Restore Tools Engineer

Job Position : Restore Tools Engineer

Job Location: On-site in San Diego office 5 days/week, Monday through Friday

FullTime / Direct Hire (Only local candidates needed)

Job Description

Role Summary

Restore Tools Engineer responsible for the integration, development, documentation, support, and sustainment of the restore infrastructure with AirPods hardware and associated diagnostic tools (APA).This role creates a dedicated owner for restore tool integration and support bridging the gap betweenthe restore platform and AirPods hardware. The role works alongside key firmware engineers who co-DRI restore tools for their respective hardware targets. This role focuses on tools around our hardware not firmware development.

Responsibilities

Core Integration & Development

• Develop, test, and maintain software shims and configurations to enable compatibility between theplatform restore environment and AirPods hardware
• Author and maintain restore sequences for upcoming hardware programs using the bespoke JSON-based sequencing tool
• Support the majority of cross-functional use-cases for automation and bench development,maintaining >99% reliability as measured by APFW CI tools
• Collaborate cross-functionally with key developers to ensure required features for the restoreprocess are in place for each hardware program
• Align with existing presubmission testing pipelines to regularly integrate development
• Implement enhancements to the restore tools in response to recurring restore challenges and userfeedback
• Streamline tools and processes based on frequent triage, support, and customer pain-point areas

Support & Documentation

• Act as a key point of contact for triage and debugging support for the hundreds of users across thecompany who leverage the restore tools, assisting via Slack and other communication channels
• Perform firmware-level triage of restore failures, including analysis of serial interfaces, USBcommunication, and embedded DFU flows
• Create and maintain comprehensive triage and debugging documentation in Confluence, capturingsolutions and best practices derived from real-time support and tool updates
• Actively update Confluence documentation after every support instance
• Target <5 restore escalations during sustainment periods (non-regression periods)
• Collaborate with hardware and software engineering teams to understand system requirements anddependencies for new and existing products
• Explore opportunities to build automated triage tooling (e.g., AI-powered chatbot) to assist userswith self-service troubleshooting and reduce manual support load

Sustainment & Reliability

• Own the ongoing sustainment of the restore tool suite, focusing on maintaining and improvinglong-term reliability and performance
• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve hardware/software integration issues to ensure a reliable andseamless device restore process

Qualifications

Required

• 5+ years of software development experience in tools, automation, or infrastructure for embedded systems
• Strong Python scripting skills; familiarity with firmware/embedded development workflows
• General understanding of shell programming (Bash/Zsh)
• Proficiency with git version control
• B.S. degree (or equivalent) in software engineering, embedded systems engineering, computer science, or related field
• Experience with device restore, flashing, or provisioning toolchains
• Understanding of serial interfaces (UART, SPI), USB device communication, and embedded DFU flows
• Background in firmware triage and debugging embedded systems
• Comfortable working with command-line tools on macOS or Linux
• Strong written and verbal communication skills this role supports hundreds of cross-functional users and is heavily collaborative
• Meticulous, highly organized, and able to thrive in fast-paced environments with frequent context switches

Preferred

• Experience working with CI/CD pipelines for embedded hardware
• Understanding of hardware security, device personalization, or signing infrastructure
• Background in AI/ML ability to build automated triage tools or AI-powered chatbots for user support
• Experience creating and maintaining technical documentation in Confluence or similar wiki platforms

Requirements

• On-site in San Diego office 5 days/week, Monday through Friday
• Working hours: 9AM 5PM Pacific (~8 hours with breaks)