DEST

A Distinguished Engineer, Scientist or Technologist (DEST) is a high-level Apple employee who has been recognized for extraordinary scientific or technical achievement.

Selection process
According to Apple: "DEST-level employees are individuals who have shown prominent scientific/technical achievement and sustained outstanding performance, as well as a proven track record with Apple. They represent Apple internally and externally with demonstrated good judgment and leadership in their areas of expertise.

DEST-level employees are nominated by their manager or vice president. Nominees are reviewed by the DEST committee consisting of five or six senior vice president level engineering executives and other high-level engineering executives. Each nominee must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the DEST committee."

List of DEST-level Apple staff
DEST-level employees are often assigned to challenging tasks and are usually not announced publicly. 
 * Stuart Cheshire
 * Tomlinson Holman
 * Brian Land
 * Date Noorlag
 * Wendell Sander
 * Randy Ubillos
 * Larry Yaeger
 * John Zhong