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Software Engineer, Augmented Reality, Level 4

Snap Inc.

San Francisco, CA · HybridFull-time$157–235K/yrSeen 5 days agoSeen in employer's feed 5 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$157–235K/yr
Location
San Francisco, CAHybrid
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

Snap Inc. is seeking an AR Engineer for its Lenses Platform team to build and advance user-facing software and spatial experiences for Spectacles and Snap OS. The role includes technical planning, architectural decisions, platform integrations, and performance optimization for resource-constrained AR hardware. The engineer will collaborate across disciplines and mentor other AR Engineers. The position expects team members to work in an office four or more days per week.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

3D MathSoftware EngineeringData StructuresAlgorithmsArchitectural Decision-MakingCollaborationCommunicationMentoringReal-Time 3D Applications3D EnginesC#UnityC++UnrealJavaScriptTypeScriptLens StudioThree.jsBabylon.jsGodotSpatial ApplicationsNative Services IntegrationPlatform APIsResource-Constrained OptimizationSpatial ExperiencesAI-Assisted EngineeringTechnical RoadmappingCross-Functional AlignmentAPI DesignModern UI FrameworksExternal Services IntegrationShadersTechnical Art

Qualifications

BS or BA or Equivalent Experience2+ Years Real-Time 3D Experience

Benefits

Parental Leave
Medical Insurance

Full job description

Los Angeles, California

San Francisco, California

Palo Alto, California

Full time

R0047390

Snap Inc (https://www.snap.com/en-US/) is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.

The Company operates Snapchat (http://snapchat.com/?lang=en-US) , a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family, and the world, and Specs Inc. (https://www.specs.com/) , a wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to making computing more human, in addition to Bitmoji (http://bitmoji.com/) , Saturn, and other digital services.

Specs Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Snap Inc. dedicated to making computing more human. The company develops Specs, advanced eyewear that seamlessly integrates digital experiences into the physical world.

Specs feature see-through lenses that place digital objects directly into three-dimensional space, powered by Snap OS, a proprietary, context-aware operating system designed for natural interaction with your hands and voice.

Specs Inc. also provides Lens Studio, a full suite of advanced developer tools that powers immersive augmented reality experiences across Specs, Snapchat, and other services.

We’re looking for an AR Engineer to join the Lenses Platform team at Snap Inc!

What you’ll do:

  • Advance and build the holistic look, feel, and flow of interactions and interfaces for all user-facing software on Spectacles.

  • Maintain and expand the consistent and unified user experience across the entire Snap OS software platform.

  • Create and empower spatial experiences through our human-centered and multi-modal interactive and UI systems, which enable natural and intuitive interactions in augmented reality.

  • Contribute to the technical planning and execution of complex user-facing AR applications, driving architectural decisions and technical direction from concept to delivery.

  • Design and implement deep integrations with system-level features, services, and platform APIs to extend AR application capabilities and deliver seamless user experiences.

  • Build performant real-time 3D applications optimized for resource-constrained AR hardware.

  • Partner across Engineering, Design, Product, Program Management and other disciplines to define and execute the roadmap for AR applications and use-cases.

  • Mentor and develop other AR Engineers, elevating team capabilities and fostering technical growth.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

  • Strong 3D math and software engineering fundamentals with data structures and algorithms.

  • Proven ability to build complex technical projects and drive architectural decisions.

  • Excellent collaboration and communication skills working across Engineering, Design, Product, and Program Management disciplines.

  • Experience mentoring engineers and elevating team technical capabilities.

Minimum Requirements:

  • BS / BA degree or equivalent years of experience.

  • 2+ years of experience building real-time 3D interactive applications with any 3D engine / framework (such as C#, Unity, C++, Unreal, JavaScript, TypeScript, Lens Studio, Three.js, Babylon.js, Godot).

  • Track record of tech leading complex user-facing spatial applications from concept through delivery.

  • Experience integrating with native/OS services, system-level features, and platform APIs.

  • Demonstrated ability to build performant real-time applications on resource-constrained devices.

Preferred Requirements:

  • Demonstrable passion for creating spatial experiences.

  • Experience using AI as part of your engineering workflow, including how you plan, build, verify, review, and learn, with sound judgment about when and where to leverage it.

  • Experience defining technical roadmaps and driving cross-functional alignment.

  • Experience partnering with platform, infrastructure, or systems teams to influence API design and service capabilities.

  • Understanding of modern UI frameworks and patterns, especially for real-time 3D applications.

  • Understanding of building real-time applications that interface with external services.

  • Familiarity with shaders and technical art.

"Default Together" Policy at Snap: At Snap Inc. we believe that being together in person helps us build our culture faster, reinforce our values, and serve our community, customers and partners better through dynamic collaboration. To reflect this, we practice a “default together” approach and expect our team members to work in an office 4+ days per week.

At Snap, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to create innovative products that improve the way people live and communicate. Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. EOE, including disability/vets.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law (by example, the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, where applicable).

Our Benefits (http://careers.snap.com/benefits) : Snap Inc. is its own community, so we’ve got your back! We do our best to make sure you and your loved ones have everything you need to be happy and healthy, on your own terms. Our benefits are built around your needs and include paid parental leave, comprehensive medical coverage, emotional and mental health support programs, and compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success!

Compensation

In the United States, work locations are assigned a pay zone which determines the salary range for the position. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. The starting pay may be negotiable within the salary range for the position. These pay zones may be modified in the future.

Zone A (CA, WA, NYC) (https://careers.snap.com/us-payzones) :

The base salary range for this position is $157,000-$235,000 annually.

Zone B (https://careers.snap.com/us-payzones) :

The base salary range for this position is $149,000-$223,000 annually.

Zone C (https://careers.snap.com/us-payzones) :

The base salary range for this position is $133,000-$200,000 annually.

This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.

If you believe this job description is missing required pay transparency information, please submit a report through this form: Job Description Pay Range Disclosure (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOEWxjdfgw\_nPe4q7ktiLTG4paeYR5SZAfSVwSROnDlTXisA/viewform) .

Curious what it's like to work at Snap? Meet the people behind our products and discover how our values shape the way we create, innovate, and connect.

SPECS (https://www.specs.com/) : See how Snap is bringing computing into the world around us with SPECS, our next-generation augmented reality glasses built for real life.

Snap News (https://newsroom.snap.com/) : Explore the latest stories about our products, innovation, and the people shaping what's next at Snap.

Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy (https://careers.snap.com/privacy-policy)

How this job compares

Set against the 41,851 open Software Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$157–235K/yr
  • California median$165–246K/yr7,769 salary ranges
  • US median$135–218K/yr33,293 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $196K, is 4% below the California median midpoint ($205K) — in the middle half of Software Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 9,667 open Software Engineer jobs in California and 41,851 across the US. 8% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 2 years of experience — less than three in four Software Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 34,101 postings).
Education
14,022 of the 41,851 open Software Engineer jobs (34%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 5, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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