Creative Producer - Special Projects

Apple • Cupertino, CA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Apple is looking for a Creative Producer for its Special Projects team. This role sits at the intersection of performance craft and machine learning data quality. The Creative Producer will direct on-camera and voice talent to capture authentic human performances for AI/ML model training and evaluation. They will also serve as a lead expert annotator, building guidelines, taxonomies, and decision trees to empower cross-functional annotation teams to label data consistently and at scale. This is an opportunity to apply directing precision to a technically demanding production environment within the industry.

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional directing experience in film, television, theater, or commercial production.
• Demonstrated expertise in coaching actors and non-actors toward authentic emotional and vocal performances.
• Deep fluency in facial expression, micro-expression, body language, vocal modulation, and emotional psychology.
• Experience working in AI training data, motion capture, or structured data collection environments.
• Experience structuring and managing studio recording environments (audio and/or video).
• Strong written communication skills with the ability to produce clear, precise documentation (guidelines, protocols, taxonomies).
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and interpersonal skills.
• Able to travel domestically - up to 25%.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on background in annotation, labeling QA, or annotation tooling workflows.
• Familiarity with inter-annotator agreement methods and quality calibration practices.
• Background in acting, theater, or vocal/speech performance.
• Experience directing diverse talent across cultures, languages, and performance backgrounds.
• Familiarity with audio engineering fundamentals and camera framing principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead performance capture sessions to produce high-quality visual and audio datasets.
• Develop annotation frameworks that give meaning to datasets for ML pipelines.
• Coach actors and non-actors through structured sessions to capture authentic human expression (facial, gestural, vocal).
• Serve as the subject-matter expert in emotion and expression labeling.
• Author guidelines, decision trees, and calibration standards for annotation teams.
• Ensure accurate and scalable data labeling by cross-functional teams.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed