Software Engineer - Apple Watch
Apple
Software Engineering
San Diego, CA, USA
USD 171,600-258,100 / year + Equity
Posted on Dec 13, 2025
Imagine what you could do here at Apple. Innovation runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts. Join Apple, and help us leave the world better than we found it. The Messages team on watchOS is looking for a software engineer who wants to help people stay connected—right from their wrist. We build features like Live Translation (powered by Apple Intelligence), personalized chat Backgrounds, Smart Actions, Text Effects, and RCS support. It's a unique space: the constraints of a wearable push us to be thoughtful about every decision, and the features we ship are used by millions of people every day. You'll work closely with teams across Apple, from iOS to design to machine learning, and have a real impact on how people communicate.
As part of the Messages team on Apple Watch, you'll work across the full development lifecycle—prototyping ideas with designers, writing and testing code, optimizing for performance, and collaborating with QA to get things right before they ship. It's hands-on work that requires balancing creativity with pragmatism, especially on a device where resources are tight and details matter.
- Work with designers to turn ideas into prototypes and demo them to stakeholders
- Write clean, well-tested code to bring those prototypes to life as polished features
- Build systems that are maintainable, extensible, and don't fall over when requirements change
- Profile and optimize features to run smoothly on a low-power, resource-constrained device
- Collaborate with machine learning and platform teams to integrate intelligent features
- Partner with QA to find and fix bugs, edge cases, and performance issues before they reach users
- Proficiency in Objective-C or Swift
- Experience contributing to at least one application or framework
- Track record of shipping projects on time
- Familiarity with systems programming and inter-process communication
- Experience profiling and optimizing applications
- Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in large, established codebases
- Experience driving projects that span multiple layers of the stack
- Familiarity with SwiftUI and UIKit
- Exposure to on-device machine learning or intelligence frameworks
- Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach
- Genuine curiosity about how things work under the hood
Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant.