Director of Engineering, VRChat

Product Foundations

Salary not provided

Plus stock options

Senior and Expert level
Remote in Canada, EU, UK, US
VRChat

Virtual World platform

Open for applications

VRChat

Virtual World platform

101-200 employees

B2CGamingSocialSaaSVirtual Reality

Open for applications

Salary not provided

Plus stock options

Senior and Expert level
Remote in Canada, EU, UK, US

101-200 employees

B2CGamingSocialSaaSVirtual Reality

Company mission

To build VRChat into one of the most successful community-driven social VR platforms in existence.

Role

Who you are

  • 5+ years of engineering management in a high-growth consumer or b2b tech company and solid technical background
  • Experience in technical product management with a healthy obsession to discover and fulfill the needs of internal partners and our users
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills which are particularly important in our fully remote environment
  • Technical experience with release engineering, security, DevOps, API and 3D gaming development a plus
  • Past expertise in virtual economies, e-commerce, gaming, UGC and/or social platforms is a plus, though not required
  • University degree or equivalent work experience with technical background
  • Experience defining metrics and making product and strategic decisions based on measurable impact
  • Intellectually curious about new technologies and societal changes, and understands how to apply innovations and trends to product opportunities
  • Comfortable dealing with ambiguity and operating in a fast-paced and evolving environment

What the job involves

  • The Engineering Manager for the Product Foundations team is a critical leadership role at VRChat
  • This person is accountable for a horizontal team building out the technical foundations for the entirety of the VRChat experience
  • This includes evolving our DevOps and release engineering functions, ensuring security & privacy, while also leading the evolution of core technology such as authentication, real-time networking, and world and avatar loading
  • This management position reports into the VP of Engineering at VRChat and will work closely with a dedicated cross functional team, heads of various functions, with periodical interaction with the exec team
  • Take ownership of the core VRChat platform, partnering closely with product, design and engineering leaders across the company to ensure we are supporting their ongoing needs
  • Directly manage, support and inspire a team of approximately 15 engineers across multiple disciplines including release management, security, DevOps, API and client
  • Foster a positive and high functioning team with solid technical practices that delivers timely and quality software
  • Create the short and long term strategy for this space, and align it with higher level vision and strategy across the company
  • Run a smooth and collaborative planning process to generate plans that reflect strategic goals, user insights and past learnings
  • Make critical tradeoffs to ensure the long-term health and development of our platform
  • Represent progress at periodic reviews and seek leadership support in a timely manner to unblock execution
  • Partner with production to manage execution and work collaboratively to resolve issues to deliver against goals and objectives
  • Stay current on industry trends and best practices in the technology behind gaming, UGC and social platforms to inform strategic decisions
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including internal teams, creators, partners, and the broader VRChat community
  • Support the VP Engineering in critical strategy, organization and execution areas

Our take

Virtual Reality is one of the technologies with the highest projected potential for growth. VRChat offers a free-to-play metaverse platform where users gather as avatars in virtual spaces to socialize and hang out, just as one would in real-life.

Whilst competitor Rec Room has a greater valuation, VRChat has positioned itself as the leading VR socializing-based product. It taps into a modern desire to form connections in digital spaces, with some users meeting their real-life partners in their virtual avatar form. When contemplating VR’s popularity, it cannot be denied that virtual realities enable freedom of self-expression, an attractive proposition perhaps for those who struggle with their identity and place in the real world.

VRChat is already widely accessible, as a PC and StemVR-compatible app that supports multiple VR devices such as Occulus, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed reality, and the Valve Index. 2021 funding has contributed to the development of a creator economy where creators earn financial rewards, as well as further expansion to more platforms. VRChat will continue to grow as pundits speculate on whether VR will be the future of social connection.

Freddie headshot

Freddie

Company Specialist

Insights

Some candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

59% employee growth in 12 months

Company

Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)

Jun 2021

$80m

SERIES D

Sep 2019

$10m

SERIES C

Total funding: $95.2m

Company benefits

  • Work remotely: Work from anywhere! They use collaboration software to stay organized and VRChat for meetings and hanging out.
  • Health and wellbeing: Medical, Dental and Vision plans for those in the United States, and extended health plans in British Columbia, Canada.
  • Fun: Monthly team dinners, get-togethers and once a year, they travel somewhere fun for a few days to hang out, catch up, brainstorm and have fun.
  • Tools: You’ll be provided a powerful PC, high-end VR hardware, and any software you need to make you effective in your role.
  • Vacations: Flexible vacation schedules that are encouraged. Most United States and Canadian holidays are observed by everyone on the team.
  • Swag: Great VRChat and Developer Team Swag such as hoodies, coffee mugs, t-shirts, sun glasses and even custom 3D printed goodies.

Company values

  • Passion for VR, Social and Virtual Worlds
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Be a self-starter!
  • Flexibility

Company HQ

Financial District, San Francisco, CA

Leadership

Spent 4 months as a Software Engineer for Zynga. Only other experience involves being an Intern for SmartVault, RSM Design, Equivalent Data, Seismic Exchange, ChaiONE and GREE International.

Began as a Software Engineer for Electronic Arts Canada before co-founding and serving as CTO for A.C.R.O.N.Y.M Games Inc prior to owning and assuming the position of CTO for Jespionage Entertainment Inc.

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