Job description

As the Lead FDE, you will balance deep technical advocacy with organizational execution. You will partner directly with Science, Platform Engineering, and Product Management to ensure we are building and adopting the right solutions. You will serve as a technical bridge between the research organization and the broader engineering ecosystem, ensuring our tools integrate seamlessly with existing ML infrastructure and developer workflows. You will spend your time equally between internal alignment and external engagement. You will be "boots on the ground" with ML practitioners across Apple, working hand-in-hand with researchers and developers to operationalize sophisticated measurement techniques. You will then bring those insights back to the team, representing the voice of the developer to help Product and Engineering leadership refine the roadmap. If you thrive in the ambiguity of new initiatives, are passionate about democratizing AI evaluation, and want to be the strategic bridge for a rapidly growing AI organization, this is the role for you. 5+ years of experience in Solutions Architecture, Forward-Deployed Engineering, Developer Advocacy, Technical Program Management, or a related highly technical, cross-functional role. Customer Obsession & Product Thinking: Experience acting as a technical partner to internal customers. You can translate vague requirements from other teams into concrete engineering specifications. Functional literacy in AI/ML concepts: You understand the fundamental lifecycle of machine learning (datasets, training vs. inference, evaluation metrics) and can discuss the engineering challenges involved. Demonstrated experience partnering with Applied Scientists or Researchers: You have the ability to navigate the ambiguity of research workflows and operationalize scientific code. Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to represent the platform to executive leadership, partner teams, and the broader engineering community. Demonstrated ability to navigate extreme ambiguity, define roadmaps where none existed, and influence without direct authority. Deep familiarity with AI Evaluation Frameworks: You have used or contributed to modern evaluation tools like DeepEval, Ragas, TruLens, or LangSmith. Experience designing research or tools with self-service adoption as a first-class constraint. Previous experience operating in a "Chief of Staff" or strategic proxy capacity for a technical organization. A background in bridging research-heavy environments with production engineering teams

Requirements

Must-haves

5+ years of experience in Solutions Architecture, Forward-Deployed Engineering, Developer Advocacy, Technical Program Management, or a related highly technical, cross-functional role.
Customer Obsession & Product Thinking: Experience acting as a technical partner to internal customers. You can translate vague requirements from other teams into concrete engineering specifications.
Functional literacy in AI/ML concepts: You understand the fundamental lifecycle of machine learning (datasets, training vs. inference, evaluation metrics) and can discuss the engineering challenges involved.
Demonstrated experience partnering with Applied Scientists or Researchers: You have the ability to navigate the ambiguity of research workflows and operationalize scientific code.
Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to represent the platform to executive leadership, partner teams, and the broader engineering community.
Demonstrated ability to navigate extreme ambiguity, define roadmaps where none existed, and influence without direct authority.
Deep familiarity with AI Evaluation Frameworks: You have used or contributed to modern evaluation tools like DeepEval, Ragas, TruLens, or LangSmith.
Experience designing research or tools with self-service adoption as a first-class constraint.
Previous experience operating in a "Chief of Staff" or strategic proxy capacity for a technical organization.
A background in bridging research-heavy environments with production engineering teams

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

mlaimachine learning

Platform: apple
Effort: medium