Senior Audio Systems Architect

Cupertino, California, United States Software and Services

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new insights have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. The Audio & Media Technologies group is at the center of audio for all of Apple's innovative products, including AirPods, HomePod, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro. Sound is an essential and compelling facet of the customer experience, and we are looking for a Senior Audio Systems Architect to set the technical direction for how audio is captured, processed, routed, and rendered across the entire Apple product line.

Description
In this role you will own the end-to-end audio systems architecture spanning silicon, firmware, kernel drivers, and the user-space frameworks that power every Apple product. You'll partner deeply with silicon, EE, acoustics, ML, and framework teams to make the architectural calls that define audio on Apple platforms several years out — from clocking and DMA topology on next-generation SoCs, through secure firmware partitioning, all the way up to the APIs that third-party developers build on. This is a hands-on architect role: you'll prototype, write code, lead deep-dive investigations into systemic issues, and convert those findings into durable architectural fixes. We are looking for someone who is a force multiplier — an engineer who has materially adopted AI-assisted engineering into their daily practice and can show concrete examples of where coding agents, LLM-driven analysis, and tool-calling workflows have changed how they work. You will be expected not only to use these tools fluently yourself, but to identify the highest-leverage workflows for the broader audio organization, prototype them, and drive their adoption across firmware, driver, and framework teams.

Responsibilities

Own the multi-year architectural roadmap for audio across iOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS, from on-die audio subsystems through user-facing frameworks.

Drive architectural reviews of new silicon, codecs, and audio peripherals; influence next-generation hardware decisions before tape-out.

Define interfaces and partitioning between firmware, secure/exclave domains, kernel drivers, and user-space audio frameworks.

Lead deep-dive investigations into systemic audio issues — latency, glitching, power, thermals, security — and convert findings into durable architectural fixes.

Champion and drive adoption of AI-assisted engineering workflows across the audio organization: identify high-leverage opportunities, build internal agents and tooling, and roll the successful ones out broadly.

Mentor senior and staff engineers across firmware, driver, and framework teams; uphold software quality through architectural and code reviews.

Partner with ML and acoustics teams on the architecture required to ship on-device audio intelligence features at Apple scale.

Represent the audio organization in cross-functional architectural forums and contribute to platform-wide technical direction.

Minimum Qualifications

BS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent industry experience

10+ years of relevant engineering experience, with demonstrated ownership of cross-stack architecture spanning silicon, firmware, drivers, and OS frameworks

Excellent programming skills in C and C++, with strong fundamentals in OOP, real-time systems, and low-level performance

Strong understanding of multi-core SoC architecture, DMA, interrupt handling, power management, and RTOS internals

Hands-on experience with audio fundamentals: sample rates, clocking, buffering, latency, I2S/TDM/SoundWire, PCM/PDM, codecs, and DSP pipelines.

Comfortable reviewing hardware schematics and partnering with EE and silicon design teams on register-level interfaces and pre-silicon validation.

Proven track record of leading technical design from concept through mass production across multiple product lines simultaneously.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to align executives, peer architects, and individual contributors on a shared technical direction.

Preferred Qualifications

MS or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.

Proven experience designing, building, and deploying AI-driven automated workflows and tools in a production engineering context.

Experience using LLMs and autonomous agents to solve complex engineering problems — code generation, log and trace analysis, automated triage, large-scale refactors.

Hands-on experience developing custom "skills" and tool-calling capabilities for AI agents to interact with APIs, databases, build systems, and internal software frameworks.

Familiarity with on-device ML inference paths and audio ML features (speech, noise control, spatial audio).

Experience with secure firmware environments, exclaves, or other trusted execution domains on embedded SoCs.

Track record of building tools, automation, or internal infrastructure that scaled the impact of teams beyond your direct contributions.

Ability to identify and develop solutions to broad, systemic problems across complex hardware and software environments.

Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment and make sound decisions with incomplete information.

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. 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.

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.

Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace.

Learn about reasonable accommodations for job applicants.

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.

#J-18808-Ljbffr