Release Engineer Jobs in Seattle, WA

INTRODUCTION

Apple’s Private Cloud Compute team is looking for a highly technical Senior Engineer to drive the deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) that power Apple Intelligence across hundreds of millions of iOS devices. This is a high-visibility, high-impact role at the center of Apple’s next-generation datacenter initiatives. We are seeking a practitioner who thrives at the intersection of complex systems and high-stakes execution—someone who wants to define how world-class distributed systems are tested, validated, and scaled globally.

In this role, your technical decisions will directly impact the user experience of a global customer base. You will be responsible for the infrastructure that ensures LLM inference is performant, secure, and reliable, working directly on the systems that bridge the gap between cloud-scale compute and on-device intelligence.

DESCRIPTION

As a Senior Engineer on the Private Cloud Compute team, you will be the technical driver for the build pipelines, automation infrastructure, and validation frameworks that underpin Apple’s most complex distributed systems. This is a hands-on role where you will operate across the full stack, ensuring that next-generation datacenter technology is ready to scale to a massive audience.

You will be expected to provide deep technical expertise to every initiative you own, from designing CI/CD systems at scale to resolving the most complex system-level issues. You will collaborate with platform and software teams to validate novel compute platforms before they reach production, building the tooling and automation that allows Apple to move with speed and confidence.

This role requires a unique blend of release engineering excellence and LLM inference acumen. You will partner with teams across Apple—including Foundation Models, AIML, and Security—to adapt and scale software on novel compute platforms. If you are a senior practitioner who thrives on solving hard problems and building systems that have never been built before, this is the role for you.

Responsibilities

• Pipeline Ownership: Design and maintain the build pipeline for LLMs on Private Cloud Compute.

• Model Management: Manage model weights across OS release trains and coordinate server-side model updates.

• Automated Rollouts: Build and automate staged rollout systems across OS releases and Private Cloud Compute environments.

• Cross-Functional Execution: Partner with Foundation Models, AIML, Privacy, and Security teams to ensure successful major launches.

• Inference Reliability: Lead incident response and postmortems for inference release issues to ensure 24/7 reliability.

• Validation: Drive daily build qualification and provide critical recommendations for staging and production environments.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of experience in release engineering, build infrastructure, and production releases for large-scale systems.

• Exceptional Coding Skills: Expert-level proficiency with C++, Swift, and Python toolchains.

• CI/CD at Scale: Proven track record of designing and operating large-scale build systems with a focus on cost efficiency, caching, and flake reduction.

• High-Stakes Delivery: Experience shipping software on tight, non-negotiable deadlines tied to major hardware or OS launches.

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience. MS or PhD is a plus.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Inference Expertise: Experience validating ML or LLM workloads running on hardware accelerators (GPUs, NPUs, or Apple Silicon) in cloud or datacenter environments.

• Low-Level Systems: Experience building test infrastructure at the hardware-software boundary, including firmware, drivers, or low-level platform software.

• Performance Engineering: Knowledge of energy efficiency and performance profiling for high-performance computing workloads.

• Cloud Infrastructure: Prior experience working in private cloud, hyperscale datacenter, or edge compute environments.

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 $139,500 and $258,100, 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.