Database Systems SRE, ASE Cassandra SRE

Apple

Apple

Seattle, WA, USA

USD 171,600-302,200 / year + Equity

Posted on Apr 12, 2026
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Apple’s Services Engineering organization (ASE) is seeking experienced database systems engineers to join our Cassandra SRE team. Engineers in ASE Cassandra SRE develop and contribute to software built to manage Apache Cassandra, an open source distributed database powering some of Apple's most critical internet services. You will be joining a team of experts, working at the cutting edge of modern database deployment architectures, distributed systems. The team's work is deployed at massive scale, serving millions of queries per second over hundreds of petabytes of data across our data-centers worldwide. It also has big impact, forming the platform upon which iCloud and many other internet services at Apple are built. In ASE, your work will benefit hundreds of millions of users and is critical to the success of some of the most visible current and future Apple features.
The ASE Cassandra SRE team develops applications and tooling that are safe, reliable, scalable, and fast. This work requires an innovative spirit and an extraordinary degree of care and rigor in engineering. Team members contribute to all major components of Cassandra deployment infrastructure, including maintenance automation, backup service application, monitoring and alerting tooling/dashboards, deployment architecture, as well as contributing back to the upstream patches to the database focused on stability, performance, and scaling. This role also requires excellent communication, ability to partner with our Core Storage and Analytics teams, and a high degree of customer focus when engaging with internal platform customers. As a distributed team, ability to work effectively with colleagues based in other locations is also essential; experience in this area is a plus. Prior experience with development or maintenance of distributed databases / storage systems is recommended.
  • Understanding of core SRE concepts - Monitoring, Alerting, Incident management.
  • Understanding of database concepts (consistency models, isolation levels, crash and recovery semantics).
  • Performance engineering (design concepts, profile-guided optimization).
  • Service management across a bare metal, virtualized (EC2), and containerized (K8s) style platforms.
  • Fundamentals of system-level hardware and networking components (storage devices and controllers, network interfaces, CPU and memory layout in server-class systems).
  • Operating systems concepts (process scheduling, disk and network I/O, performance).
  • Datacenter architecture (networking topologies, host placement strategies, and failure modes); design of multi-datacenter systems; failure domains; and wide-area networking.
  • BS or MS in Computer Science / related fields or equivalent work experience
  • Support of internet-facing production services and distributed systems via deployments, On Call and Incident Management.
  • Experience running large scale infrastructure with a heavy reliance on automation tooling
  • Excellent troubleshooting and performance deep dive analysis
  • Real operational experience managing services at scale on Kubernetes
  • Proficient in one or more of the following programming languages: Java, Go (golang), Python
  • Operational experience deploying in and running on Datacenter and Cloud architectures (networking topologies, host placement strategies, and failure modes); design of multi-datacenter systems; failure domains; and wide-area networking.
  • Self motivated, inquisitive with an aptitude to learn new technologies quickly and effectively.
  • Support of internet-facing production services and distributed systems via deployments, On Call and Incident Management.
  • Experience running large scale infrastructure with a heavy reliance on automation tooling
  • Excellent troubleshooting and performance deep dive analysis
  • Real operational experience managing services at scale on Kubernetes
  • Proficient in one or more of the following programming languages: Java, Go (golang), Python
  • Operational experience deploying in and running on Datacenter and Cloud architectures (networking topologies, host placement strategies, and failure modes); design of multi-datacenter systems; failure domains; and wide-area networking.
  • Self motivated, inquisitive with an aptitude to learn new technologies quickly and effectively.
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $171,600 and $302,200, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits.

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

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.

Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.

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