Software Engineering Technical Lead, Apple Pay — Wallet, Payments & Commerce (WPC)

Summary

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, great ideas have a way of becoming phenomenal products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. The Wallet, Payments & Commerce (WPC) team is building the world's best software for paying and interacting with the world, from Apple Pay, transit, and event tickets, to digital keys and identity. We are looking for experienced engineers who are passionate about their craft, crave the challenge of architecting systems at scale, and thrive on owning hard technical problems at global scale. If you love solving meaningful problems that impact millions of people and defining the technical direction of critical services, we want to hear from you.

Description

You will have the opportunity to lead the intricate challenge of building resilient and reliable distributed software systems at Apple's scale. You will be given the flexibility to drive creative solutions, the support of a talented and driven team, and access to diverse technologies. You will have the autonomy and responsibility to take full ownership of your solutions. You will join a team that owns every stage of the product and software development lifecycle, from architecture through production operations, and will design, build, test, deliver, and maintain exceptional software that truly makes a difference. In this fast-paced environment, you will be hands-on in all phases and will actively shape the architecture and design of our platforms and offerings through deep experience in operating, monitoring, and providing on-call support for the software you build. As a senior member of the team, you will drive technical discussions, write specifications, mentor peers, review code, and produce impactful documentation. Success in this role requires strong self-motivation, clear and crisp communication, a highly collaborative approach, and the ability to work effectively across teams and disciplines to define and influence engineering strategy.

Responsibilities

Architect, build, and maintain mission-critical distributed systems at large scale with resilience, failover, and self-healing as core design principles
Drive technical discussions and define engineering strategy across teams and disciplines
Write technical specifications and produce impactful documentation to drive consensus on complex concepts
Mentor peers and review code to uphold engineering excellence and continuous improvement
Design and operate high-volume REST and/or gRPC services, supporting both server-to-server and mobile client-facing use cases
Provide on-call support and actively contribute to monitoring and observability strategies for the software you build
Collaborate with global teams and external partners, communicating clearly and thoughtfully to influence technical direction
Lead complex projects end-to-end from conception through production deployment

Minimum Qualifications

Extensive experience architecting, building, and maintaining mission-critical distributed systems at large scale
Deep understanding of distributed systems fundamentals and trade-offs in consistency, latency, and throughput
A commitment to engineering excellence, continuous improvement, and the curiosity to evaluate and advocate for new technologies and patterns
Ability to communicate thoughtfully and clearly, both verbally and in writing, to drive consensus on complex technical concepts with diverse audiences, including global teams and external partners
A track record of building and sustaining healthy long-term relationships and technical influence within your team and beyond its boundaries
The tenacity and perseverance to lead complex projects all the way from conception to production
No formal degree is required; what matters most is your mindset, your initiative, and your demonstrated ability to apply advanced skills to real-world applications

Preferred Qualifications

Deep hands-on software development expertise with Java or Kotlin and Spring
Proven development and operational experience with high-volume REST and/or gRPC services, either server-to-server or mobile client facing
Strong experience designing for containerization and orchestration (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
Significant experience architecting, building, and operating cloud-native (e.g., AWS) applications with resilience, failover, and self-healing as core features
Expertise in designing robust CI/CD pipelines and defining infrastructure as code
Extensive experience with observability strategies and tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry, Datadog)
Deep understanding of modern networking and experience using traffic tools for tracing and debugging

Pay & Benefits — Cupertino, California, United States

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 $216,200 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.

Application Deadline

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.