What is it Like to Work as a Computer Engineer at Apple?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Updated on:

Working at Apple is the dream of many people. In 2023, the company was ranked seventh among the top companies worth working for in the US. One of the main reasons is that they offer attractive salaries and benefits to their employees.

What Do Computer Engineers Do at Apple?

As a computer engineer (or software engineer) at Apple, you’ll mostly be responsible for the same jobs as many other tech companies. It includes the design, testing, implementation, development, improvement, and maintenance of their software.

In addition, you will work with many of their technical and business teams to conceptualize and build new software or services.

Tim Cook presentation: Hardware, Services, Software

To be accepted into this position at this company, you need to meet the following criteria:

  • Understand and have experience in handling databases such as NoSQL, Oracle, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Couchbase.
  • You need to have a solid knowledge of Java/J2EE programming. You also need to understand microservices architecture with many web services, such as Spring, Spring Boot, SOA, Hibernate.
  • You need a good understanding of software engineering using Agile methods. Knowledge of working with Cloud systems is required as well.
  • You also need solid experience in Streaming Frameworks like Spark, Apache Kafka, or Flink.

How to Get a Computer Engineer Job at Apple?

Whether you prefer a front-end solution or develop iOS apps and games, Apple has the place for you. All you need to do is beat other formidable candidates.

Resume

You will have to pass three interviews to be accepted into this company in most cases.

Hiring Manager Phone Screen

It is the first round of interviews that you have to pass as an applicant for the software engineer position. Employers will get an overarching idea of your resume and work experience through this round. 

They will also discuss with you the position you are applying for. Here are some questions they often ask candidates:

  • Please briefly introduce yourself.
  • Why do you think our company will be right for you?
  • Why do you choose our company?
  • What do you like most about us?
  • What do you already know about this company?
  • What challenges will you face when leading a project?
  • In the next five years, how far can you go?

Technical Phone Screen

It is the second round of interviews that you need to pass, which lasts about 45 minutes. Engineers from this company will test the candidate’s technical knowledge and coding skills. They will also likely ask you about the experiences you mentioned on your CV or questions related to such things.

The topics they will test you on in this round are:

  • Dynamic Programming
  • Data Structures
  • Algorithms

After completing the technical rounds, they may also give you a homework assignment.

Onsite Round

It is the final round of interviews. It usually takes place on-site, and you can expect this to last several hours. 

After passing this interview round, you will become a software engineer at Apple.

This round consists of four to five interviews with core teams at Apple. Each interview lasted for 60 minutes. Generally, they are technical interviews, including a behavioral round with the recruiter and a system design interview.

You must go through a system design interview if you have three to five years of experience. On the other hand, if you are entry-level, a technical interview instead will take place for you.

For its technical rounds, recruiters will test you on the following topics:

  • Trees
  • Graphs
  • Data Structures
  • Dynamic Programming

Alternatively, they might ask the candidate to solve an algorithm by providing a whiteboard solution for their technical interview rounds.

What Are Tips for Preparing for Apple Interviews?

Applying for the position of Apple computer engineer is not easy. But it doesn’t mean it is impossible. Here are some tips that you can apply to succeed in their interviews.

Read More About Apple

You need to know all their public information, including their work culture and principles. Employers highly appreciate this issue. You should also be familiar with the projects they are working on.

Working on projects

You should make a significant contribution to your major software engineering projects. Recruiters will discuss it in your interviews.

Please Give Feedback

You should practice your coding skills regularly. It is wise to sign up for specialist courses. Alternatively, you can practice mock interviews with your loved ones.

Always Confident!

During interview rounds, show confidence, even when you face tough challenges. If you fail this time, admit your mistake to try harder next time. You will have significant experiences to get better!

Complete Your CV

Your CV is what gets you that first interview. Hence, you should perform a thorough check to eliminate any mistakes. In addition, you can ask friends and colleagues to check for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.  Does Apple Pay Engineers Well?

While their not as loving to engineers as Facebook and Google is, this company still pays hardware and software engineers well above the rest of the staff

2. What Is the Salary of an Apple Software Engineer?

An early-level software engineer can get a total salary of $176,000. Meanwhile, a senior engineer can expect to get around $318,000.

3. What do computer engineers do?

They typically build devices, design computer networks, and develop new technologies.

Conclusion

Hopefully, we have helped you feel more confident before facing Apple interviews. So, practice your professional skills well and prepare yourself for maximum confidence.

Who knows, you might be the next potential computer engineer of this company! Thank you for reading!