Apple · 6 hours ago
Hardware Systems Engineer - Data Center HWE
Austin, TX
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
5+ years expApple is a company that fosters innovation and creativity, impacting billions of users with extraordinary products. They are seeking an experienced Server Hardware Engineer to evaluate next-generation server platforms, assess workload requirements, and guide strategic decisions on processor selection for cloud infrastructure.
AppsArtificial Intelligence (AI)BroadcastingDigital EntertainmentFoundational AIMedia and EntertainmentMobile DevicesOperating SystemsTVWearables
Responsibilities
CPU Architecture & Performance Engineering: Evaluate and compare CPU architectures (Intel, AMD, ARM, emerging, accelerators) for cloud and containerized workloads. Conduct microbenchmarking and workload-specific benchmarking (DB, caching, ML inference, microservices, network-heavy workloads). Analyze CPU metrics including IPC, cache hierarchy behavior, NUMA topology, SMT/Hyperthreading efficiency, turbo behaviors, and power/performance curves. Build performance models to predict workload scaling, throughput, and cost efficiency across CPU generations
Server Hardware & Platform Analysis: Assess server platforms including memory configurations, PCIe topology, I/O bandwidth, NIC configurations, and accelerator integration (GPU, SmartNIC, DPU). Optimize server configurations for Kubernetes clusters, virtualized environments, and bare-metal workloads. Collaborate with OEMs and silicon vendors on roadmap evaluations and feature testing
Cloud & Kubernetes Workload Profiling: Profile and analyze workload patterns across large-scale distributed systems. Evaluate CPU/memory utilization trends to identify bottlenecks, over-provisioning, or scaling inefficiencies. Provide input into cluster sizing, autoscaling strategies, and capacity planning based on real workload telemetry. Build dashboards and telemetry pipelines to visualize compute efficiency across clusters
Procurement & Cost Optimization: Lead CPU and server platform recommendations for procurement cycles. Model TCO (total cost of ownership) including performance per watt, performance per dollar, and rack-level density. Provide guidance on the right mix of CPU SKUs, instance types, and server configurations for various cloud services
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field
5+ years of experience in server hardware engineering, CPU architecture evaluation, or performance engineering
Strong understanding of microarchitecture concepts: Pipelines, branch prediction, out-of-order execution, Cache hierarchies (L1/L2/L3), prefetching, NUMA, SMT/hyperthreading, core utilization, turbo boost behaviors
Experience evaluating and comparing Intel Xeon, AMD EPYC, and ARM
Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, cloud workloads, virtualization (KVM), and container infrastructure
Proficiency in benchmarking tools (SPEC, fio, sysbench, perf, pmu-tools) and workload profiling
Familiarity with telemetry and observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, eBPF, etc.)
Preferred
Experience with large-scale cloud providers, hyperscalers, or high-performance computing (HPC) environments
Expertise in power/performance tuning, BIOS optimization, and firmware-level configuration
Knowledge of CPUs, SmartNICs, GPUs, and offload/acceleration architectures
Experience building internal performance dashboards and analytics tools
Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic, and often ambiguous environment
Passionate, relentless commitment to quality and user experience
Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to debug complex issues across multiple layers of a system
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities effectively
Company
Apple
Apple is a technology company that designs, manufactures, and markets consumer electronics, personal computers, and software.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Apple has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
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Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (6998)
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2023 (3939)
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Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$5.67BKey Investors
Berkshire HathawayMicrosoftSequoia Capital
2025-05-05Post Ipo Debt· $4.5B
2025-01-16Post Ipo Debt· $0.31M
2021-04-30Post Ipo Equity
Leadership Team
Tim Cook
CEO
Craig Federighi
SVP, Software Engineering
Recent News
Venrock
2025-12-01
2025-09-25
Mac Daily News
2025-09-25
Company data provided by crunchbase