Color Material Finish : Engineering Program Manager
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Nov 11, 2026. First seen by Alion on Jul 31, 2025. Apple scores A on the Alion truth index.
Industrial Design (ID) at Apple focuses on the physical hardware experience, encompassing color, materials, finishes, digital sculpting, rendering, and physical prototyping. The discipline sits at the intersection of nearly every major function at the company, working seamlessly with Product Design Engineering, Manufacturing, Marketing, Human Interface Design, and Human Factors to bring ideas to life.
The Apple Design Team is seeking a Color Material Finish (CMF) Engineering Program Manager. This is a fast-paced, collaborative position where you will work to deliver world-class colors, materials, and finishes for all Apple products. The right candidate will have outstanding organizational skills and be able to see multiple projects through from design exploration to engineering development all the way to manufacturing, while working with multiple groups internal and external to Apple.
Description
Color EPMs are responsible for tracking, managing and driving multiple color palettes for multiple products, all with different lead times and release dates. They must juggle multiple project schedules in order to ensure the deadlines for color design decisions and engineering builds are met. A huge part of the job entails ownership of hundreds of physical samples and documents that are crucial for the product development cycle.
Minimum Qualifications
Strong organizational skills with proven experience tracking complex projects and distilling large amounts of information into clear next steps.
Technical or professional experience in materials science, engineering, consumer products, textiles, fashion, or automotive.
Comfortable in a fast-paced environment and quick to pivot when priorities or timelines shift.
Clear, effective verbal and written communication across both creative and technical teams.
High emotional intelligence, with the ability to read urgency, filter noise, and know when to escalate or start important conversations.
Self-motivated and comfortable working independently, while staying deeply collaborative and open to feedback.
Proficient in Keynote, Numbers, and Excel.
BS or advanced degree in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Textile Engineering, or a related field.
In lieu of a degree, 10+ years of relevant industry experience.
Preferred Qualifications
Prior experience directly supporting industrial designers, color designers, or materials specialists.
A strong interest in or curiosity about the fundamentals of color science, surface finishing, or appearance measurement.
Experience handling physical samples, tracking prototype builds, or interfacing with vendors and lab teams.