Lab Systems Engineer, Silicon Bring-Up & Automation Platforms

Summary

In this highly visible role, you will bring up and validate new Apple Silicon at the bench while building the internal software platforms the broader hardware and lab organization relies on daily. At Apple, we work every day to craft products that enrich people’s lives and as part of an extremely dynamic, forward-thinking team, you’ll have the rare opportunity to build nuanced tools that help delight millions of Apple’s customers. If you love debugging silicon that has never run before, tackling challenges no one has solved yet, and automating tasks that span multiple continents, building the tools that make everyone else’s debug faster, this is the role for you.

Description

In this role, you will bring up and validate new Apple Silicon at the bench, debugging silicon that has never run before and tackling hardware issues as they surface in the lab. Alongside this hands-on validation work, you'll develop methods to improve and automate the collection, storage, processing, and visualization of silicon validation data from labs worldwide. You’ll build and deploy scalable data pipelines using scheduling systems and design infrastructure to support distributed validation across bare metal macOS, Docker, and Kubernetes environments. You will also automate the setup of silicon validation environments and manage data migration across systems. A part of the role includes instrument tracking and network automation—integrating with lab hardware to configure devices, manage network environments, monitor instrument status, and collect validation data securely and at scale. For efficient and insightful data analytics, you’ll build AI/ML based tools that accelerate data analysis and integrate with existing data analysis platforms. This includes tracking power utilization of lab equipment, identifying patterns in usage, and optimizing for future demand through predictive modeling. This work involves close collaboration with hardware, software, and infrastructure teams to enable rapid data exploration, debug large-scale systems, and implement alerting mechanisms that enhance observability and transparency across automation workflows.

Responsibilities

Lead bring-up of new SoCs and boards from first power-on through validation sign-off, register-level debug, protocol analysis, and root-causing issues across hardware, software, and test infrastructure
Run validation test plans against design specs and triage failures at the bench with lab instrumentation (scopes, logic analyzers, power analyzers), collaborating with design teams to drive issues through to closure
Build and maintain internal tools, dashboards, and automation that give hardware and lab engineers visibility into lab state, device health, and validation progress
Develop shared instrumentation/automation libraries used across lab teams, and APIs/data pipelines that tie lab instrumentation and validation tooling into a coherent platform
Apply AI-assisted development to lab tooling, including plugins, custom skills, and agentic workflows
Deploy and operate the Kubernetes infrastructure these tools run on, working closely with hardware, software, and lab infrastructure teams to reduce manual toil and improve observability across bring-up and lab automation workflows

Minimum Qualifications

BS and 10+ years of relevant industry experience.

Preferred Qualifications

MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field with 6+ years of experience
Strong Python fundamentals, proven ability to build production-quality internal tools, APIs, and services
Proven collaborator across teams, with clarity, ownership, and timely communication
Familiarity with databases (SQL/NoSQL), file systems, and object storage
Direct experience with silicon bring-up or hardware validation, including register-level debug
Experience with Docker and deploying/operating Kubernetes-based infrastructure for lab or validation services, CI/CD pipelines and version control systems
Hands-on experience with lab/test instrumentation (scopes, logic analyzers, power analyzers) and instrument automation
Experience automating network configuration and diagnostics for lab environments
Experience maintaining shared internal instrumentation/automation libraries
Experience with device/fleet monitoring systems (topology, MAC/port tracking, calibration tracking)
Experience with AI-assisted development, plugins, custom skills/agents, or agentic workflows
Experience developing, deploying, and maintaining applied ML or statistical modeling pipelines to analyze lab and system data at scale
Experience implementing alerting and monitoring systems for workflow health and failure detection
Prior experience publishing papers, posters, or other technical work in relevant conferences or venues

Pay & Benefits — San Francisco Bay Area, 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.