Senior Software Engineer - Distributed Build Systems

San Diego, California, United StatesSenior$175,000 - $308,5005+ years

Apple's distributed build platform is central to the development and delivery of every operating system and app we ship. Tens of thousands of engineers rely on it daily to develop software that ships to billions of customers — a scale that has few peers in the industry. This role is part of the Software Engineering Developer Productivity team that builds and operates that platform, working at the intersection of developer productivity and systems engineering to solve complex distributed systems and build automation challenges. Every performance improvement and correctness fix translates directly into faster, more reliable software development for thousands of engineers across Apple, and ultimately into better products for billions of people. The challenges here go well beyond routine development. They demand creative thinking, strong fundamentals, and a drive to build solutions where none exist yet.

We're looking for senior software engineers who combine deep technical ability with strong engineering judgment and the ability to lead through influence. In this role, you'll shape the platform by identifying and solving the most important problems, while raising the engineering bar for the team. You'll own technically complex and high-impact projects to optimize distributed scheduling, ensure build correctness, develop caching strategies, and continuously improve build performance at scale. You'll set technical direction, make design trade-offs, and ensure high-quality outcomes. Post-delivery, you'll use data and telemetry to measure impact, drive reliability improvements, and support production systems on call. Beyond individual contributions, you'll play a key role in elevating the team by mentoring engineers, establishing engineering best practices, improving development processes, and contributing to a culture of technical rigor and continuous improvement. You'll help less-experienced engineers grow by providing thoughtful code review, facilitating design discussions, and creating opportunities for others to take on challenging work. You'll also need to communicate effectively across organizational boundaries, articulating technical trade-offs to stakeholders, aligning efforts across teams, and representing the team's technical perspective in cross-functional planning.

5+ years of software engineering experience in developer tooling, backend, infrastructure, or systems contexts
Experience developing testing strategies and operating software in production environments using metrics, telemetry, and performance data to evaluate system behavior, identify bottlenecks, and drive iteration on systems
Experience owning the delivery of projects with significant scope, including defining approach and driving completion
Experience mentoring engineers or raising team capabilities through code review, design guidance, or knowledge sharing

Distributed systems, scheduling, or caching at scale
Concurrency, systems programming, or performance optimization
Build systems (Swift Build, Bazel, Buck, etc.)
Observability, monitoring, or SRE practices
Leveraging AI-assisted development tools to improve personal and team productivity
Making risk-informed decisions about changes to systems with broad user impact
Driving architectural decisions that balance near-term delivery with long-term system health
* Communicating technical trade-offs to diverse audiences, including those outside your immediate domain

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 $175,000 and $308,500, 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.

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