Sr. Video Software Engineer, Camera & Photos
Software Engineering
Seattle, WA, USA
USD 175k-308,500 / year + Equity
Posted on Jul 12, 2026
iPhone is the most popular camera in the world, and increasingly it's the camera professionals reach for on film sets, in broadcast trucks, and at live events around the globe. The Pro Video Experiences team in the Camera & Photos org delivers Hollywood-level features that bridge the gap between iPhone's magic and the rigorous expectations of the world's most demanding users. As an engineer on our team, you'll architect and deliver the features that put iPhone in the hands of professional filmmakers, broadcast engineers, and creatives worldwide, working across the full stack from ISP to API while collaborating with industry partners and standards bodies who are shaping the future of professional media production. This is a unique space where deep systems engineering meets real-world creative workflows, and where the features you build end up on sets, in studios, and at live events consumed by millions of people.
We're looking for a senior software engineer who combines deep technical expertise with genuine fluency in professional video and cinema workflows. In this role, you'll architect and deliver features across the camera stack, from low-level ISP integration to public-facing APIs, while drawing on your understanding of how professional filmmakers, broadcast engineers, and app developers actually work. You'll navigate color science, image processing, and computational photography with the judgment to know what's practically right versus merely academically correct. You'll maintain relationships with industry partners and standards bodies, synthesize signals from conferences and customer conversations into forward-looking roadmap bets, and translate complex technical strategies into compelling narratives for audiences ranging from peer engineers to executive leadership. Experience building camera/video apps on Apple's platforms is a strong plus: we value engineers who understand the developer experience firsthand and can advocate for our customers with the credibility of someone who has lived in their shoes.
- Architect and deliver professional video features across the full camera stack, from ISP firmware interfaces to public AVFoundation APIs
- Engage directly with industry partners, standards bodies, and professional customers to gather requirements and validate technical direction
- Navigate complex cross-team dependencies across display, audio, networking, and silicon teams to drive features to completion
- Translate industry trends and customer needs into concrete engineering roadmaps and feature proposals
- Design APIs and frameworks with the developer experience in mind, ensuring third-party camera apps can adopt professional capabilities with minimal friction
- Mentor team members and contribute to architectural decisions that shape the long-term direction of Apple's pro video platform
- Represent the team's work to leadership through clear, compelling technical narratives tailored to the audience
- 8+ years of software engineering experience, with demonstrated ability to architect systems end-to-end
- Proven track record of independently driving complex, cross-team technical efforts from ambiguity to delivery
- Strong programming skills in Objective-C, C, C++, or Swift across both greenfield and legacy codebases
- Deep expertise in professional video technology: color science, video codecs, frame timing, signal transport, or broadcast workflows
- Experience working directly with professional video hardware, production environments, or broadcast infrastructure
- Excellent communication skills with demonstrated ability to present technical strategies to both engineering peers and senior leadership
- A CS degree or equivalent years of relevant industry experience
- Professional experience in broadcast, cinema, or live production technology
- Familiarity with industry timing and synchronization standards (PTP/IEEE 1588, timecode, genlock)
- Experience building apps or frameworks on Apple platforms (iOS, macOS)
- Demonstrated understanding of AVFoundation, Core Media, or Core Video
- Track record of engaging with external partners, customers, or standards bodies
- Experience with SDI, DisplayPort, or professional video signal transport
- Comfort navigating HDR workflows or real-time image processing pipelines