Machine Learning Engineer, Natural Language Understanding, Proactive

Apple’s On-Device Query Understanding team is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer to research, design, implement, and evaluate machine learning models for personalized query understanding. The work supports search and assistant experiences across Apple products, with an emphasis on LLM/NLU approaches and inference optimization to achieve fast, power-efficient performance on-device.

What You’ll Do

• Research, design, implement, and evaluate models that advance personalized query understanding, including user intent resolution, retrieval, and ranking.
• Use natural language processing, deep learning, and large language model techniques to deliver grounded, contextually relevant responses.
• Assess performance gaps in existing search and assistant systems and develop algorithms to improve model quality and key product outcomes.
• Define the long-term technical vision for the team, propose roadmaps, and set measurable objectives.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to define product requirements, establish evaluation metrics, and maximize user satisfaction.

Required Qualifications

• 4 or more years of experience in machine learning, natural language processing, or computer vision applied at scale.
• Production software engineering experience using one or more of the following: Python, Go, C/C++, Swift, or Objective-C.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Statistics, Physics, Mathematics, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Experience with Small Language Models (SLMs) and on-device LLM training, including model compression/quantization and production deployment.
• Experience with large-scale query understanding, search, recommendation, or personal assistant systems.
• Proficiency with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow, or XGBoost.
• Background in personalization and data-driven decision making, including the ability to prototype solutions and conduct critical analysis.
• Experience with Swift, Swift frameworks, or Apple platform development is a plus.
• Experience with build infrastructure, release management, and CI/CD pipelines is a plus.

Key Technologies

• Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Understanding (NLU)
• Machine learning inference optimization
• PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow, XGBoost
• Swift, Objective-C
• Small Language Models (SLMs), model compression/quantization
• Python, Go, C/C++

Compensation & Benefits

The base pay range for this role is USD 150,400 to 277,600 per year.

• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage.
• Retirement benefits.
• Discounted products and free services.
• Reimbursement for certain educational expenses, including tuition.
• Discretionary bonuses or commission payments, and relocation may be eligible.
• Opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs.
• Eligibility for discretionary restricted stock unit awards.
• Option to purchase Apple stock at a discount by voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Additional information about Apple Benefits is available through Apple.

Role Details

• Location: Santa Clara, CA (onsite)
• Experience: 4+ years
• Salary: USD 150,400 - 277,600 per yearly