Apple Salary and Levels for Engineering Team

Apple uses a leveling system for engineering individual contributors (ICs) — often labelled ICT2, ICT3, ICT4, ICT5, ICT6 for software engineers.
Each level corresponds to increasing seniority, broader scope of ownership, greater impact, and higher compensation.

Understanding these levels helps you evaluate job offers, assess where you are in your career path, and plan for progression.

ICT2 – Entry Software Engineer

Typical Experience: ~0‑2 years (new graduate or early‑career engineer).
Role / Responsibilities:

• Works under supervision to deliver small features or modules.
• Learns Apple’s codebases, systems, development tools, production environment.
• Writes code, implements tests, fixes bugs, collaborates with senior engineers.
• Focus is on ramping, understanding product/engineering culture, fundamentals of software delivery.
  Compensation (U.S. Approx):
• Total compensation around US $170K–180K for entry software engineers at Apple, according to aggregated data (for example, ICT2 level shows ~US$174K total comp).
  Global/Context Notes:
• Data is less public for other locations; compensation will vary based on cost of living, local market, and stock/equity awards.
  Key Takeaways:
• Success at this level comes from reliable execution, increasing familiarity with production systems, good code quality, and collaboration.
• To progress: gain autonomy on tasks, deliver reliably, begin contributing to team design and coding with less oversight.

ICT3 – Software Engineer (Mid Level)

Typical Experience: ~2‑5 years (varies by domain and performance).
Role / Responsibilities:

• Own moderately complex features or modules end to end: design, implement, test, monitor.
• Make design decisions within scoped domains, contribute to architecture discussions for your team.
• Mentor interns or more junior engineers; collaborate with cross‑functional teams (product, design, QA).
• Ensure production reliability, performance, maintainability for your code.
  Compensation (U.S. Approx):
• Total compensation around US $250K–260K for ICT3 level, as per recent data (~US$251K).
  Global/Context Notes:
• Outside U.S., pay will typically be lower base and equity but adjusted for local markets.
  Key Takeaways:
• At this level you are expected to deliver with more independence, influence design, mentor others.
• For next level, you’ll need to handle larger modules, show impact beyond your immediate team, and perhaps influence cross‑team technical decisions.

ICT4 – Senior Software Engineer

Typical Experience: ~4‑8 years (depending on team and field).
Role / Responsibilities:

• Lead significant features, modules, or systems. Possibly responsible for delivery of a large subsystem.
• Define architecture/trade‑off decisions for reliability, performance, scalability in your domain.
• Mentor multiple engineers, participate in hiring and onboarding, influence team practices and code quality.
• Collaborate across teams or products; contribute to product roadmap discussions and technical strategy for your area.
  Compensation (U.S. Approx):
• Total compensation around US $368K for ICT4 level software engineers at Apple (e.g., base ~$216K + stock ~$127K + bonus ~$25K).
  Global/Context Notes:
• The difference between base salary vs total comp grows more significant at this level, especially equity/stock awards.
  Key Takeaways:
• This level is a transition into technical leadership: you’re expected not just to deliver, but to drive design and mentor broadly.
• To progress further you’ll need measurable impact (e.g., system reliability improvements, business metrics), cross‑team influence, and visibility.

ICT5 – Staff / Lead Software Engineer (Senior IC)

Typical Experience: ~7‑12 years (varies heavily).
Role / Responsibilities:

• Lead large systems or multiple modules with broad scope.
• Set technical strategy and architecture for your domain or multiple teams.
• Mentor senior engineers, shape hiring, technical culture, standards across teams.
• Influence product outcomes, align engineering with business strategy, may represent technical leadership externally.
  Compensation (U.S. Approx):
• Total compensation around US $512K for ICT5 at Apple (~base ~$251K + stock ~$221K + bonus ~$40K).
  Global/Context Notes:
• At this level, compensation/run‑rate/scope depends heavily on speciality (e.g., systems, AI, hardware) and location.
  Key Takeaways:
• This is senior technical leadership: you’re expected to define how things are built, influence many teams, and have measurable business impact.
• For next level, you should show company‑wide or industry‑level influence, strategic innovation, and broad leadership.

ICT6 – Principal / Distinguished Software Engineer

Typical Experience: ~10+ years, often top technical contributor.
Role / Responsibilities:

• Lead entire platforms, major product families, or company‑wide technical initiatives.
• Define long‑term vision, architecture, and technology strategy; mentor principal engineers and drive engineering practices at scale.
• Influence not just engineering teams but business strategy, external partners, standards, potentially market or industry directions.
  Compensation (U.S. Approx):
• Reported total compensation for ICT6 at Apple ranges up to US $744K or more for software engineers at this level.
• For example, one dataset reports software engineer compensation at Apple ranges from ~$174K (ICT2) to ~$744K (ICT6) in the U.S.
  Global/Context Notes:
• At this elite level, compensation often includes very large equity grants, long‑term incentives, and depends heavily on performance and business impact. Outside U.S., publicly reported numbers are scarcer but high for senior roles.
  Key Takeaways:
• At this level you are among the top technical contributors in the company; your scope is broad, strategic, and influential across the company or even industry.
• Coding may still happen but less frequently; more time may be spent on architecture, mentoring, strategic direction, and innovation.
• Advancement beyond this typically goes into executive/architectural leadership beyond individual contributor track.

Summary Table

*Approximation based on U.S. data; actual compensation may be higher depending on location, specialty, and equity.

Additional Context & Considerations

• Leveling Nomenclature: Apple uses “ICT” (Individual Contributor Technical) levels for engineering ICs; many roles just carry “Software Engineer” title plus level.
• Compensation Composition: At Apple the total compensation includes base salary + bonus + equity/RSUs. As you go higher levels, equity becomes more significant.
• Regional Variation & Specialty Premiums:
  • U.S. compensation tends to be highest in big tech hubs (e.g., Cupertino/Silicon Valley).
  • Data for UK, Canada, India is more limited; pay will typically adjust downward relative to U.S., but roles in those locations may include stock/RSUs as well.
  • Engineering specialties (AI/ML, systems, hardware, platform) often command premium compensation.
• IC vs Manager Track: These levels focus on Individual Contributor track. If you move into management (for example Engineering Manager, Director, etc.), titles and compensation paths differ.
• Offer Evaluation & Promotion Considerations:
  • When evaluating an offer at Apple, ask: what level (ICT2‑6) am I being hired at? What is the total compensation for that level in this location/team? What are the expectations (scope, ownership, mentoring, architecture)?
  • For promotion: advancing levels usually means: broader ownership → more technical leadership → strategic impact across teams/products → company‑wide/influential systems.

Understanding Apple’s engineering levels gives you a clear roadmap for your career, your progression, and compensation expectations. Whether you’re early in your career or aiming for senior technical leadership, this framework clarifies what’s expected at each level.

• Early Career (ICT2): Focus on ramping, delivering features, collaboration.
• Mid Career (ICT3‑ICT4): Focus on ownership, modules, mentoring, technical depth.
• Senior/Leadership IC (ICT5‑ICT6): Focus on platforms, architecture, mentoring broadly, influencing product/business strategy, high‑impact results.

With this understanding, you can better evaluate your offers, plan your career growth at Apple (or similar companies), and align your work with the next leap in responsibility and compensation.