Software Development Engineer - iOS for Keyboard
Apple
Software Engineering
Cupertino, CA, USA
USD 147,400-272,100 / year + Equity
Posted on May 19, 2026
Join the Keyboard Infrastructure team to build and maintain the foundational systems that power keyboard behavior across iOS & iPadOS. You'll own keyboard focus, lifecycle management, and the APIs that apps use to interact with keyboard layout — directly impacting every text input experience on iPhone and iPad.
Design, develop, and maintain the keyboard focus system, ensuring correct and predictable focus behavior across complex app hierarchies Own keyboard lifecycle management — presentation, dismissal, transitions, and state restoration Build and maintain APIs for keyboard layout that apps rely on for positioning, insets, and animation coordination Ensure keyboard infrastructure works reliably across multitasking, Stage Manager, and diverse app architectures Collaborate with UIKit, SwiftUI, and framework teams to provide consistent keyboard behavior Debug and resolve complex issues spanning focus engines, responder chain, and windowing Write clear documentation and provide guidance to internal and external developers adopting keyboard layout APIs
- What Sets You Apart
- You think in terms of contracts and invariants — your APIs are hard to misuse
- You care about edge cases: split view, external keyboards, hardware/software transitions
- You can trace a bug from an app's unexpected behavior down through the responder chain to a lifecycle timing issue
- You balance stability and evolution, keeping existing adopters working while enabling new platform features
- BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience
- 2+ years of experience in iOS/macOS development (Swift, Objective-C)
- Strong foundation in systems programming, state management, and framework design
- Experience designing or maintaining public APIs
- Deep knowledge of UIKit internals — responder chain, UIWindow, UIScene, and view layout systems
- Familiarity with keyboard avoidance, input accessory views, and text input architecture (UITextInput, UIKeyInput)
- Experience shipping frameworks or infrastructure used by other engineering teams
- Understanding of accessibility requirements for keyboard and focus interactions
- Track record of diagnosing and fixing subtle lifecycle and state-management bugs