Apple Hiring for New Machine Learning Division Following Turi Acquisition

Following its recent acquisition of Turi, a Seattle-based machine learning and artificial intelligence startup, a pair of new job listings reveal that Apple has spun the company into its new machine learning division.


Apple is looking to hire data scientists and advanced app developers, based in Seattle, who together will help build proof-of-concept apps for multiple Apple products to deliver new and improved user experiences where possible.

Turi is the new machine learning division at Apple. We build tools that enable teams across Apple to develop machine learning solutions to power amazingly intelligent user experiences. We are looking for new energetic members to join our ML Applications team to collaborate with product teams on a variety of proof-of-concept projects.

Many of those improvements driven by machine learning were highlighted in a recent profile about Apple's artificial intelligence efforts, including improved Siri accuracy, app suggestions, and several other examples:

You see it when the phone identifies a caller who isn’t in your contact list (but did email you recently). Or when you swipe on your screen to get a shortlist of the apps that you are most likely to open next. Or when you get a reminder of an appointment that you never got around to putting into your calendar. Or when a map location pops up for the hotel you’ve reserved, before you type it in. Or when the phone points you to where you parked your car, even though you never asked it to. These are all techniques either made possible or greatly enhanced by Apple’s adoption of deep learning and neural nets.

Apple is seeking data scientists with a minimum of 3 years experience with machine learning, with a focus on deep learning, natural language processing, image applications, recommenders, physical sensors, and signal processing.

Turi was designed to help developers build apps with artificial intelligence capabilities that automatically scale. It developed the Turi Machine Learning Platform, GraphLab Create, and Turi Predictive Services, used for functions like recommendations, fraud detection, sentiment analysis, and more.

Apple has expanded its presence in Seattle, so it is likely the new hires will accompany existing Turi employees that have remained in the area.