Wireless Systems Engineer — 6G Cellular Modem

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  • Apple
  • San Diego, CA
  • Full-Time
  • 3 days ago
Published
May 19, 2026
Location
San Diego, CA
Category
Job Type

Wireless Systems Engineer — 6G Cellular Modem: our view in 3 lines...

  • The Role: An experienced wireless systems engineer will design and validate end-to-end cellular algorithms and architectures to advance Apple's transition from 5G to 6G.
  • The Person: The person will develop and simulate PHY algorithms, work across standards and hardware architecture, perform silicon bring-up and validation, and optimise performance and power for cellular modems.
  • Requirements: The role requires strong knowledge of 6G/5G NR/4G LTE 3GPP standards, LDPC Polar and Turbo coding, OFDM and MIMO techniques, MATLAB, C/C++, Python, and experience with silicon bring-up and RF lab equipment.

Job Description

At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences — fast. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. Dynamic, sensible people and inspiring, innovative technologies are the norm here. Join us to help deliver the next groundbreaking Apple product.

Description

We're looking for a Wireless Systems Engineer to join our cellular systems engineering team as we define and build the next generation of cellular technology. This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of wireless communication at a company that ships at global scale as we transition towards 6G. In this role, you'll bring an end-to-end view of wireless systems — spanning 3GPP standards, algorithm design, hardware architecture, and silicon validation — to deliver leading-edge performance and power optimizations that directly improve the user experience across Apple products. If you thrive at the intersection of deep technical theory and hands-on bring-up — and you're excited about pushing beyond 5G into the 6G era — we want to hear from you.

Minimum Qualifications

BS and a minimum of 20 years relevant industry experience
Strong knowledge of cellular communication standards: 6G (emerging), 5G NR, 4G LTE — particularly RAN1 3GPP.
Deep expertise in communication system theory and signal processing: LDPC, Polar, and Turbo coding; signal estimation and detection; AGC; RF impairment estimation and correction; channel estimation; OFDM; MIMO detection; waveform generation and up-sampling.
Proficiency in MATLAB, C/C++, and/or Python for algorithm development, fixed/floating-point modeling, and link-level simulation.
Experience leveraging Generative AI and LLM-based tools to accelerate engineering workflows — e.g., algorithm prototyping, code generation, simulation analysis, or technical documentation

Preferred Qualifications

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Communications, or Signal Processing, with 20+ years of relevant industry experience is preferred.
Experience in low-power algorithm design for power-constrained mobile platforms.
Experience in end-to-end timeline analysis for latency-critical PHY processing chains.
Hands-on silicon bring-up experience, including use of lab equipment: protocol testers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters.
Strong mathematical foundations: linear algebra, stochastic processes, detection & estimation theory.
Familiarity with 3GPP standardization processes, RAN2, RAN4 topics and emerging 6G study items (e.g., AI/ML for air interface, sub-THz bands, joint communication and sensing, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces).
Track record of published research or patents in wireless communications is a plus.

Key Skills
? Key Skills in dark blue have been inferred based on similar industry roles
C/C++ 3GPP Standards (5G/4G/6G) OFDM/MIMO Signal Processing Ldpc/polar/turbo Coding Link-level Simulation Silicon Bring-up And RF Lab Equipment LLM Prototyping Python ML MATLAB C

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