Senior Applied Research Engineer - Multimodal LLMs for Human Interaction

Apple • Sunnyvale, CA

8d

About The Position

Are you excited about the amazing potential of foundation models, LLMs, and
multimodal LLMs? We are looking for individuals who thrive on collaboration and
have a desire to push the boundaries of what is possible today! The Video
Computer Vision org is a centralized applied research and engineering
organization responsible for developing real-time on-device Computer Vision and
Machine Perception technologies across Apple products. In the Human Intelligence
team, we balance research and product to deliver Apple quality, pioneering
experiences, innovating through the full stack, and partnering with HW, SW, and
ML teams to influence the sensor and silicon roadmap that brings our vision to
life.

DESCRIPTION

We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Senior Applied Research Engineer
to join Human Intelligence team. The ideal candidate will have a strong
background in developing and exploring capabilities of foundation models and
agentic AI systems that enable natural, proactive and personalized human
interactions. In this role, you will work on cutting-edge research and
engineering problems, collaborating across teams and help shape the technical
direction of multimodal and agentic AI systems from research to production. You
will: -Lead the research roadmap for multimodal foundation models, identifying
key opportunities for innovation in agentic AI and reasoning capabilities.
-Design and oversee the implementation of agentic systems, and large-scale
simulation and evaluation frameworks that can transition from research
prototypes to production-grade technologies. -Mentor and guide junior
researchers and engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and
innovation within the team. -Develop agentic systems with multimodal large
language models, focusing on exploring and utilizing diverse data modalities.
-Create novel algorithms and models to enhance the performance, safety, and
reasoning capabilities of our AI systems. -Work closely with researchers, data
scientists, and software engineers to translate complex research findings into
practical, user-facing applications. -Maintain deep knowledge of the latest
advancements in AI, machine learning, and multimodal agentic systems, and apply
this knowledge to drive innovation within the company.

Requirements

• 10+ years of relevant industry experience in Machine Learning, Computer Vision, or Artificial Intelligence.
• Demonstrated expertise in developing, training, and fine-tuning multimodal LLMs at scale and developing industry scale agentic products.
• Proven track record of technical leadership, including architecting complex ML systems and leading projects from conception to product deployment.
• Expert proficiency in Python and modern software engineering practices.
• Master of Science in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Nice To Haves

• PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a focus on AI, machine learning, or computer vision.
• Deep expertise in one or more of the following: computer vision, NLP, multimodal fusion, Generative AI, Self-Supervised Learning, Reinforcement Learning, or Agentic AI.
• Experience applying foundation models to build autonomous or semi-autonomous agents, including planning, task decomposition, and multi-step reasoning.
• Strong publication record in top-tier venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCV, and ECCV.
• Experience leading major ML initiatives with a proven record of shipping high-impact products to millions of users.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to executive leadership and cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the research roadmap for multimodal foundation models, identifying key opportunities for innovation in agentic AI and reasoning capabilities.
• Design and oversee the implementation of agentic systems, and large-scale simulation and evaluation frameworks that can transition from research prototypes to production-grade technologies.
• Mentor and guide junior researchers and engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and innovation within the team.
• Develop agentic systems with multimodal large language models, focusing on exploring and utilizing diverse data modalities.
• Create novel algorithms and models to enhance the performance, safety, and reasoning capabilities of our AI systems.
• Work closely with researchers, data scientists, and software engineers to translate complex research findings into practical, user-facing applications.
• Maintain deep knowledge of the latest advancements in AI, machine learning, and multimodal agentic systems, and apply this knowledge to drive innovation within the company.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees