Software Engineering Manager, XR Graphics

Google Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 207,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Google is seeking a Software Engineering Manager for XR Graphics to lead a skilled team delivering end-to-end graphics stacks for AR/VR devices. You will guide architecture, drive cross‑functional roadmaps, and mentor engineers across multiple sites to balance performance and power in XR pipelines.

Ideal candidates bring 8+ years in software, 3 years in graphics leadership, and experience building scalable teams for Android XR platforms. This role is on-site in San Jose, CA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 3 years of experience with graphics development, graphics performance, or graphics tools.
• 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role.
• 2 years of experience in a people management or team leadership role.

Responsibilities

• Guide architectural strategy across low-level graphics drivers and modern graphics pipelines.
• Partner with cross-functional hardware, research, and platform product teams to define roadmaps and milestones.
• Manage and mentor an engineering team building core graphics runtime systems and developer tooling for Android XR devices.
• Drive engineering best practices balancing real-time rendering fidelity with device power and thermal budgets.
• Advocate modern engineering workflows and AI-assisted development tools to increase velocity and execution consistency across global sites.

Skills

Graphics development

Technical leadership

People management

Decision making

AR/VR experience

Graphics APIs

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree or PhD

Tools

Vulkan

DirectX 12

Metal

Android development

Unix/Linux environments

Distributed systems

Job description

Software Engineering Manager, XR Graphics

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Experience owning outcomes and decision making, solving ambiguous problems and influencing stakeholders;deep expertise in domain.

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• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 3 years of experience with graphics development, graphics performance, or graphics tools.
• 3 years of experience in a technical leadership role.
• 2 years of experience in a people management or team leadership role.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related technical field.
• Experience architecting and deploying graphics rendering stacks, display pipelines, or developer tools for augmented reality or virtual reality platforms.
• Experience with AR or VR.
• Experience programming with modern graphics APIs such as Vulkan, DirectX 12, or Metal.
• Experience building flexible and scalable teams and roadmaps.
• Familiarity working with any of the following: Compiler development, Android development, Unix/Linux environments, distributed and parallel systems, or developing large software systems.

About the job

Like Google's own ambitions, the work of a Software Engineer goes beyond just Search. Software Engineering Managers have not only the technical expertise to take on and provide technical leadership to major projects, but also manage a team of Engineers. You not only optimize your own code but make sure Engineers are able to optimize theirs. As a Software Engineering Manager you manage your project goals, contribute to product strategy and help develop your team. Teams work all across the company, in areas such as information retrieval, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking, security, data compression, user interface design; the list goes on and is growing every day. Operating with scale and speed, our exceptional software engineers are just getting started -- and as a manager, you guide the way.

With technical and leadership expertise, you manage engineers across multiple teams and locations, a large product budget and oversee the deployment of large-scale projects across multiple sites internationally.

The mission of XR Graphics is to build the graphics tools and rendering pipeline for the Android XR platform. We have expertise in various components of the graphics stack, from low-level graphics and system bringup to developer-facing APIs. We collaborate with application developers and hardware providers to optimize graphics stack. We also develop graphics best practices for XR and other rendering environments.

The Software Engineering Manager for XR Graphics, leading a team of experts that enable the end-to-end graphics stack for AR/VR devices.

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 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google .

• Guide architectural strategy across low-level graphics drivers, modern Vulkan APIs, and real-time 3D rendering pipelines to maximize GPU utilization.
• Partner with cross-functional hardware, research, and platform product teams to define roadmaps, establish milestones, and resolve launch blockers.
• Manage and mentor an engineering team of software engineers building core graphics runtime systems and developer tooling for Android XR devices.
• Drive engineering best practices to balance real-time rendering visual fidelity against strict device power, compute, and thermal operating budgets.
• Advocate modern engineering workflows and AI-assisted development tools to increase velocity and execution consistency across global engineering sites.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.