Data Engineer Jobs in California

INTRODUCTION

What if the way an entire engineering organization worked with its data could be reinvented? On Apple's Battery Engineering team, you'll build the data systems and AI interface that battery engineers across the company rely on reliable pipelines feeding one of the cleanest and largest battery datasets anywhere, and a natural language interface that's changing how engineers work with that data. You'll be building the platform the whole battery organization runs on. It's a rare chance to sharpen your data engineering craft and immerse yourself in applied AI at once.

DESCRIPTION

We're looking for a data engineer to build that platform across two tightly connected fronts.

First, you'll expand the Battery Data Warehouse (BDW) a mature, exceptionally clean dataset that spans the entire battery product development lifecycle: raw materials and characterization, fabrication, performance testing, simulation and modeling, qualification, manufacturing, and field telemetry. You'll build reliable pipelines that bring this data - structured, semi-structured, and unstructured - out of disparate systems owned by teams around the world. A big part of the job is technical; an equally big part is human: earning the trust of source-system owners, opening up new integration opportunities, and establishing and enforcing the SLAs that keep BDW dependable.

Second, you'll build out BARD, the natural language interface to BDW. Done well, BARD will fundamentally change how battery engineers interact with their data, not just replacing dashboards and SQL with conversation, but pairing it with on-demand, in-line charting for real-time analysis and new ways to explore data. Think of it as giving every engineer their own personal data scientist. You'll engineer the full agentic stack: our custom MCP server, agentic search, domain knowledge, tool design, evals, and the end-to-end user experience.

The role combines data engineering and AI engineering work. This role calls for someone who's both highly self-directed and an exceptional collaborator. You'll take real ownership and drive projects forward, while staying closely aligned with the team and our broader direction.

Responsibilities

• Partner with cross-functional and engineering teams to identify data opportunities, define domain ontology, and establish the use cases that drive BDW

• Design, build, and maintain production data pipelines (ETL/ELT) that bring structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data into BDW at the right cadence and reliability

• Build relationships with upstream source-system owners to unlock new data integrations, and establish and enforce pipeline SLAs

• Engineer BARD, the natural language interface to BDW, designing the agentic stack (MCP server, agentic search, domain knowledge, tool design, evals) and its end-to-end user experience

• Partner with infrastructure teams (DBA, IT) to ensure the health of pipelines and the data warehouse

• Apply AI to your own workflow and to the battery organization's problems - bringing strong intuition for context engineering, embeddings, tokenization, and evals

• Deliver data analyses that drive critical decisions in battery research, development, and qualification

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

• Experience with Python, SQL, and at least one other high-level programming language

• Experience building production data pipelines (ETL/ELT)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field with 10+ years of relevant industry experience

• Strong database fundamentals: data modeling, schema design, indexing, normalization, ACID, and OLTP vs. OLAP

• Hands-on database development (DML, DDL, materialized views, stored procedures); Snowflake (streams, tasks, dynamic tables) a plus

• Hands-on experience with orchestration (e.g., Airflow), batch/stream processing, and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS)

• Deep curiosity about AI and hands-on experience applying it - at work or in personal projects. You keep up with the latest tools, use AI daily (including for coding), and have strong intuition for context engineering, tokenization, embeddings, and evals, as well as a clear sense of where AI excels and where it doesn't (e.g., generating new code vs. maintaining complex existing code)

• Experience with LLM and MCP server development

• Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to align stakeholders and drive integrations across organizational boundaries

• Familiarity with batteries or other deep-tech / hardware engineering domains

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 $272,100, 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.