AIML - Applied ML Research Scientist - Accessibility, Human Centered Machine Intelligence

Seattle, Washington, United States Machine Learning and AI

We are seeking an Applied Machine Learning Research Scientist to join our Accessibility efforts on the Human-Centered Machine Intelligence (HCMI) team within AIML at Apple. Research Scientists in HCMI tackle significant technical challenges, collaborate with partner teams to ship products, and shape the field of human-centered AIML via external publication. Join us to advance ML research and intelligent interactive technologies that enable people of all abilities to use Apple technology.

Description

The Human-Centered Machine Intelligence (HCMI) group advances ML modeling and interactive technologies grounded in human-centered research. We are a close-knit team of research scientists and engineers working closely with product and platform teams across Apple. The Accessibility team within HCMI specifically focuses on core ML technologies that address grand challenges in accessibility, including equitable speech access for people with communication disabilities, visual understanding for people who are blind or low vision, sign language technology, and more. We are especially interested in researchers who want to bring expertise in one or more of the following areas to these accessibility challenges: multimodal reasoning, agentic systems and multi-turn interaction, contextual understanding, privacy-preserving ML, and synthetic data and evaluation methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Develop new ML modeling approaches with the potential for both research and product impact.
• Advance the state of the art on Accessibility-related problems.
• Design and execute experiments to evaluate machine learning modeling approaches.
• Evaluate ML-powered applications using human-centered methods.
• Partner with product teams to bring research into features that reach users.
• Share contributions through internal impact and external publication in top ML and HCI venues.

Minimum Qualifications

• PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction or related field.
• Experienced researcher, with research depth in one or more of: multimodal modeling, agentic systems and tool use, computer vision, speech, or foundation model post-training and evaluation.
• Publication and research record commensurate with seniority.
• Proven history of turning research contributions into tools, datasets or products, or strong potential to do so.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting research in accessibility or demonstrated commitment to accessibility.
• Experience doing data collection or data curation (e.g., developing data or annotation protocols).
• Experience with human-centered evaluation methods (e.g., developing user study protocols or running studies).
• Experience developing and shipping products that use machine learning.
• Strong writing and presentation skills.

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 $166,600 and $250,700, 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.

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.