Apple
Product Design Engineering Lead - Applied Research and Characterization
Austin, Texas · Full-time · Posted Sep 22, 2026
- Experience
- Minimum 5 years as an individual contributor on an R&D or test/measurement-focused team; preferred 3+ years managing a relevant team.
- Education
- BS in Mechanical Engineering or a similar technical discipline; advanced degrees are valued, but applicable hands-on experience is still required.
About the job
Leads an Austin product characterization team that builds measurement systems and delivers engineering data to guide hardware design decisions and improve customer experience.
What you'll do
- Lead, develop, and support engineers designing and building instrumented test and measurement systems.
- Partner with product design teams to develop custom mechanical characterizations and provide data for design decisions.
- Oversee lab operations and planning, including safety, equipment readiness, new capabilities, and prioritization of project requests.
What they ask for
- BS in Mechanical Engineering or a similar technical discipline.
- At least 5 years of individual-contributor experience on an R&D or test/measurement-focused team.
- Experience applying engineering first principles and using or designing multiple measurement systems; familiarity with sensors, data acquisition, and analog/digital signal processing.
- Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, JMP, or similar data analysis tools; experience with CAD and basic lab tools.
Nice to have
- Advanced degree; applicable hands-on experience is still required.
- 3+ years managing an R&D, test/measurement, or product design team with direct technical credibility.
Tools
Instron, MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, JMP, CAD
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