Engineering Program Manager — Ecodesign Strategy

Summary

Imagine what you could do here at Apple, where new ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish. At Apple, we deliver products, technologies, and services to inspire creativity and enrich lives. Apple has become one of the most recognized and trusted brands in the world. As such, we hold ourselves to the highest standards to maintain public and employee trust by ensuring regulatory compliance. Apple's commitment to environmental leadership extends to how every product is designed, built, used, and recovered. The Product Analysis and Compliance Engineering (PACE) team is at the center of that commitment — serving as the critical bridge between global regulatory teams, government affairs, legal, operations, and hardware engineering, to ensure Apple products meet and exceed the world's most ambitious ecodesign and sustainability regulations. We are seeking a senior Engineering Program Manager to lead complex, cross-functional programs that drive Apple's Ecodesign compliance strategy. In this role, you will interpret and influence ecodesign regulations — spanning energy efficiency, repairability, durability, recyclability, and material efficiency — into actionable compliance plans, lead stakeholder initiatives across Apple's hardware portfolio, and internal partners spanning the International Environmental Initiatives (IEI), Legal, and Government Affairs teams (among others) to shape the regulatory landscape. This is not a passive compliance or observer role — it is a leadership position where the incumbent will influence product design decisions, drive engineering teams toward regulatory readiness, assess compliance risk alongside legal partners, and help define how the electronics industry approaches circular, resource-efficient product design. If you thrive at the intersection of sustainable engineering, product design, and regulatory compliance — and excel at bringing order to complexity — we'd love to hear from you.

Description

We are looking for self-motivated, fast learners with excellent verbal and written communication skills who are eager to collaborate with multiple internal and external stakeholders to drive the adoption of innovative solutions through product design and engineering, directed at creating world-class products that meet the highest global standards for energy efficiency, repairability, and environmental performance. The ideal candidate will establish strong business relationships, understand their goals and objectives, and help navigate conflicts and competing priorities with diplomacy and data-driven insights.

Key Responsibilities

Own end-to-end program management for ecodesign regulatory compliance initiatives that span all of Apple's hardware product lines Develop and maintain comprehensive program plans — including schedules, milestones, Gantt charts, risk registers, and compliance implementation roadmaps — for regulatory initiatives affecting Apple hardware (e.g., EU Energy-related Products Directive (ErP) Lot 3, Lot 5, Lot 7, and emerging Lot X measures; the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR); the EU Batteries Regulation; France's Repairability and Durability Indices; US state-level right-to-repair legislation; and India's emerging e-waste and resource efficiency rules) Lead cross-functional working groups that bring together hardware engineering, product design, operations, supply chain, legal, product marketing, and government affairs to drive alignment on compliance strategies and timelines across the entire regulatory lifecycle — from proposal through enforcement Partner with International Environmental Initiatives (IEI), Legal, Marketing, Product Design, and Government Affairs to interpret draft regulations, assess compliance feasibility, develop Apple's positioning, and feed product design constraints back into the engineering organization Facilitate risk assessments to evaluate regulatory exposure across product categories — identifying impacts to product architecture, material selection, component accessibility, battery design, firmware/software update strategies, and spare parts availability — and propose mitigation strategies with clear decision frameworks Establish and maintain tools and processes to track global ecodesign regulatory developments across multiple jurisdictions and assess applicability to Apple's product portfolio Monitor and synthesize emerging regulatory trends in circular economy, digital product passports, carbon footprint declarations, and recyclability scoring methodologies to inform long-range product planning Drive program objectives and schedules, be calm in the face of uncertainty, and confident navigating ambiguity — unafraid to make the hard calls

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial/Systems Engineering, Sustainability Science, or a related technical discipline 8 to 10 years of experience in product environmental compliance, ecodesign, energy efficiency regulation, or a closely related field within consumer electronics, hardware manufacturing, or a regulated industry Excellent and rigorous program management skills Demonstrated expertise with global ecodesign regulations and frameworks including EU ErP (Energy-related Products Directive), ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation), EU Batteries Regulation, ENERGY STAR, EU Energy Labelling, and emerging repairability/durability scoring frameworks (e.g., France Repairability Index, EU Repair Score) Proven track record of leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs — including building project plans, managing schedules and dependencies, conducting risk assessments, and driving deliverables to completion Strong understanding of product lifecycle principles — including energy efficiency, material efficiency, design for disassembly, repairability, and end-of-life considerations as they apply to consumer electronics hardware Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate highly technical regulatory content into actionable guidance for engineering and business audiences Proficiency working with senior engineering leaders, and briefing executive audiences Demonstrated ability to influence without authority — aligning cross-functional teams (engineering, legal, operations, supply chain) around shared compliance objectives Willingness and ability to travel internationally (estimated 10–20%)

Preferred Qualifications

MSME/MSEE or MBA preferred, but not required Direct experience implementing or evaluating products for compliance to EU ecodesign or EU energy regulated products regulations, particularly Monitors/Displays, Standby/Networked devices, External Power Supplies, computers, smartphones and tablets, or equivalent regulations. Experience with product energy testing, energy modeling, or energy efficiency certification programs Familiarity with lifecycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, carbon footprint accounting, or environmental product declarations (EPDs) Working knowledge of consumer electronics hardware design and manufacturing processes — including an understanding of how regulatory constraints translate into product architecture decisions Experience engaging with regulatory bodies, standards organizations (IEC, CENELEC, IEEE), or industry consortia on ecodesign policy development