← All roles

Senior Engineering Program Manager, Lead, Service Special Projects

Apple· Software and Services
Apply on company site
Cupertino, CA$175.5k - $311.7kFull-timePosted 1w ago

About the role

Senior hands-on Engineering Program Manager leading large, multi-year, cross-functional engineering programs spanning client software, backend services, data systems, applied ML, tooling, and platform engineering. Responsible for the plan of record, operating cadence, risk management, and executive-level narratives, while shaping and mentoring the program-management practice.

Responsibilities

  • Own end-to-end program management of a large-scale, cross-functional engineering initiative spanning client software, backend services, large-scale data systems, applied machine learning, evaluation, tooling, and platform engineering.
  • Be accountable for the plan of record — roadmap, milestones, dependencies, risks, and the executive-level narrative — and for the operating cadence that keeps every team aligned on what is expected, by when, and why.
  • Read designs, ask sharp questions, and translate deeply technical discussions into crisp, faithful summaries for leadership.
  • Identify program drift early and drive corrective actions with calm authority.
  • Mentor junior EPMs, standardize progress tracking, and raise the bar for planning and communication.
  • Building and owning a credible plan of record for programs with dozens of engineers and multiple partner teams.
  • Landing AI/ML capabilities in production with explicit quality bars and rollback criteria.
  • Identifying risks early, developing mitigation strategies, and driving conflict resolution across senior technical stakeholders.
  • Navigating ambiguity and creating clarity when scope and priorities are forming.
  • Tracking many parallel workstreams in real time without losing the thread.
  • Influencing and aligning teams without direct authority (senior engineers, architects, applied researchers, cross-functional leaders).
  • Establishing durable operating rhythms — planning cycles, review cadences, escalation paths, post-mortems — scalable with the program.
  • Presenting technical status, trade-offs, and recommendations to executive audiences with precision and honesty.

Qualifications

  • 15+ years of experience developing program plans and managing complex, cross-functional engineering programs in a technical product environment, with at least 3+ years in a lead or principal-level capacity.
  • 5+ years leading AI-first programs end to end — programs where core product value is delivered by machine-learning or large-language-model systems, with planning, scoping, and quality bars tied to model behavior and evaluation.
  • Demonstrated experience running programs spanning multiple engineering disciplines — client, services, data, applied ML, platform, and tooling — end to end.
  • Strong technical depth: ability to read engineering design documents, follow architectural discussions, and reason about trade-offs, dependencies, and risk.
  • Working literacy with the modern AI stack — model training/evaluation lifecycles, offline vs. online metrics, data pipelines, latency/cost trade-offs, production-ready vs research results.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including cadence of executive updates and technical narratives to senior leadership.
  • BS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience; Advanced degree preferred.

Skills

Required:Program managementAI/ML program leadershipTechnical storytelling

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
  • Retirement benefits
  • Discounted products and free services
  • Education reimbursement for advancing your career (tuition)
  • Discretionary bonuses or commission payments and relocation eligibility
  • Apple shareholder opportunities via stock programs
Last updated Oct 16, 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.

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.

AirPods Max 2Apple ArcadeApple CardApple Fitness+Apple MusicApple TVApple TV+Apple Watch Series 11
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Apple