Software Engineer · Morgan Hill, CA

David Stites

I build elegant solutions to difficult problems. Fifteen years at Apple working on Core Data, iOS platform features, location & motion systems, and privacy engineering.

About Me

Hello! I'm David, a software engineer based in Morgan Hill, California. I love beautiful code and creating elegant solutions to difficult problems.

My expertise is primarily in development using C, Objective-C, and Swift — with deep experience building frameworks and systems that developers and customers rely on every day at scale.

Swift Objective-C C Core Data iOS watchOS macOS CloudKit Machine Learning Privacy Engineering DSP / Firmware Java

Experience

Apple
Apr 2020 –
Present
Software Engineer — Core Data
Cupertino, California

Core Data is the framework developers use to manage the model layer objects in their applications. Provides generalized and automated solutions to common tasks associated with object life cycle and object graph management, including persistence.

Apple
Oct 2014 –
Apr 2020
Software Engineer — Location & Motion
Cupertino, California

Designed, analyzed, and implemented location-based and motion-based features, technologies, and systems across iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS — with an emphasis on machine learning.

Apple
May 2012 –
Oct 2014
Privacy Engineer
Cupertino, California

Designed, analyzed, and audited shipping and pre-release features and systems. Partnered with development teams to protect customer privacy while delivering great experiences. Advocated and educated Apple teams about privacy-related technology and best practices.

EW Defense Systems
May 2010 –
Mar 2012
Software Engineer
Peyton, Colorado

Designed, developed, tested, and maintained DSP firmware for RF signal detection, collection, and analysis of electronic counter measures (ECM) for the U.S. Air Force. Implemented Java front-end interfaces for operator control.

Coupious, LLC
May 2009 –
May 2010
iOS Software Developer
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Developed the Coupious iOS application — an on-demand, location-based, instantly redeemable coupons platform.

Hewlett-Packard
Aug 2007 –
May 2009
Firmware Engineer
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Developed support for RAID6 and solid state drives within firmware for enterprise class storage arrays. Triaged and fixed defects.

Education

M.S. Computer Science
University of Colorado
December 2012
B.S. Computer Science
Purdue University
May 2007

Patents

US 10,117,046 · Issued October 30, 2018
Discrete Location Classification

A method for identifying the location of a mobile device by measuring signal properties of nearby devices, creating clustered data points over time, and matching new measurements against established clusters to infer location context.

US 10,091,303 · Issued October 2, 2018
Using In-Home Location Awareness

Techniques for suggesting accessory devices controlled by an application, using sensor-based clustering to associate accessories with physical locations and surface relevant controls at the right moment.

US 9,529,500 · Issued March 21, 2017
Variable Anonymous Identifier Value

Systems and methods for allowing a device identifier delivered to content providers to be altered on demand or automatically, providing meaningful user anonymity without sacrificing functionality.

US 9,529,500 · Issued December 26, 2016
Application Recommendation Based on Detected Triggering Events

An event-detection system that applies prediction models and contextual device state to surface a prioritized set of applications most likely to be accessed by the user in a given context.

Publications & Speaking

WWDC 2023
What's New in Core Data

Elevate your app's data persistence with improvements in Core Data. Covers composite attributes, disruptive schema migration, deferred migrations, and reducing on-device overhead.

Watch on Apple Developer ↗
WWDC 2022
Evolve Your Core Data Schema

How to cleanly migrate Core Data schemas after app updates, use built-in migration tools, and handle CloudKit schema interactions during migrations.

Watch on Apple Developer ↗
WWDC 2021
Showcase App Data in Spotlight

Discover how Core Data can surface app data in Spotlight with minimal code, customize how data appears on device, and implement full-text search driven by Spotlight indexing.

Watch on Apple Developer ↗
Master's Thesis · December 2012
Preventing User and Hardware Tracking in Mobile Devices

Addresses the existing privacy problem of user and hardware tracking in mobile devices — including cross-correlated advertising profiles — through a framework supporting randomly generated, disposable hardware addresses.

Read full text ↗
WWDC 2014 · Session 715
User Privacy on iOS and OS X
WWDC 2013 · Session 714
Protecting Your Users' Privacy

Contact

My inbox is always open — whether for a potential project or just to say hello, I'll do my best to respond.

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