems — including motor control, actuation, kinematics, or autonomous behavior
• Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, or a related field.

Pay & Benefits

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 $181,100 and $318,400, 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.

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.

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