Encoding Engineer

Cupertino, California, United States$186,300 - $280,00010+ years

Worldwide Events and Experiences brings the best of Apple to life, showcasing our products, services and the values that drive our company. From global product launches and tailored creator experiences to impactful partner engagements and inspiring internal events, this team is charged with managing the end-to-end planning, production, in person experiences and all the unique details that make these events special. The team includes professionals with backgrounds in event design, management, operations, broadcast, and production. We’re looking for inventive and collaborative people from a variety of creative fields. If that’s you, then your next home may be here! We're seeking an impact player to add to our WW Events team. You will bring new ideas and technologies that improve and evolve our ability to connect with our key audiences. You thrive in collaborative environments and demonstrate creativity, integrity, attention to detail, and a sense of best-in-class quality standards. You innovate down to the details to deliver extraordinary virtual experiences.

The Encoding Engineer will focus on architecting and executing world-class live video streaming operations in no-fail scenarios. You'll deliver innovations and optimizations in video encoding, manifest generation, and stream delivery to provide best-in-class live and VOD viewer experiences across all platforms and devices globally.

Design and optimize HLS delivery workflows including manifest manipulation, multi-variant playlist generation, and adaptive bitrate switching logic to maximize viewer experience across diverse network conditions.
Advance low-latency streaming capabilities through LL-HLS implementation, achieving sub-3s glass-to-glass latency while preserving ABR performance and universal client compatibility.
Implement advanced streaming technologies and protocols such as LL-HLS while preserving ABR performance and universal client compatibility.
Ensure all systems are redundant and offer enterprise-class resilience with documented failover procedures and SLA compliance.
Lead technical relationship with CDN partners, vendor encoding engineers, and asset management teams.
Execute rigorous pre-event validation protocols including synthetic load simulation across CDN infrastructure, encoder failover testing, and manifest validation.
Architect and implement an enhanced content protection strategy including DRM keys, forensic watermarking, and rights management workflows while maintaining seamless authentication and playback.
Deploy, and maintain real-time, quantitative monitoring systems for all streaming platforms and encoding components. These will include comprehensive dashboards tracking HLS manifest health, segment availability, bitrate ladder performance, and viewer QoE metrics.
Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation of streaming best practices, encoding parameters, encoder configurations, and signal flow diagrams for both live and VOD workflows
Drive the execution of advanced troubleshooting protocols and automated remediation workflows for live streaming incidents, minimizing viewer impact during critical events.
Define and steward our strategic roadmap for live streaming infrastructure, including emerging codecs (such as MV-HEVC, VVC, and APAC), next-generation protocols, and innovative accessibility workflows.
Maintain vendor accountability for performance SLAs, ensuring adherence to Apple's procurement policies while maintaining the highest standards of confidentiality and security.
Champion Apple's exceptional fidelity-to-intent and technical standards for all streaming events in collaboration with editorial, color, vfx, and engineering teams to ensure pixel-perfect delivery.

10+ years validated experience in online broadcasting roles at organizations that regularly livestream video to international audiences composed of >5MM concurrent viewers.
Operational experience with on-premises and cloud-encoding systems.
Deep technical expertise in HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) protocol, including advanced manifest manipulation, variant stream management, and adaptive bitrate optimization.
Advanced knowledge of CDN behavior, edge caching strategies, and origin shield architectures as they relate to live streaming delivery.
Proven track record implementing comprehensive stream health monitoring systems with real-time metrics collection, analysis, and alerting frameworks.
Hands-on experience with streaming analytics tools and platforms for measuring QoE metrics including buffering ratio, startup time, bitrate distribution, and error rates across millions of concurrent sessions.
Expert-level proficiency in analyzing streaming telemetry data to identify performance bottlenecks, quality degradation patterns, and viewer experience issues at scale.
Demonstrable experience documenting streaming best-practices, encoding parameters, and signal flow topologies with attention to scalability and maintainability.
Experience on technical standards boards or with protocol working groups (IETF, W3C, SMPTE, etc.) strongly preferred.
Experience collaborating with international partners and collaborators who have varying degrees of technical knowledge.

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with ability to efficiently translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
Comfort with tight-schedules and ambiguity in rapidly-evolving production environment while maintaining quality standards.
Knowledge of localization and accessibility technologies including subtitle formats (WebVTT, TTML, CEA-608/708), Unicode, and automated retiming and reformatting of assets
Experience with audio standards and measurements for broadcast including Dolby Atmos and other multi-channel formats.

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 $186,300 and $280,000, 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.

Materials Engineer, Packaging Product DesignCupertino, California, United States

$184,700 - $277,600

Materials Engineer, Packaging Product DesignAustin, Texas, United States

AT-Technical Specialist (m/f/d)Austria

Mechanical Fixture Design Engineer (ME)Cupertino, California, United States

$150,400 - $277,600

GUI Software Lead (SwiftUI)Cupertino, California, United States

$150,400 - $277,600

Encoding Engineer

Similar Jobs