Sr. Software Engineer, Podcasts Team
Apple Podcasts connects hundreds of millions of listeners with millions of creators around the world. Behind that experience is a backend engineering team within Apple Services Engineering (ASE) that builds the systems responsible for ingesting, processing, and serving one of the largest podcast catalogs on the planet.
We're looking for a backend engineer to help us design and scale the services that power Apple Podcasts. If you want to work on high-scale distributed systems that directly shape how people discover and enjoy audio and video content, this is the role.
Description
As a backend engineer on the Apple Podcasts team, you will own server-side systems that process data from millions of podcast providers, manage complex catalog state, and serve content to Apple's global audience.
You'll build APIs consumed by other internal systems across Apple, design database schemas for evolving content models, and architect asynchronous data pipelines that must operate reliably across multiple data centers. Your work directly supports cross-functional tentpole features - collaborating with client teams, product, design, business, and operations partners to deliver end-to-end solutions.","responsibilities":"Design, build, and operate highly available microservices that process podcast metadata from millions of external providers
Develop and maintain gRPC and REST APIs consumed by internal services and external partners
Architect database schemas and data models that support complex catalog state across relational and NoSQL datastores
Build and optimize asynchronous data processing pipelines using message queues to handle high-throughput event-driven workflows
Collaborate with client teams, web teams, and other server-side engineering teams to define contracts, ensure reliability, and ship cross-platform features
Design systems for multi-datacenter deployments with strong availability and consistency guarantees
Build internal tooling and operational workflows for catalog management and curation
Partner with Product, Design, and Business stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable technical solutions
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with Cassandra or other wide-column NoSQL databases at scale
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Experience with reactive/non-blocking programming models (Project Reactor, RxJava, or similar)
Experience with distributed batch processing frameworks (Spark or equivalent)
Familiarity with distributed file systems (HDFS or equivalent) for large-scale data storage
Experience with search infrastructure (Solr, Elasticsearch, or similar)
Experience building systems that process structured feeds (RSS, Atom, or similar syndication formats)
Familiarity with media delivery technologies (HLS, audio transcoding pipelines, or asset ingestion)
Strong organizational skills and experience working on large cross-functional teams with diverse stakeholders (product, design, operations, business)
Minimum Qualifications
5+ years of current and professional software engineering experience
Strong server-side Java development experience with expert knowledge of algorithms and data structures
Experience designing database schemas in both relational and NoSQL databases
Experience building and operating distributed systems with high availability requirements
Experience developing APIs (REST or gRPC) consumed by multiple clients
Experience with message queue systems (Kafka or similar) for asynchronous data processing
Experience with microservices architecture, including service decomposition, inter-service communication, and independent deployment
Shipped customer-facing features or product functionality in a production environment
BS in Computer Science or equivalent industry experience
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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.
Perks and Benefits
Health and Wellness
Parental Benefits
Work Flexibility
Office Life and Perks
Vacation and Time Off
Financial and Retirement
Professional Development
Diversity and Inclusion
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