Solutions Architect, Customer Systems

Summary

Do you want to help build some of the largest and most consequential enterprise and customer technology systems in the world? Join Apple’s Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) organization. IS&T is the engine behind everything Apple does for customers and for the people who build for them. It’s Apple’s central nervous system. Supporting 2.5 billion active Apple devices, processing billions of secure transactions, and keeping the technology that defines modern life running flawlessly, IS&T makes the impossible feel effortless.Do you love building solutions to handle global complexity and immense scale? Imagine what you could do here.

Customer Systems is part of IS&T and drives the technology behind Apple's customer support experience — from contact center operations to the software powering the iconic Genius Bar. The team also builds and operates AppleCare's online support platform, which handles 6 billion visits per year, delivering seamless, high-quality support to Apple customers around the globe.

The ideal candidate is an energetic professional who pairs deep technical expertise with outstanding communication skills, brings a genuine passion for innovation, and has the confidence to challenge conventional thinking. If you are highly motivated and passionate about solving complex problems, fostering innovation, and delivering critical cross-functional products in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, this role is for you.

Description

Our team builds and operates global, business-critical platforms within the AppleCare Sales, Service & Support space, serving direct Apple customers, Apple Service Providers, Resellers, Carriers, Self-Servicing Customers, Repair Centers, Mac Depots, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Contact Centers.

As a Solutions Architect, you will own system design across these highly distributed customer-facing, partner-facing, and agent-facing platforms, where privacy, availability, and performance are foundational design principles rather than downstream considerations. You will immerse yourself in the AppleCare sales, service, and support landscape to become the domain subject matter expert for this space — then apply that depth to convert ambiguous business problems into concrete technical architecture, working shoulder to shoulder with cross-functional business stakeholders and engineering teams from initial systems impact analysis through production delivery.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end system design for new business initiatives, starting with high-level systems impact analysis across the existing platform ecosystem
Build deep domain expertise across AppleCare and Retail business processes and systems, and bring that context to bear on every design decision and recommendation you make
Define system interfaces, integration patterns, and data flows across a broad ecosystem of upstream and downstream services
Author design specifications and technical user stories that engineering teams can build against with confidence
Champion your design ideas and recommendations with peers, management, and engineering teams — building consensus on the approach and standing behind your architectural trade-offs
Lead design reviews centered on fault tolerance, graceful degradation, and observability at scale
Define and recommend SLAs, SLOs, and SLIs in partnership with engineering management and Operations, holding the platform to a measurable standard
Stay accountable for the solution through integration testing and production delivery, including hand-off and enablement for Operations and Production Support
Serve as the go-to technical authority for the domain, guiding partner teams as they design against and integrate with our platforms
Present regularly to leadership on technical strategies, platform modernization options, scalability and capacity planning, resiliency and technical risk assessments, cross-system dependency roadmaps, and strategies to retire technical debt

Minimum Qualifications

10+ years in software engineering with a focus on system design, technical architecture, or solution architecture, with demonstrable experience on large-scale, customer-facing production systems
Experience designing and documenting engineering specifications for inter- and intra-system interactions, including API contracts, data flows, and interface definitions
Experience architecting distributed systems for high availability, fault tolerance, and horizontal scalability under variable traffic loads
Proven ability to translate business requirements into system designs and technical solutions across large-scale enterprise environments
Familiarity with modern backend stacks and data store technologies (e.g., Java/Python, SOA, J2EE, object-oriented programming, Oracle/NoSQL/MongoDB)
Knowledge of software development methodologies, including Agile and traditional waterfall
BS/MS in Computer Science or other technical field, or equivalent experience

Preferred Qualifications

12+ years in software engineering with a focus on system design, technical architecture, or solution architecture, working with large-scale enterprise solutions
4+ years in a hands-on development or technical architect role
Experience developing domain expertise in a complex business area and applying it to architectural decisions
Experience leveraging performance monitoring and observability data to identify design and optimization opportunities
Experience working with vendors and contractors
Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as strong organizational skills
Excellent leadership and influencing skills, with proficiency at managing multiple global efforts simultaneously
Experience working in a cross-functional, time-zone-distributed team environment
Self-motivated and proactive, with demonstrated creative and critical thinking capabilities

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 $150,400 and $277,600, 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.