Apple Pulls 'Cloud' References from Job Advertisement

An advertisement for “Cloud Systems Software Engineer” has been spotted on Apple’s website, fueling speculation that Cupertino is actively building a team to handle its revamped MobileMe. The position has since been renamed to “Web Services Software Engineer,” without any notice from Apple.

Originally discovered by AppleInsider bearing references to ‘cloud’ computing, the job posting says, “Consider joining a small team writing the software which forms the foundation for some of our most exciting new products and services.”

The new recruit needs to be “an extremely capable engineer who has a strong background in web services development, and who has built high-performance, scalable and extensible systems.” (emphasis ours)

This person is being assigned what Apple calls a “highly visible position,” which comes with a great deal of responsibilities, including collaborating with cross-functional engineering teams “to define and implement some of the company's core backend platform frameworks and systems.”

In order to apply for the job, candidates are required a minimum of 2 years experience designing, implementing and supporting highly scalable applications and web services, as well as experience programming to and deploying on RDBMS systems.

Other requirements include multithreaded or event-driven programming; excellent analytical and problem solving skills; excellent written and verbal communication skills; and the ability to thrive in a cross-functional team on high profile, critical projects.

Apple’s plans for the ‘cloud’ are said to be strongly tied to iOS 5, an upcoming version of the company’s mobile operating system powering iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.

Many expect the company to preview iOS 5 at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, though no hardware (iPhone 5) announcements are expected.

Apple’s new cloud service is believed to be a revamped version of MobileMe backed by a server farm located in North Carolina.