Software Middleware Team Lead - Q

Our team is new, growing, and evolving quickly, and we are hiring across multiple disciplines. We work at the intersection of machine learning, hardware, and software, creating technologies that reshape how people communicate and experience the world around them in everyday life.

Somewhere between the physics of a sensor and the software people touch, there is a layer that decides whether a breakthrough actually works. You’ll lead the team that builds it. We’re a small, truly multidisciplinary team that spans high-level software down to low-level physics, and we’re building the foundation for Apple’s next big AI technology.

As Team

Lead, you’ll drive the iOS- and macOS-based, low-latency application layer of our data collection and research system. It is the infrastructure that turns raw, real-world signals into the data that trains and validates the next line of Apple AI products. This is a player-coach role: you’ll keep writing and reviewing code while you set technical direction, build the team, and hold a high bar for quality.

It’s a rare opportunity to shape a team, a technology, and a product line at the very beginning.

B.Sc. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Engineering 5+ years of hands-on software development experience, including 5+ years of leading engineering teams Solid working experience in Python and in at least one of C++, Objective-C/C++, or Swift Comfort working across platforms and environments — shared code, build, and deployment Vast programming knowledge and background — able to credibly review and guide work across multiple languages and layers of the stack Proven capability delivering low-latency, production-grade systems, ideally in data collection, instrumentation, or research-tooling contexts Demonstrated, hands-on fluency with advanced AI coding tools, with the judgment to apply them effectively across a team’s workflow Track record of technical leadership: architectural decision-making, mentoring, and balancing hands-on contribution with team enablement Excellent communication skills — able to represent the team’s technical direction to stakeholders and translate business/research needs into engineering plans

Professional experience in all of the core languages: Python, C++, Objective-C/C++, and Swift macOS and/or iOS development experience — a rare and highly valued profile for this team Familiarity with sensor capture (video, audio) and multi-stream synchronization Familiarity with machine learning and inference (on-device or pipeline integration) Prior experience as a team lead or staff-level IC in a similarly scoped org Experience with pre-silicon or hardware-adjacent software development Background building integration/test vehicles or data-collection platforms