Staff Software Development Engineer - Video Rendering

Adobe; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 218,200 - 316,000; Full time

Job summary

Adobe is seeking a senior, hands‑on engineer to own and evolve the cross‑platform GPU rendering platform at the heart of Premiere and After Effects. You will lead major initiatives, drive architecture decisions, and mentor teams across Windows and Mac environments.

You will work with CUDA, DirectX, Metal, Vulkan, and shader tooling to advance real‑time video processing and rendering pipelines, partnering with internal graphics, product, and QE teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years in software engineering with GPU/graphics experience.
• Experience with modern graphics/compute APIs and cross‑platform design.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the core GPU rendering platform for real‑time video processing across Adobe products.
• Drive complex platform initiatives end to end across multiple releases.
• Build and deepen a shared technology stack and multi‑API GPU abstractions (CUDA, OpenCL, DirectX, Metal).
• Own rendering performance, stability, and device compatibility across platforms and vendors.
• Collaborate with GPU hardware vendors and internal teams to resolve deep technical issues.
• Lead architecture decisions, code reviews, and set engineering standards; mentor others.
• Prototype the next generation of rendering tech with leadership on shader tooling and modern shading languages.

Skills

GPU rendering

C++

Cross‑platform

Shader languages

Debugging & profiling

Leadership & mentorship

Communication

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS

Tools

Nsight

PIX

shader toolchains

Job description

The Opportunity

The Digital Video & Audio (DVA) team in Adobe develops industry‑leading software products including Premiere and After Effects, and we are on a mission to build the modern, AI‑powered video rendering pipeline behind the next generation of these products. We are looking for a senior, hands‑on engineer to own and evolve the cross‑platform GPU rendering platform at the heart of that mission — leading major initiatives through to completion in close partnership with our technical leadership.

What You’ll Do

• Own, evolve, and optimize the core GPU rendering platform that underpins real‑time video processing across Adobe's professional video products
• Drive complex platform initiatives end to end — taking technical ownership and overseeing their progress until completion across multiple releases
• Build and deepen a shared technology stack — common shaders, rendering frameworks, and multi‑API GPU abstractions (CUDA, OpenCL, DirectX, Metal) — so teams build once and run everywhere, on Windows and Mac
• Own rendering performance, stability, and device compatibility across platforms and hardware vendors, including the hardest GPU and driver issues
• Partner with GPU hardware vendors and with internal graphics, product, and QE teams to resolve deep technical issues and shape the underlying technologies
• Lead by example — drive architecture and code reviews, set engineering standards, and mentor others
• Build and prototype the next generation of our rendering technology, in partnership with technical leadership, including modern shading languages and shader toolchains

What You Need To Succeed

• Bachelor's degree or a Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience
• 10+ years' experience in software engineering, with significant depth in GPU, graphics, or rendering systems
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ in a large, complex, cross‑platform codebase on Mac or Windows
• Deep experience with at least one modern graphics/compute API (DirectX 12, Metal, Vulkan, CUDA, or OpenCL) and the ability to design abstractions across several
• Strong knowledge of GPU architecture, shading languages (e.g., HLSL, Slang, SPIR‑V), and rendering or real‑time video processing
• Solid understanding of the GPU rendering pipeline and core rendering, compositing, and color algorithms
• Proven low‑level debugging and performance optimization across the CPU/GPU boundary, using GPU profiling and debugging tools (e.g., Nsight, PIX)
• Track record of leading and driving complex, cross‑team technical initiatives to completion with limited guidance
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, working in a global environment
• Ability to think creatively to solve complex problems

Preferred Qualifications

• Real‑time video processing in Non‑Linear Editing (NLE) software
• Modern shading languages and shader compilers/toolchains (Slang, DXC, SPIR‑V / DXIL) and next‑generation rendering abstractions
• Direct experience working with GPU driver / hardware vendors
• ML inference integration (e.g., TensorRT, ONNX Runtime) within a render pipeline
• Experience building GPU benchmarking / performance frameworks
• Web & mobile graphics experience (a plus — not required)

Expected Pay Range

The U.S. pay range for this position is $173,500 – $331,050 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process. In California, the pay range for this position is $228,600 - $331,050. In Washington, the pay range for this position is $218,200 - $316,000. At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short‑term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP). Non‑sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short‑term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP). In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long‑term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.