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Machine Learning Research Engineer, Pretraining Data — Foundation Models

Apple· Machine Learning and AI
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Hybrid (Cupertino, CA)$150.4k - $277.6kunknownPosted 3d ago

About the role

Apple’s Foundation Models team is building large language models and seeks a Research Engineer to advance pretraining data research and engineering. The role spans research, algorithm development, experimentation, and production data systems for data curation, quality assessment, and optimization to improve foundation model capabilities.

Responsibilities

  • Research, design, and implement novel algorithms for large-scale pretraining data curation, including quality filtering, deduplication, data selection, and mixture optimization.
  • Build and optimize scalable data processing systems capable of handling trillions of tokens across diverse data sources.
  • Develop machine learning-based approaches for data quality assessment, synthetic data generation, and data efficiency optimization.
  • Collaborate with foundation model researchers to design and execute training experiments, analyze model performance, and identify opportunities for improving model capabilities.
  • Investigate the relationship between training data characteristics, model scaling, training dynamics, and downstream evaluation results.
  • Translate research prototypes into efficient, reliable, and production-ready data systems.
  • Stay current with advances in foundation model research and apply emerging techniques to practical data challenges.

Qualifications

  • BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Strong programming skills in Python and proficiency in developing production-quality software.
  • Experience with large-scale data processing, distributed computing, or machine learning systems.
  • Solid understanding of machine learning fundamentals and modern deep learning architectures.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to independently investigate complex technical challenges.

Skills

Required:Data curation algorithmsScalable data processing systemsMachine learning for data qualityExperiment design and analysisResearch to production translation
Nice to have:Foundation model understanding

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
  • Retirement benefits
  • Discounted products and free services
  • Reimbursement for certain educational expenses including tuition
  • Discretionary bonuses or commission payments (possible)
  • Relocation (possible)
  • Apple shareholder opportunities through stock programs
  • Employee stock purchase plan (discounted stock)
Last updated Oct 23, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

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