Staff Software Engineer, XR Graphics (iOS/Metal)
Google· Internet & Cloud Services· Jul 24, 2026 · 3mo agoPosted 95 days ago
San Jose, CA, USA
In office
Full-time
Staff
$180K–$242K est.
8+ years exp
Before you apply
Ghost Signal:
Open since July 24, 2026 — 95 days, and still accepting applications.
Job description
As a part of the XR Graphics team, you will build the graphics tools and render pipeline for the Android XR platform. You will have expertise in various components of the graphics stack, including shader compilers, graphics Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), tools, and drivers. You will collaborate with key application developers and hardware providers to optimize the performance of the graphics stack. You will develop and recommend graphics best practices for XR and other rendering environments.
You will work with a variety of graphics hardware and low level APIs, each with their own unique issues. You will have experience with Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and real-time graphics and are adept at squeezing out maximum performance from GPUs.
As a Software Engineer for Android XR, you will leverage their GPU and metal expertise to optimize and enhance performance on iOS. Your work will consist of low-level graphics details, requiring knowledge of the hardware and relevant APIs.
For decades, the computing revolution has reshaped our world driven by
breakthroughs in compute, connectivity, mobile, and now, AI. Google's XR team is at the forefront of the next major leap – the convergence of AI and XR. This is more than just new devices – it's about reimagining how we interact with the world around us. We're building a future where
lightweight XR devices like smart glasses and headsets pair with helpful AI to augment human intelligence, offering personalized, conversational, and contextually aware experiences.Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $207000 - $301000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more about benefits at Google .
• Adapt, build, and launch first-party XR experiences for iPhones paired with next-generation wearables by developing an open-source, low-level GPU profiler that can scale across multiple XR hardware devices.
• Develop and hyper-optimize the rendering backends for XR's 3D engine.
• Refine and extend the programming model for Vulkan graphics rendering on mobile.
• Develop low level software for graphics: shaders for distortion correction, rendering algorithms for the "reality" part of virtual reality (VR), system software architecture and performance.
• Design, build, and launch cross-platform XR APIs and Software Development Kits (SDKs) at the intersection of graphics APIs, graphics drivers, and 3D processing.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development (e.g., C++).
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products.
• 5 years of experience with graphics, 3D graphics, GPU programming, mobile GPU, or iOS GPU.
Minimum qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development (e.g., C++).
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products.
• 5 years of experience with graphics, 3D graphics, GPU programming, mobile GPU, or iOS GPU.
Preferred qualifications:
• Master’s degree or PhD in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
• Experience with GPU programming models.
• Experience with Vulkan.
• Experience identifying performance bottlenecks and optimizing applications.
• Experience with computer vision, augmented reality, or game engines (e.g., unity).
• Understanding of software systems/driver level software.
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