Computer Engineering Jobs in Tacoma, WA (NOW HIRING)

The Apple Services Engineering (ASE) organization is one of the most exciting examples of Apple’s long-held passion for combining art with technology. We are the people who power the App Store, Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books. And we do it on a massive scale, meeting Apple’s high expectations with high performance, to deliver a huge variety of entertainment in over 40 languages to more than 170 countries. Our scientists and engineers build secure, end-to-end solutions powered by Artifical Intelligence & Machine Learning.
Thanks to Apple’s unique integration of hardware, software, and services, designers, scientists and engineers in ASE partner to get behind a single unified vision. That vision always includes a deep commitment to strengthening Apple’s privacy policy, one of Apple’s core values. Although services are a bigger part of Apple’s business than ever before, these teams remain small, flexible, and multi-functional, offering greater exposure to the array of opportunities here.
We are looking for a Machine Learning Research Engineer to join our mission. You will design and develop the AI/ML solutions that power these experiences, from proposing and prototyping new algorithms to building reusable capabilities for the entire organization. In our flexible and collaborative environment, you'll work with designers and engineers to build secure, end-to-end solutions that honor Apple's core value of user privacy.
Description
In this role, you will drive technical advancement, influence product direction, and be part of the team that is responsible for bringing the latest advancements in Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, as well as Generative and Agentic AI to drive major impact on how users discover Apple Media content on devices worldwide!
Our team has strong expertise in NLP, Information Retrieval, Machine Learning, Language Modeling, Generative AI, Data Mining, and Distributed Computing (Hadoop, Scala, Spark).
You will use data driven analysis to ideate, evaluate and prioritize features, and conduct A/B Tests to ensure we objectively measure improvements. You will ensure successful delivery of features, code, data, and models to production. You will collaborate with researchers, engineers, and operations teams to ensure that features and models are functioning at or above expected performance levels, globally in languages from Arabic to Vietnamese and everything in between!
","responsibilities":"Tackle complex research challenges by simplifying problems, inventing novel solutions, and driving concepts from ideation to production.
Present key technical findings and research contributions to both internal teams and the wider public community.
Design, fine-tune, and deploy Large Language Models (LLMs) and other advanced ML models for user-facing features.
Develop and optimize high-performance components within large-scale distributed systems, using languages such as C++ and Go.
Own the end-to-end deployment process, ensuring that features, code, data, and models are successfully launched and monitored in production.
Perform in-depth data analysis using big data technologies to identify opportunities for improving content discovery and the overall user experience.
Design, conduct, and analyze rigorous A/B tests to objectively measure the impact of new features and ensure performance meets or exceeds expectations.
Partner with a world-class team of engineers, researchers, and statisticians to design and deliver cohesive, scalable AI solutions.
Work closely with cross-functional teams to initiate and successfully complete projects that directly enhance the user experience on services like the App Store.
Directly impact how millions of users discover content across the entire Apple ecosystem, including all devices (macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS) and services, supporting dozens of languages globally.
Preferred Qualifications
Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
4+ years of professional AI/ML experience with a track record of shipping production models.
Deep expertise in Search and Information Retrieval, including indexing, query understanding, retrieval models, and ranking algorithms.
Hands-on experience with modern AI paradigms and tools, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic workflows, vector databases (e.g., Pinecone, FAISS), and knowledge graphs.
Experience with large-scale data processing and pipeline construction using technologies like Spark, Hadoop, Java, or Scala.
Expertise in building low-latency model serving systems, with experience in languages like Go (Golang) is a plus.
Experience providing technical leadership on complex, cross-functional projects.
Excellent communication skills and a history of collaborating with partners to design and deliver scalable ML solutions.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.
2+ years of professional experience in the field of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML).
Proficiency in Python and experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
Industry experience in one or more of the following areas: Generative AI, Agentic AI systems, Natural Language Processing (NLP) (e.g., text summarization), Search Relevance and Ranking, Online Advertising, or Recommendation Systems.
Solid understanding of modern machine learning concepts, including Transformers, LLMs, model evaluation techniques, and large-scale data pipelines.
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 $142,300 and $263,300, 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.