Hardware Systems Design & Integration Engineer - AirPods

Apple • Cupertino, CA

23d

About The Position

The Hardware Systems Design & Integration Engineer will serve as a hands-on hardware system integrator for an AirPods program, designing, analyzing, and validating hardware from initial concept through mass production. The role develops AirPods hardware and advances physical architecture, technology integration, and custom silicon while ensuring designs meet high performance and quality standards.

The engineer will drive critical trade-offs using rigorous engineering principles to design, optimize, and validate hardware under tight volumetric, thermal, and power constraints. The work involves close collaboration with cross-functional teams and vendors on challenges ranging from development board design to system hardware testing and validation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, or equivalent, and at least 3 years of relevant industry experience designing electronics and/or embedded systems.
• Strong electrical engineering fundamentals, including analog and digital design and signal and power integrity.
• Hands-on experience with prototyping, bring-up, debugging, and validation.
• Comfort working in a lab environment with equipment such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and frequency counters.

Nice To Haves

• Experience taking high-volume consumer electronics products from proof of concept to mass production; experience working with contract manufacturers is highly desirable.
• Expertise in HDI PCB, flex, and/or SIP designs, including schematic and layout, with the ability to deliver high-quality designs to a timeline.
• Knowledge in one or more of the following areas: CPU/SoC, power (DC-DC converters, battery, power management, or low-power design), analog circuits, audio, RF integration and measurement, sensor design and integration, ESD safety, or high-speed interfaces.
• Python or scripting experience.
• Design validation and bench analysis experience.
• Experience working with mechanical design, software, reliability, manufacturing, and operations organizations.
• Experience with challenging, multidisciplinary failure analysis.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, analyze, and validate AirPods hardware from initial concept through mass production.
• Drive hardware trade-offs and apply engineering principles to optimize designs within volumetric, thermal, and power constraints.
• Work with cross-functional teams and vendors to address hardware development challenges.
• Contribute to development board design, system hardware testing, and validation.
• Validate that hardware designs meet performance and quality standards.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level