- Apple CEO Tim Cook has said the tech giant hires from "all walks of life."
- Apple lags behind in the AI wars, and Meta poached some of its top researchers.
- Federal filings reveal how much Apple pays machine learning staff and other key roles.
As the race for AI supremacy consumes Big Tech, Apple lags behind many of its peers.
Four of Apple's top AI researchers have defected to Meta in the past month, Bloomberg reported, and Apple has upped pay for researchers within its Apple Foundation Models (AFM) group, Bloomberg reported — another symptom of the ongoing talent wars.
Apple unveiled its Apple Intelligence AI platform last year. At this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, said Apple's work on Siri needed "more time."
That said, Apple is hiring for hundreds of roles in machine learning and AI, and nabbing a job at the company remains a dream for many.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a 2023 interview with the singer Dua Lipa that the company hires from "all walks of life," and he said he prizes qualities like collaboration, curiosity, and creativity.
"Fundamentally, we all believe that one plus one equals three," Cook said in the interview. "Your idea plus my idea is better than the individual ideas on their own."
In addition to competitive salaries, Apple offers various benefits, from stock grants to discounts on its products.
While Apple and other Big Tech firms don't disclose salary information publicly, the federal filings they make when hiring outside the US can hint at pay ranges for certain roles. That said, the data only refers to foreign hires and doesn't include equity or other benefits employees can receive on top of their base pay.
The Apple salary filings show a machine learning engineer or researcher can take home as much as $312,200, while a human interface designer can earn as much as $468,500.
Apple's data scientists can earn $322,400 in base pay, while software development engineers can pocket as much as $378,700.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Here's what Apple pays across other key roles, based on applications from the second quarter of 2025.
Engineering roles
CPU Implementation Engineering: $103,164 to $264,200
Design for Test Engineer: $131,352 to $293,800
Design Verification: $103,164 to $312,200
Electronics Engineer: $108,160 to $264,200
Engineering Project/Program Manager: $105,550 to $301,400
FE Engineering: $125,694 to $312,200
Hardware Development: $124,942 to $293,800
Hardware Systems Engineering: $125,495 to $378,700
Manufacturing Quality: $142,293 to $227,600
Module Design Engineer: $108,796 to $329,600
Physical Design Engineer: $101,982 to $341,200
Production Services Engineer: $122,800 to $293,800
Reliability Engineering: $128,300 to $264,200
RF/Analog/Mixed Signal Engineering: $131,352 to $312,200
Silicon Validation Engineering: $103,164 to $329,600
System Product Design Engineer: $103,164 to $312,200
Tools and Automation Engineer: $105,602 to $293,800
Wireless Systems Engineering: $128,300 to $312,200
Wireless Systems Validation Engineer: $126,672 to $312,200
Data roles
Data Engineer: $105,602 to $234,700
Data Scientist: $105,550 to $322,400
AI roles
Machine Learning: $126,880 to $329,600
Machine Learning Engineer: $143,100 to $312,200
Machine Learning Research: $114,100 to $312,200
Software development roles
AR/VR Software Development: $129,805 to $312,200
Human Interface Designer: $135,400 to $468,500
Software Developer: $132,267 to $264,200
Software Development Engineer: $132,267 to $378,700
Software Development Engineer - Applications: $132,267 to $378,700
Software Development Engineer - Data: $135,400 to $329,600
Software Development Engineer - Firmware: $126,880 to $312,200
Software Development Engineer - Test: $94,640 to $329,600
Software Development Engineering Manager: $166,691 to $378,700
Software Engineering Applications: $103,164 to $378,700
Software Engineering Applications Manager: $171,400 to $378,700
Software Engineering Systems: $126,880 to $329,600
Other types of roles
Professional Services Consultant: $100,200 to $258,700
Strategic Sourcing Manager: $110,600 to $286,400
Supply Demand Planning: $100,200 to $209,900
