Senior ML Researcher: Multimodal LLM Post-Training

Summary

We are looking for a Senior ML Researcher who is passionate about foundation model post-training, including Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) and Reinforcement Learning (RL), and has experience with core capabilities such as instruction following, tool use, deep thinking, and reasoning. In this role, you will research, design, and deliver models where machine learning research meets real-world product impact.
You will work closely with research scientists, engineers, and product teams to find new ways that generative AI can help our creative users. Your mission is to improve the workflows of millions of creators by combining generative AI with Apple's human-centered design principles.

Description

What makes our work unique is we have many research opportunities in real-world use cases in multimodal space. Our goal is to develop targeted, task-specific capabilities within our models across a broad range of areas, including video understanding, reasoning, instruction following, and agentic tasks.
The role involves contributing to every stage of the post-training process:

Formulate hypotheses for a use case
Define data collection and annotation
Build evaluations of model capabilities
Apply SFT, advanced reward modeling, RL techniques, and distillation to develop and improve the post-training recipe
Execute experiments, validate results, and communicate findings to the broader team
If you're passionate about doing research that ships in Apple's legendary products, this is the team for you.

Minimum Qualifications

MS in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Minimum 4+ years of research experience in Multi-Modal LLM training and evaluation
Proven track record in multimodal SFT plus at least one of distillation, preference optimization, or online RL, backed by shipped models or rigorous experiments
Strong programming skills in Python and at least one deep learning, framework, such as JAX or PyTorch.
Ability to build intuition from a problem statement and translate it into dataset requirements, neural network design, and loss functions.

Preferred Qualifications

PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Experience in GRPO, DPO, Vision-OPD, and visual-token compression
Publications in top-tier ML conferences (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV)
Bonus: Experience in quantization, on-device models and SLM (Small Language Model)

Pay & Benefits — San Diego, 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 $175,000 and $308,500, 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.

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.