Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming extraordinary products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there"s no telling what you could accomplish. \\n\\nThe people here at Apple don’t just create products — they create the kind of wonder that’s revolutionized entire industries. It’s the diversity of those people and their ideas that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do, from amazing technology to industry-leading environmental efforts. Join Apple, and help us leave the world better than we found it. \\n\\nThe Strategic Lead, Materials Development \u0026 Decarbonization partners with Product Design and Manufacturing Design teams to embed environmental and manufacturability considerations into material selection decisions at the earliest product development stages. In this strategic hands-on role, you will have direct frequent communication and collaboration with Apple Product Design Materials, Environmental teams, and global raw material vendors. This role is empowered and expected to influence critical material decisions upstream, translating complex vendor capabilities and decarbonization timelines into clear business and technical trade-offs for leadership.
You will lead the development and implementation of material selection strategy and decarbonization roadmaps across Apple"s primary materials (alloys and polymers) used as the building blocks of Apple"s products. You will collaborate closely with colleagues in Product Design Materials, Global Supply Management, Industrial Design, Quality Engineering, and the Environmental team to ensure material decisions meet product quality, manufacturability, cost, yield, capacity, schedule, and decarbonization goals.\\n\\n\\n\\n
You will be expected to:\\nEmbed with Product Design Materials teams to understand 2-3 year material roadmaps; provide manufacturing and decarbonization perspective to influence material selection decisions upstream before requirements lock-in\\nOwn comprehensive decarbonization roadmap for alloys; identify pathways to lower-carbon alternatives; manage vendor feasibility, timeline complexity, and cost trade-offs across US and global production\\nMap carbon reduction pathways across top polymer families; identify material swap opportunities and align on supplier capabilities and timelines\\nBuild business cases for decarbonization initiatives; quantify carbon impact, cost implications, schedule feasibility, and manufacturing trade-offs\\nCoordinate weekly with embedded Alloys and Polymers Specialists (Cupertino and APO sites) on vendor timelines, feasibility assessments, and execution priorities\\nMaintain regular strategic alignment with Product Design, Environmental team, Global Supply Management, and Line of Business teams on feasibility, timelines, and cost implications of decarbonization choices\\nEscalate schedule or feasibility conflicts to Department Lead; provide recommendations on trade-offs between environmental goals and product requirements\\nSupport vendor negotiations and feasibility discussions on decarbonization commitments; co-own decarbonization conversations with Global Supply Management\\n\\nYou may be asked to lead development in one or more of the following areas:\\nEarly material influence: Partner with PD Materials to influence material selection for all new products, ensuring decarbonization and manufacturability are considered from inception\\nAlloys decarbonization roadmap: Develop vendor feasibility roadmaps and carbon reduction pathways for aluminum electrification initiatives\\nPolymer decarbonization strategy: Map carbon reduction pathways and supplier strategies across material families; identify material swap opportunities\\nCross-material carbon prioritization: Identify and prioritize decarbonization opportunities across all primary materials; build business cases for initiatives\\nVendor coordination: Lead decarbonization discussions with raw material suppliers; align on carbon reduction timelines and feasibility\\n\\n
5+ years of experience in materials engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply chain strategy, or similar roles with demonstrated influence on cross-functional decisions\\nDeep knowledge of primary metals (aluminum, stainless steel, Titanium) or polymer processing, material characterization, and supply chain dynamics\\nBS or higher in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering with materials emphasis, Environmental Science, or related fields preferred. MBA or equivalent experience in strategy and program management preferred.
Experience translating environmental and sustainability goals into technical roadmaps and vendor negotiations\\nStrong cross-functional leadership without direct authority; ability to influence through technical credibility and relationship building\\nDemonstrated project and program management at enterprise scale\\nCommunicates technical and business information clearly and persuasively in both written and verbal forms, adapting content to suit the intended audience\\nEmploys project management tools to effectively plan and track work to completion; diligent and reliable in executing tasks independently\\nExperience in decarbonization, lifecycle assessment (LCA), or sustainable material development preferred\\nExperience working with highly cosmetic parts or products is preferred\\n
