Join Apple and be part of a community where innovation thrives, creativity flourishes, and diverse perspectives are celebrated. At Apple Maps, we're revolutionizing how navigation integrates seamlessly into people's lives. Picture your work influencing smarter, more intuitive experiences for billions of users around the globe.

As a Principal Engineer on the Maps Navigation and Location Services team, you'll help shape the next generation of intelligent navigation experiences. Your work will span critical services that power navigation and location understanding for customers using Apple devices-from i Phone and i Pad to Watch, Mac, and Car Play. You'll tackle complex technical challenges at the intersection of large-scale backend systems, privacy-preserving machine learning, and location intelligence.

If you're passionate about building impactful, user-centered experiences at scale, thrive in ambiguity, and want to define the future of intelligent navigation, this is your opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

Description

The Maps Navigation and Location Services team builds the backend services that power navigation and location understanding for customers across Apple's devices. Our navigation work spans multiple modalities-from driving and walking to cycling and transit-each presenting unique technical challenges.

As an engineer on our team, you'll work on new initiatives to make navigation more intelligent while maintaining Apple's privacy-first approach. You'll design and build scalable backend services and APIs that leverage machine learning to enhance navigation experiences. This role requires someone comfortable driving clarity from ambiguity, defining requirements, and collaborating cross-functionally to align product vision with technical execution.

We have a modern development process-analyzing requirements, implementing and experimenting iteratively, and optimizing solutions to deliver exceptional experiences. We support production systems serving millions of requests daily, so occasional support outside standard business hours may be required for on-call duties and critical project needs.

","responsibilities":"Design, develop, and deploy scalable backend services and APIs for navigation experiences across Apple Maps.

Lead technical initiatives from requirements through production, collaborating with product, design, data science, infrastructure, and client software teams.

Build machine learning systems and real-time/batch processing pipelines while maintaining Apple's privacy-first approach.

Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership through code reviews, architectural guidance, and knowledge sharing.

Support production systems through on-call rotations and influence product direction with technical expertise and user-focused thinking.

Preferred Qualifications

MS or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Experience with machine learning techniques in navigation, location services, or geospatial domains

Familiarity with privacy-preserving ML approaches and on-device model deployment

Hands-on experience with scalable data architectures and streaming technologies (e.g., Spark, Kafka, Flink)

Familiarity with cloud infrastructure and containerization (e.g., AWS, Kubernetes)

Minimum Qualifications

BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field with 12+ years of industry experience

Strong experience building large-scale, production-grade applications, services, and customer-facing features for millions of users.

Proficiency in modern programming languages such as C++, Java, Scala, Swift, or Rust

Solid understanding of algorithms, data structures, and distributed system design

Proven ability to lead technical initiatives, mentor engineers, and work effectively in ambiguous, cross-functional environments

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant .

Pay & Benefits

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 $212,000 and $318,400, 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.