Sr. Backend Engineer, QoS ASE
The Apple Services Engineering (ASE) team is one of the most exciting examples of Apple's long-held passion for combining art and 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 35 languages to more than 150 countries. Our engineers build secure, end-to-end solutions. We develop the custom software used to process all the creative work, the tools that providers use to deliver that media, all the server-side systems, and the APIs for many Apple services. Thanks to Apple's unique integration of hardware, software, and services, engineers here 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, our teams remain small, nimble, and cross-functional, offering greater exposure to the array of opportunities here.
Description
Join the team that serves as the central nervous system for Apple's services. We build and operate the large-scale observability platforms that monitor the health of Apple TV, the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, Podcasts, Fitness+, and more, ensuring the experience is as reliable and delightful as our customers expect. This is a senior software engineering role where you will build the tools that proactively identify and diagnose service disruptions across Apple's global cloud infrastructure. You will have a unique opportunity to see how all of Apple's services work, with the freedom to make a significant impact.
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Our real-time data pipelines and services are the first to detect potential issues, and the analytics we generate provide the trusted record of service health, delivering critical insights that inform executive-level decisions. We created this capability from the ground up, and as Apple's services continue to grow, our team is expanding to provide this same level of insight for new and massive lines of business.
This position is based at our Apple campus in San Diego, CA. You will join a growing team in a city famous for its vibrant culture, beautiful beaches, and exceptional quality of life.
","responsibilities":"What You'll Do : Design, build, and scale critical backend services and real-time data pipelines that process petabytes of data from across Apple's cloud infrastructure.
Design and build the definitive tools and interfaces that Apple engineers will use to ensure their services are reliable. Your work will be the lens through which they see service health.
Collaborate closely with teams across Apple services (Music, Video, Games, etc.) to understand their needs and provide observability for new and expanding lines of business.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with modern frontend development, including web frameworks (e.g., React, Vue, Svelte) or native application development for macOS/iOS using Swift.
Familiarity with workflow orchestration frameworks (e.g., Temporal, Airflow).
Deep knowledge in a specialized area such as distributed systems theory, database internals, or applied machine learning.
Proven ability to lead complex projects, influence cross-functional teams, and deliver results with a strong focus on impact.
Minimum Qualifications
We believe that the most innovative teams are diverse and inclusive. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every qualification. Your skills and passion will stand out-and set you apart-especially if your career has taken a non-traditional path.
Core Backend & Systems Engineering
Experience building and scaling high-performance backend services and APIs (e.g., GraphQL, REST, gRPC). We primarily use JVM languages (Java, Scala, Kotlin) but value polyglot engineers with experience in Go, Python, or Swift.
Experience designing and building large-scale data pipelines for batch or stream processing using frameworks like Apache Spark or Apache Flink.
Proficiency in designing and building cloud-native, distributed systems, with experience in microservices, container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), and event-driven patterns (e.g., Kafka).
Strong fundamentals in data systems, with experience using both relational and NoSQL databases.
Software Craftsmanship & Operations
A commitment to building high-quality software and owning it from start to finish, demonstrated through practices like thorough testing, effective CI/CD, and performance tuning.
Experience with modern observability practices and tooling (e.g., Splunk, Grafana, Prometheus), with a talent for diagnosing and troubleshooting complex issues in large-scale systems.
A strong understanding of security fundamentals and a commitment to building secure, resilient software.
Collaboration & Product Mindset
A passion for mentoring other engineers and fostering a team culture of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
A passion for product excellence and for deeply understanding customer needs to build better solutions.
Curiosity for applying emerging technologies, like generative AI, to solve engineering challenges.
A track record of building and delivering exceptional software. This can come from a variety of places: a related technical degree, a non-traditional educational path, or equivalent practical experience. We believe your work and passion speak for themselves.
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 .
Perks and Benefits
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Parental Benefits
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Financial and Retirement
Professional Development
Diversity and Inclusion
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