Senior Hardware Systems Engineer– Data Center HWE

Summary

Apple's Data Center Hardware Engineering team builds the custom compute platforms behind Apple's services. We design circuits and boards, own rack integration, and deliver complete hardware systems that extend what user devices can do, host the content people love, and enable the capabilities Apple is bringing to customers now and in the future.

Delivering those experiences requires systems that grow more complex with every program. They span multiple physical racks, high-speed networking, tiered data storage, energy storage, and custom compute from different teams and vendors. Every piece must work together as one. System engineering work happens across the organization today, but no single person owns it end to end. As platform scope grows and programs multiply, that gap matters more.

The Senior Hardware Systems Engineer closes that gap. This role owns the system: the requirements that define it, the interfaces between its parts, and the documentation that holds it together from the first architecture conversation to handoff to sustaining operations. If that kind of ownership is what you're built for, we want to talk.

Description

You will own the system as a whole: the requirements that define it, the interfaces that connect it, the documentation that captures it, and the evidence that proves every part of it works.

You'll work with our architecture team to turn high-level platform goals into a complete, verifiable set of hardware requirements. Then you'll deliver those requirements to the teams responsible for each piece: custom PCBs, rack enclosures, power delivery and energy storage, networking, data storage, mechanical systems, firmware, and software. You won't build each of those pieces, but you'll know each domain well enough to write requirements they can actually build to, catch problems at boundaries before they become integration surprises, and get every team aligned on what the system needs.

Our platforms integrate custom, semi-custom, and off-the-shelf hardware across multiple programs running in parallel. Requirements take shape during the architecture and high-level design process, and one of the most important things this role does is pull that work as early as possible. A requirement discovered during detailed design is expensive, and one discovered during validation testing is far more disruptive. Your job is to lead the requirements process at the system level from the very start: make decisions, document them with enough rigor that a sustaining team can depend on them years from now, and keep the whole picture in focus while everyone else is heads-down in their domain.

The right person for this role has done it before, though not necessarily in a datacenter. We'd rather hire someone who has already lived through a fundamental shift in what a system needs to be. Fields like defense, aerospace, automotive, and industrial systems have been solving exactly this class of problem for decades. What we need is someone who can write a requirement that can be tested, own a room full of specialists and drive them to agreement, and see three moves ahead when a change in one sub-system creates a problem somewhere else. This is a role for someone who measures success in decisions that stick and hardware that ships.

Responsibilities

Define and maintain the full set of system-level hardware requirements for Apple's custom infrastructure platforms, covering the full lifecycle from initial architecture through program close
Write and own the system engineering document set that defines the platform — including system requirements specifications, interface control documents, verification and validation plans, requirements traceability, and trade study records — and specify the interfaces between all sub-systems and vendors across electrical, power, thermal, mechanical, optical, and protocol domains
Own the closure of trade studies for major platform decisions across rack architecture, power delivery, energy storage, networking, and data storage: define the evaluation criteria, coordinate the technical analysis across contributing teams, and maintain the formal record of what was decided and why
Deliver requirements to sub-system technical owners, internal teams, and external suppliers with enough precision that each team can design, validate, or procure their piece of the platform without ambiguity
Drive alignment across hardware, mechanical, firmware, software, and operations teams when requirements conflict, interfaces are unclear, or integration risks surface
Review and approve sub-system V&V (verification and validation) plans to ensure they cover all system-level requirements, and integrate the results into a complete, cross-functional record that demonstrates the platform performs to specification
Flag when a design choice today limits what the current platform or a future one can do, and raise it before the team is committed
Work with the architecture team at the start of each program to make sure high-level requirements are complete and specific enough for each team to design to before work begins
Own the handoff package from New Product Introduction (NPI) development to sustaining operations, ensuring everything the sustaining team needs is written down and verified, not just understood
Identify gaps in software and mechanical systems engineering coverage and raise them clearly enough that the organization can act on them
Help build the systems engineering practices, document standards, and review processes this organization needs as it grows

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or a related field
12+ years of systems engineering experience on complex, multi-domain hardware programs that have shipped
A track record of owning system-level technical documentation, including requirements specs, interface definitions, verification and validation records, traceability matrices, and trade study documentation, through formal review and approval across a full program from concept to sustaining handoff
Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience driving technical alignment across hardware, software, and mechanical teams at all levels

Preferred Qualifications

Experience writing and managing interface control documentation and system specifications across multi-vendor hardware integrations
Experience breaking system requirements into sub-system allocations and building V&V strategies that close at the system level
Systems engineering experience on programs in defense, aerospace, automotive, semiconductor capital equipment, or similar fields where existing standards didn't apply and specs had to be written from scratch
Working knowledge of a recognized systems engineering framework or handbook (for example INCOSE, ISO/IEC 15288, or an equivalent internal program standard)
Deep familiarity with high-power, complex power delivery systems: power architecture, power budgeting, and system-level power integrity
Familiarity with system-level signal integrity for high-speed digital interconnects
Experience with system reliability engineering, including FMEA/FMECA, reliability allocation, and failure mode analysis across complex integrated systems
Working knowledge of AI/ML accelerator interconnects, including PCIe Gen5/6, CXL, NVLink, or comparable high-bandwidth fabrics
Experience defining data storage requirements across latency tiers, from fast local storage through disaggregated or tiered architectures
Familiarity with rack and row-level thermal management, including direct liquid cooling and immersion cooling tradeoffs
Experience managing suppliers as a technical owner, holding them to requirements and managing interface compliance
Experience assessing the systems engineering coverage of an active program, identifying gaps in process or documentation, and driving practical improvements that work within the constraints of a real team on a real schedule
Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Systems Engineering

Pay & Benefits — Sunnyvale, 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 $394,000, 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.