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Senior Hardware Systems Engineer– Data Center HWE

Apple· Hardware
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Sunnyvale, CA$216.2k - $394kFull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Apple Data Center Hardware Engineering role focused on owning and defining system-level hardware requirements and interfaces for custom infrastructure platforms, coordinating across multiple domains (electrical, power, thermal, mechanical, optical, protocol) and ensuring cross-functional alignment from architecture to sustaining operations.

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

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

Skills

Required:System-level requirements engineeringInterface Control Documentation (ICD)V&V planning and executionTrade study leadershipCross-domain coordinationSystems engineering framework knowledgePower delivery and high-power systemsHigh-speed interconnects and data storage requirementsThermal management and cooling strategiesSupplier management as technical owner

Benefits

  • Discretionary employee stock programs
  • Discretionary restricted stock unit awards
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan
  • Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
  • Retirement benefits
  • Discounted products and free services
  • Education reimbursement for advancing your career
  • Potential for discretionary bonuses or commission payments
  • Relocation assistance
Last updated Aug 28, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Apple

Discover the innovative world of Apple and shop everything iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV, plus explore accessories, entertainment, and expert device support.

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