
Digital ASIC Architect
Required skills
- Digital ASIC architecture
- Motion sensing
- ASICs
- Spatial computing
- Gesture input
- Head-tracked audio
- Crash detection
- Fall detection
- iPhone
- iPad
Nice to have
- Sensor ASICs
- Mixed-signal systems
- Processor sub-system definition
- DSP sub-system definition
- Memory architecture
- Bus architecture
Role summary
Apple is seeking a Digital ASIC Architect to define the architecture for next-generation motion-aware experiences. This role involves designing sensing ASICs for products like iPhone, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro, enabling features such as spatial computing and gesture input. You will analyze applications, define cost and power-optimized digital systems, and create detailed specifications from concept to silicon. This is a highly cross-functional position requiring collaboration with various engineering and product teams to deliver cutting-edge motion sensing hardware.
Description
As a Digital ASIC Architect on the Motion Sensing Hardware team, you will own the digital architecture of motion sensing ASICs from concept through silicon, with the goal of delivering best-in-class sensing experiences across Apple's product line. You will analyze the application, then define cost and power optimized digital systems built around one or more processors, DSP cores, and custom control engines. You will translate high-level user and product requirements into a realizable system, build the high-level models that prove out the architecture, and author the detailed specifications that drive the rest of the IC development. This is a highly cross-functional role. You will work with circuit design, firmware, algorithms, software, and product teams to identify the critical interactions between the ASIC and the broader product, and you will produce the architectures and specifications that become the silicon Apple ships and the features customers feel.
Minimum Qualifications
BS in Electrical Engineering or related field with a minimum of 10 years of relevant industry experience Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Preferred Qualifications
Deep expertise in digital ASIC architecture for sensor or mixed-signal systems, including processor and DSP sub-system definition, memory and bus architecture, and custom control engine micro-architecture Proven track record of defining and taping out high-volume, complex digital and mixed-signal ICs from architecture through production Strong foundation in system-level design, requirements development, and hardware/firmware partitioning for sensing or low-power embedded applications Experience developing sensing algorithms and signal processing pipelines, with the modeling skills to evaluate them before silicon Experience with IC bring-up, silicon characterization, and system-level debug Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, C/C++, or SystemC for high-level modeling and simulation
Sample Apple interview questions
- 1
Design a typeahead box for a search engine
system designmedium - 2
Design a rate limiter
system designmedium - 3
Architect a key-value store for distributed systems.
system designmedium - 4
Design a system to schedule jobs in a distributed environment
system designmedium - 5
What is an API and how does it work?
technicalmedium
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