Product Design Leader

Apple

Apple

Product, Design

Cupertino, CA, USA

USD 305k-487,200 / year + Equity

Posted on Apr 22, 2026
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We are looking for a Product Design leader to drive the creation of Apple's Home hardware products. You will own the end-to-end product development lifecycle for a portfolio of products spanning audio, visual, and sensing domains, each with distinct identities but designed to work together as a coherent system. You will build and lead a high-performing PD organization, set the technical direction for new product architectures, and partner deeply with Industrial Design, Hardware Engineering, Silicon, Software, and Operations to deliver world-class hardware on aggressive timelines.
You will lead Product Design for Apple's home hardware line, taking products from early architecture through mass production. This means owning mechanical architecture, system-level design, driving integration across electrical, thermal, acoustic, optical, and antenna domains, and ensuring products ship at Apple quality and scale.
  • Building, mentoring, and organizing a product development team capable of executing across multiple concurrent programs in varying stages of maturity
  • Driving product architecture decisions that account for system-level tradeoffs: cost structure, silicon capability, thermal envelope, acoustic performance, and sensor integration
  • Owning the detailed engineering development process from concept through EVT/DVT/PVT and into sustained production
  • Partnering with Industrial Design to converge on product forms that serve both user experience and engineering feasibility
  • Working closely with Software, AI/ML, and platform teams to ensure hardware designs enable evolving software capabilities, not just point-in-time feature sets
  • Collaborating with Operations and manufacturing partners to drive design-for-manufacturing excellence and resolve production challenges
  • Contributing to multi-year product roadmap planning, including technology bets and platform decisions that span across the product line
  • Communicating product development status, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to executive leadership
  • This role requires comfort with ambiguity, the ability to hold both near-term execution rigor and long-term architectural thinking simultaneously, and strong instincts for when to push for elegance versus when to converge. You will operate across many organizations that don't share a single reporting structure, so influence, credibility, and genuine partnership matter as much as technical depth.
  • 10+ years experience in mechanical design, 8+ years in engineering management, preferably working experience in consumer electronics
  • BS in Mechanical Engineering or related field
  • Extensive experience in product development engineering, with significant time spent in engineering leadership roles, preferably in consumer electronics
  • Track record of shipping high-volume, tightly integrated electromechanical products from concept through mass production
  • Deep understanding of mechanical engineering fundamentals: materials, thermal management, structural analysis, tolerance systems, and manufacturing processes (injection molding, die casting, machining, stamping, extrusion, etc.)
  • Strong design validation background: FEA, tolerance analysis, failure analysis, DOE, prototype-driven development
  • Experience managing teams across multiple simultaneous programs at different lifecycle stages
  • MS or advanced degree in engineering
  • Experience leading product development for products where acoustic, optical, or sensor performance is central to the user experience
  • Demonstrated ability to drive system-level architecture decisions that span mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software domains
  • Familiarity with cost-driven design tradeoffs at scale, including silicon and module selection, BOM optimization, and platform reuse strategies
  • Experience building or restructuring product development organizations
  • Track record of effective cross-functional leadership in environments where key partners sit outside your reporting chain
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 $305,000 and $487,200, 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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