Engineering Program Manager, Machine Learning Data Platform, Apple Services Engineering

About the position

Join the Apple Data Platform EPM team as a Senior Program Manager, focusing on Machine Learning Infrastructure and data platform products within the Apple Data Platform. In this role, you'll oversee a platform responsible for secure data ingestion, storage, management, feature engineering, real-time and batch processing, data transformation, and analytics, among other critical functions. This infrastructure enables Apple's engineering teams to manage the ML lifecycle effectively, supporting model training and enhancing product quality to deliver a seamless, privacy-centric experience to Apple customers. You'll collaborate extensively with cross-functional partners within and beyond the AI/ML landscape, defining and delivering impactful ML and data platform products that meet Apple's organizational needs. With a deep understanding of user needs, you'll own complex challenges, exploring all facets of business opportunities, and connecting insights across roles and functions to drive innovative solutions.

Responsibilities

• Drive Program Roadmap and Strategy: Define and execute the roadmap for scalable, privacy-preserving ML infrastructure and data platforms, empowering Apple's development teams to efficiently ingest, store, process, transform, and analyze data for machine learning and analytics.
• Program Ownership and Use Case Identification: Proactively engage with internal partners to identify high-impact use cases, build strong business cases, and define detailed requirements and product specifications. Lead cross-functional discussions with stakeholders to prioritize and establish a strategic program roadmap.
• Establish and Maintain Feedback Loops: Develop and sustain a robust feedback loop with stakeholders, partners, and users to drive iterative improvements, ensuring that products continuously evolve to meet user needs and program objectives.
• Define Success Metrics: Develop and monitor key product metrics that align with broader ASE product goals, enabling clear measurement of data platform success and impact.
• Champion Product Adoption and Evangelism: Act as a primary advocate for data products, leading efforts to promote platform adoption, ensuring awareness, and aligning stakeholders on the platform's value across the organization.
• Foster Cross-Functional Relationships: Build strong, collaborative relationships across Apple, facilitating seamless communication between divisions and fostering a unified approach to program goals.
• Lead as a Program Evangelist and Problem Solver: Serve as the driver, advocate, and problem-solver for the engineering and operations teams, ensuring they have the data and resources needed to make Apple's cloud platform the best for machine learning, while upholding Apple's unwavering privacy standards.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience leading ML infrastructure data products and managing cross-functional teams as a program manager, with a focus on driving impactful programs from concept to delivery.
• Demonstrated success in delivering reliable, large-scale ML infrastructure and data platform products, including data storage, feature store, data management, data versioning, privacy, governance, analytics, and backend services that support high-throughput, user-facing applications.
• Solid understanding of cloud technologies and experience in building hybrid cloud ML infrastructure and data platforms.
• Passionate about optimizing the user experience, providing thought leadership to enhance end-to-end user interactions for technical products.
• BS with 4 years or MS.

Nice-to-haves

• Skilled in building ML infrastructure data products and driving their adoption with engineering teams across diverse organizations.
• Strong background in developing and managing data and machine learning products is highly advantageous.
• Familiarity with ML infrastructure, frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow, Jupyter notebooks, Spark, Trino, Flink, SQL, Python, and other advanced analytical tools is a significant asset.
• Experienced in using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to drive clear, measurable product outcomes aligned with program goals.
• Strong program management capabilities with the ability to coordinate complex, cross-functional programs across multiple organizations effectively.
• Skilled in building strong partnerships with product and engineering teams by translating user needs into detailed, actionable feature requirements.
• Uses data and metrics to support assumptions, make informed recommendations, drive actions, and measure outcomes.
• Self-motivated, independent, and proactive, with a creative and critical thinking approach; adept at triaging, prioritizing, building consensus, and leading cross-functional teams in high-pressure situations.
• Proven track record in driving initiatives to enhance team quality, performance, agility, and effectiveness.
• Experienced in mentoring and developing program and product managers, fostering growth and building team capabilities.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• Retirement benefits
• A range of discounted products and free services
• Reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition
• Discretionary bonuses or commission payments
• Relocation assistance
• Participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs
• Eligibility for discretionary restricted stock unit awards
• Ability to purchase Apple stock at a discount through Employee Stock Purchase Plan.