Niantic’s Augmented Reality R&D Team is seeking a skilled Engineering Manager, to push the frontiers of high-quality AR. You will lead people and projects in a fun R&D team, focusing on experimental innovation at the intersection of computer vision, machine learning, and augmented reality. This is a great role for someone who has been deeply technical in and R&D context, with experience managing highly-technical teams. We balance the culture of scientific investigation with the product-led focus of the wider company to develop and productionise cutting-edge research. We are passionate about discovery, so we’re looking for an engineer who wants to learn and deploy inventions that could help make better “adventures on foot, with others.” Niantic leads the advancement of AR and other immersive technologies, which are deployed in engaging apps for millions of users.

Responsibilities

Prioritize and plan the work of a 3D scanning and re-localization R&D team.
Engineering managers at Niantic are still hands-on but spend the majority of their time focused on making their teams work better.
Drive scientific-style investigations and production-ready algorithms and systems.
Coach engineers on their day-to-day work and their career aspirations, conduct regular 1:1s for your reports, and evaluate their performance and set actionable goals that help them grow in the work and move the team and company forward.
Learn and pass-on scientific and engineering progress from outside the company.
Be a respectful and empathetic leader who looks after others and acts to make a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Recruit and hire great talent for the team.
Employ emotional intelligence to diffuse tensions and improve cross-team relations.
Help shape the direction of our tech stack for augmented reality applications.
Identify business and technological risks/opportunities.

Qualifications

Experience working as an engineering manager or in a similar capacity.
First hand experience innovating on computer vision and machine learning algorithms/datasets, ideally relating to 3D geometry.
Solid understanding of 3D computer vision.
Personal experience as a software engineer or researcher working on multi-person projects.
Track record of facilitating the work of colleagues at different skill levels.
An MS or PhD in Computer Science or other technical majors, or equivalent experience.
Good listener who empowers others.

Plus If...

Experience building large-scale data processing pipelines.
Experience with curating and visualizing data and/or running a public research competition.
Experience with the capabilities in Google Cloud Platform (preferred) or other cloud compute providers.
Experience prototyping or programming AR applications.
Proactive not reactive, is good at anticipating problems beyond the team’s horizon.

Join the Niantic team!

Niantic is the world’s leading AR technology company, sparking creative and engaging journeys in the real world. Our products inspire outdoor exploration, exercise, and meaningful social interaction.

Originally formed at Google in 2011, we became an independent company in 2015 with a strong group of investors including Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Alsop Louie Partners. Our current consumer titles include pioneering global-control game Ingress, record-breaking AR game Pokémon GO, and Harry Potter:Wizards Unite. Our developer platform, Lightship, launches soon.

Niantic is an Equal Opportunity employer. We believe that cultivating a workplace where our people are supported and included is essential to creating great products our community will love. Our mission emphasizes seeking and hiring diverse voices, including those who are traditionally underrepresented in the technology industry, and we consider this to be one of the most important values we hold close.

We're a hard-working, fun, and exciting group who value intellectual curiosity and a passion for problem-solving! We have growing offices located in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Bellevue, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Hamburg, and Zurich.