Overview

Over the years, researchers and hobbyists have experimented with building Augmented Reality experiences using web technologies, typically by trying to augment live video using computer vision and 3D rendering. These projects have rarely progressed beyond simple prototypes because of the technology limitations related to capturing, processing and displaying video content in web browsers, as well as the limited web services available to support AR applications on the web.

The Emerging Technologies team at Mozilla Research is working to enable real-time, high performance AR on the web, with the goal of contributing to cross-browser standards and implementations of AR-enabling capabilities. Using our experience and technology from the WebVR, Servo, and WebAssembly projects, as well as years of experience with AR, we are developing solutions for cross-platform computer vision and AR. At the same time, we will be building different interfaces and web services for Web-based AR experiences, and prototyping web applications that use these new AR capabilities. We are looking for engineers to fill out this team, and work with us and other browser vendors to ensure the solutions we create achieve broad industry acceptance.

As part of this team, you will do both research and engineering. You will figure out ways to solve tough problems, but you will also implement your solutions in both research and production systems. You will be constantly learning as we build both AR and computer vision into one or more web engines (such as Servo or Gecko), integrate them with platform-specific spatial tracking and sensing capabilities, and build mobile applications to demonstrate these exciting new capabilities.

You will be working on novel ways to expose these technologies to developers and end-users, both through new APIs as well as efficient integration of native libraries with Javascript and/or WebAssembly. You will have a deep understanding of systems and engineering issues related to high performance software systems, from object representations and management, to analyzing performance characteristics of complex systems, to algorithms and patterns for implementing 3D graphics and computer vision on modern architectures. You will also have a deep understanding of issues related to performant web applications, from efficient and effective code, to networked client-server architectures. You may have proficiency in 3D graphics, or computer vision, depending on what part of the project you are working on, but should be passionate about the full spectrum of technologies important to bringing web-based AR to the world. You will collaborate with world-class teams working on WebVR and/or Servo, A-Frame and web-based applications.

As a Research Engineer in the AR team in Emerging Technologies at Mozilla, you will…

  • Help define and create the building blocks for AR web applications in browser engines
  • Write code in Rust, a new systems programming language created for performance and safety, C++ and/or Javascript
  • Discover and work on ways to expose native technologies for AR and Computer Vision to the web in a high-performance and standards-path way
  • Review proposed code changes
  • Work on a distributed team
  • Work entirely on open source
  • Work with the community, other Mozilla teams, and our corporate partners

Your Professional Profile

  • BS in Computer Science or equivalent experience
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Experienced with low level programming (examples include device drivers, virtual machine implementations, OS kernels, game engines, etc), and/or
  • Experienced with computer vision, and/or
  • Experienced with augmented reality technology, and/or
  • Experienced with web technology

About Mozilla

Mozilla exists to build the Internet as a public resource accessible to all because we believe that open and free is better than closed and controlled. Join us to work on the Web as the platform and help create more opportunity and innovation for everyone online.

Mozilla is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity throughout our recruiting and hiring process and is dedicated to increasing diversity in our workplace.

About Mozilla

Mozilla is a thriving global community of technologists, thinkers and builders working collaboratively and openly to keep the Internet alive and accessible for all.

When you work at Mozilla, you give yourself a chance to make a difference in the lives of Web users everywhere. And you give us a chance to make a difference in your life every day. Join our team today and together we’ll make a better Web for tomorrow.

We’re a global community of users, contributors and developers working to keep the power of the Web in people’s hands. The collaborative efforts of Mozillians around the world drive forward the principles and aims of the Mozilla Manifesto.

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