AI Methodology Design/CAD Engineer

Summary

Do you love creating elegant solutions to highly complex challenges? Do you intrinsically see the importance in every detail? As part of our Silicon Technologies group, you'll help design and manufacture our next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient processor, system-on-chip (SoC). You'll ensure Apple products and services can seamlessly and efficiently handle the tasks that make them beloved by millions. Joining this group means you'll be responsible for crafting and building the technology that fuels Apple's devices. Together, you and your team will enable our customers to do all the things they love with their devices.

As part of the Hardware Technology CAD team, you'll help bring AI methodology to chip design. You will work end to end with design teams and CAD flow owners on complex design and CAD challenges, in areas such as custom and analog design, RTL and front end, design verification, physical design, timing, extraction and signoff. You will build and evaluate AI solutions for these challenges, with a focus on the quality of their results. We are looking for a VLSI design or CAD engineer who is passionate about applying AI to chip design.

Description

In this highly visible role, your primary responsibilities will include:
Partnering with design teams and CAD flow owners across multiple projects to understand complex design challenges and where AI can help
Contributing to evaluation data and quality metrics, and running evaluations across models to find where an agent fails
Tuning AI agents, including their prompts, tools, agent skills and choice of model
Developing CAD tools and flows that let AI agents work with design data and EDA tools
Evaluating AI tools from EDA vendors alongside in-house solutions
Enabling the organization to leverage AI capabilities and drive efficiency in chip delivery

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum requirement of BS and 10+ years of relevant industry experience
Experience using AI tools, such as AI coding assistants, in engineering work
Experience in VLSI design, CAD tools or CAD flows
Experience in Python programming

Preferred Qualifications

Experience building LLM applications or tool-using AI agents, including Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers
Experience evaluating or tuning AI systems, such as agent performance or output quality
Experience applying machine learning to design data, such as predicting timing or power
Understanding of the chip design flow, from spec to tapeout
Hands-on knowledge of industry-standard EDA tools for simulation, synthesis, place and route, extraction, timing or physical verification
Experience developing CAD tools, CAD flows or design methodology
Experience writing testbenches, regression tests or signoff checks

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 $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.

Application Deadline

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.