Job Description
Data Platform SRE, AI & Data Platforms (AiDP)
Sunnyvale, California, United States Software and Services Summary Posted:
Jun 05, 2026 Role Number:
200667035-3956 Do you want to help build some of the largest and most consequential enterprise and customer technology systems in the world? Join Apple's Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) organization. IS&T is the engine behind everything Apple does for customers and for the people who build for them. It's Apple's central nervous system. Supporting 2.5 billion active Apple devices, processing billions of secure transactions, and keeping the technology that defines modern life running flawlessly, IS&T makes the impossible feel effortless. Do you love building solutions to handle global complexity and immense scale? Imagine what you could do here.
AI & Data Platforms (AiDP) is IS&T's engine for AI-powered innovation. The team brings together data, application development, and machine learning — including generative AI — along with data services and customer success functions, to help IS&T build solutions more efficiently and streamline the adoption and embedding of generative AI across Apple. Description As a Data Platform SRE, you will be responsible for developing and operating our big data platform using open source or other solutions to aid critical applications, such as analytics, reporting, and AI/ML apps. This includes working to optimize performance and cost, automate operations, and identifying and resolving production errors and issues to ensure the best data platform experience. Responsibilities Develop and operate large-scale big data platforms using open source and other solutions. Support critical applications including analytics, reporting, and AI/ML apps. Optimize platform performance and cost efficiency. Automate operational tasks for big data systems. Identify and resolve production errors and issues to ensure platform reliability and user experience Minimum Qualifications 3+ years of professional software engineering experience with large-scale big data platforms, including strong programming skills in Java, Scala, Python, or Go. Proven expertise in designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed data processing systems with a strong focus on Apache Spark. Hands-on experience with table formats and data lake technologies such as Apache Iceberg, ensuring scalability, reliability, and optimized query performance. Skilled at coding for distributed systems and developing resilient data pipelines. Strong background in incident management, including troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and performance optimization in complex production environments. Proficient with Unix/Linux systems and command-line tools for debugging and operational support. Preferred Qualifications Expertise in designing, building, and operating critical, large-scale distributed systems with a focus on low latency, fault-tolerance, and high availability. Experience with contribution to Open Source projects is a plus. Experience with multiple public cloud infrastructure, managing multi-tenant Kubernetes clusters at scale and debugging Kubernetes/Spark issues. Experience with workflow and data pipeline orchestration tools (e.g., Airflow, DBT). Understanding of data modeling and data warehousing concepts. Familiarity with the AI/ML stack, including GPUs, MLFlow, or Large Language Models (LLMs). A learning attitude to continuously improve the self, team, and the organization. Solid understanding of software engineering best practices, including the full development lifecycle, secure coding, and experience building reusable frameworks or libraries. 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 $147,400 and $220,900, 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. 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. At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You'll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong. Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.