Software Engineering Manager, Retail Engineering

Apple • Austin, TX

3d

About The Position

Apple Retail is where our products & customers come together. Within Retail Engineering, the Financing and Retail Services team builds and operates the backend systems that power some of the most critical online and store experiences worldwide. As a Backend Engineering Manager on this team, you will lead a group of backend engineers responsible for systems that must be reliable, secure, and accurate at a global scale. You will bring deep hands-on engineering expertise alongside strong people leadership, driving technical strategy while staying closely engaged in architecture, design, and execution.

You will lead a team of backend engineers building the distributed systems and services that power Apple Retail's store operations and customer-facing experiences. Your team's work sits at the core of how Apple Stores function. The services your team builds must be reliable, secure, and scalable to support millions of customer interactions every day. This is a hands-on technical leadership role that demands deep expertise in building distributed & highly secure systems at scale, paired with the ability to inspire a team and shape a long-term technical vision. You will work in close partnership with product teams to translate customer and business needs into backend systems that are robust, extensible, and built to last. Your ability to bridge the gap between how engineering decisions shape the customer journey will be central to how you lead and influence.

Requirements

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience
• 5+ years of people management experience, including hands-on technical leadership
• Advanced proficiency with Java or equivalent
• Strong understanding of application security principles — secure API design, secrets management, least-privilege access, and threat modeling
• Expertise in distributed systems, high-scale, fault-tolerant design

Nice To Haves

• Experience building and operating backend systems in retail, commerce, or consumer-facing technology environments where scale, availability, and customer trust are paramount.
• Strong executive communication and influencing skills.
• Experience in leading and developing high-performing teams in a fast-paced, dynamic, and innovative environment.
• Experience in leading significant technology transformations.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of backend engineers building distributed systems and services.
• Ensure systems are reliable, secure, and scalable.
• Drive technical strategy, architecture, design, and execution.
• Partner with product teams to translate needs into backend systems.
• Inspire a team and shape a long-term technical vision.

What This Job Offers

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