AUSTIN

Years before she joined Apple, Camara had a clear — and ambitious — vision for her career. “I wanted to work on difficult problems that could have a global impact. And I knew I could do that at Apple.”

In Apple’s Material Recovery Lab in Austin, Camara has found her challenge: how to sustainably handle todayʼs electronic waste. “My team researches new secondary uses for materials that are commonly lost or unrecovered.” They’re succeeding, and she cites her team’s rare combination of attention to detail and quick, decisive action. “Here, those attributes don’t compete — they collaborate.”

“At Apple, teamwork is rewarded,” says Camara. “That’s how you make it across the finish line. It’s like our secret sauce, but not so secret, because we expect it from everyone, at every level.” She seems to be thriving in this culture. “We’re people with different professional backgrounds and expertise, working together to focus on common goals — even over lunch at Caffè Macs.”

Camara ensures that a range of perspectives is always welcome. “We want everyone to feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their ideas, especially if those ideas haven’t been discussed. This is invaluable when we’re trying to solve some really tough problems — which is what I came here to do.”

A desire to gain a range of skills and experience has guided Topher throughout his career at Apple. “I’ve always been someone who wanted to try out new things. The bigger the challenge, the better.” This mindset eventually led Topher from a role in Apple Retail to the silicon development lab in Austin.

“My work involves a lot of prototyping, so we’re doing things I haven’t done before. We’re always working to find ways to push things, to do better. There’s a mystery to it — then we solve it.” Topher also recognises the impact his work has on both Apple products and customers. “The silicon we’re developing will affect the experience of millions of people around the world. I love that.”

As a newer member of the team, Topher is working alongside colleagues with years of silicon expertise, and that has been especially motivating for him. “I’m inspired to do my best, because when I walk in here, I know that the seriously talented people around me are doing their best.”

Topher isn’t sure where his ambition will take him next at Apple, but he does know that he’ll be supported along the way. “The more I show that I’m ready for new responsibilities, the more opportunities I’ll find. It’s like when I started: I really believed in myself. And people here recognised that — Apple knew I was ready for more.”

Ramani has watched Apple Austin grow over the years. “There’s a great deal of expansion happening here. I’ve seen more and more opportunities for engineers to explore roles and share their experience across teams.”

She’s also seen Women@Apple in Austin — a Diversity Network Association she co-chairs — grow to over 3,000 members. “It’s so empowering to have this community here. We’re offering even more mentorships and professional development training.”

Collaboration also plays an important part in Ramani’s work. “We’re able to deliver great results because of our team culture. We want everyone to ask a lot of questions and engage in debate, so we can solidify our ideas.”

Ramani credits the success of her team to their willingness and capacity to connect. “We’re here to do amazing work, and we succeed because we really care about each other as people. That builds trust. For example, my work with Women@Apple is supported and truly appreciated by my colleagues, my manager and our other leaders here. It’s seen as important. This culture also makes it easier to reach out for help — or accept help. Honestly, it just feels good to be on a team and at a place that understands that.”

Marc joined Apple over nine years ago as a Support Advisor in Austin, and has since used various development programmes to explore the range of positions available. “Apple gives us different ways to evolve professionally to match our interests.”

One programme in particular gave Marc the opportunity to spend several months in a completely different role. “It was great — it allowed me to get a feel for the work and to see if the role was a good fit before committing to a long-term change.”

Marc’s growth has been personal as well as professional. “Before I started here, I was out, but I wasn’t really comfortable bringing my authentic self to work. The community here, however, is remarkably supportive. I brought my partner to our first team social event, no hesitation.”

Helping others feel supported is important to Marc as well. He’s served as co-chair of the Pride@Apple Diversity Network Association (DNA) in Austin and is a member of the campus’s Women@Apple DNA. Marc thinks of the Austin Pride Parade as one of the more visible examples of belonging where he works. “It’s been inspiring to see thousands of Apple people marching together — in our Apple-designed Pride T-shirts — including much of our Austin leadership and our families. Apple really shows up. It’s meant so much to me and the community.”

Originally a systems electrical engineer at Apple in Cupertino, Kofi relocated to Austin to help build out a new Mac and iPad team. Today, he’s focused on building a Mac Studio systems engineering team. “At first, there were only four of us, but we’ve grown exponentially ever since. I’m proud of the work we’re doing, and we continue to invest in our teams, so there are exciting things to come.”

Although Kofi is happy to be part of Austin’s noted tech community, he also says it’s an inspiring place to live every other part of his life. When he’s not catching live music, he’s kayaking down the river that runs through the city. “Austin has great energy — there really is something for everyone.”

In this setting, Kofi sees Apple as a place where curious people are always finding new ways to thrive. “Your neurons are constantly firing — being surrounded by differing perspectives encourages creativity.”

Now in a leadership role, Kofi devotes more time towards the career growth of others. He wants his team to know they have the freedom to think differently, just as he’s had. “Here, ideas are generated by anyone and everyone. I want my team to feel like they can reimagine the way we do what we do.”