Senior/Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Search & Knowledge Platforms

Senior/Staff Machine Learning Engineer, Search & Knowledge Platforms

Santa Clara, California, United States Machine Learning and AI

Are you passionate about search technologies and building knowledge experiences? The Answers, Knowledge, and Information team is at the forefront of revolutionizing how hundreds of millions of people use their devices to obtain information. We are a world-class team of machine learning engineers who collaborate closely with product, data science, and infrastructure teams to power and enhance features across Apple products, including Siri, Spotlight, Safari, Messages, and more. Our team operates in one of the most dynamic high-performance computing environments, managing petabytes of data and millions of queries per second. As a Senior Machine Learning Engineer, you play a critical role in developing world-class search and Q&A experiences for Apple customers using cutting‑edge search technologies and large language models.

Description

As a member of our dynamic team, you will have the unique and rewarding opportunity to contribute to the development of upcoming products from Apple. Our team is responsible for delivering next‑generation Search and Question Answering systems across Apple products, including Siri, Safari, Spotlight, and more. Therefore, we are seeking candidates with a deep understanding of large‑scale search technology, machine learning fundamentals, applied machine learning experience, and strong software engineering skills. As Senior Machine Learning Engineer for the Search and Knowledge Quality team, you will be responsible for developing the ranking and retrieval technologies that power question answering and search across Apple products. In this role, you will collaborate with world‑renowned experts in large‑scale data management, machine learning systems, and knowledge extraction, driving advancements in question answering and search, as well as the underlying ranking and retrieval technologies. This is your opportunity to shape how people obtain information by leveraging your Search and applied machine learning expertise, along with robust software engineering skills.

Responsibilities

• Analyze search retrieval, ranking and relevance requirements, issues and opportunities
• Design, train, and deploy machine learning models to improve search relevance and ranking.
• Define evaluation metrics and benchmarks for search quality.
• Collaborate with multi‑functional teams including: product, design, and data engineering.
• Find opportunity and partner with various product teams across the company to apply search technology to new product areas and use cases.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field
• 7+ years of industry or academia experience in machine learning, with a focus on search, NLP, or recommender systems
• Strong programming skills in C/C++ or Python, and experience with ML frameworks
• Proficient understanding of search algorithms and familiarity with evaluation metrics for search and information retrieval
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Advance degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field
• 10+ years of industry or academia experience in machine learning, with a focus on search, NLP, or recommender systems
• Familiarity with NLP/ML tools and packages like Jax, TensorFlow, pyTorch, etc.
• Experience working with transformer‑based models (e.g., BERT, T5) in a search context
• Prior industry experience on large scale search systems
• Ability to quickly prototype ideas / solutions, perform critical analysis, and use creative approaches for solving complex problems

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 $184,700 and $324,800, 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.