Principal AR/3D Mobile Architect - Native ARKit + ARCore
(Fractional / Interim, Potential Full-time)
Role summary
We’re hiring a senior technical authority to own the architecture of a native iOS and Android mobile platform whose core is a real-time AR and 3D-motion-rendering experience. This is a decisions-and-ownership role, front-loaded and fractional/interim - you make and document the structural calls the engineering team builds against, then taper to oversight. It is not a feature-development or ticket-closing seat. The engagement starts fractional/interim, with strong potential to extend into a larger ongoing or full-time role by mutual fit.
What you’ll own
- The mobile architecture decision record - native iOS and Android app structure, module boundaries, and the finalized native AR/3D approach, documented as a single source of truth the team builds against.
- Native AR architecture on both platforms - ARKit/RealityKit (iOS) and ARCore (Android): environment scan, plane detection, spatial anchoring, cross-device spatial consistency, and the flow of AR/sensor/telemetry data into the app and backend.
- Real-time on-device 3D motion rendering - skeletal and mesh motion data rendered as an interactive scene the user can pause, scrub, zoom, and rotate (RealityKit on iOS, Jetpack SceneCore/SceneView on Android).
- Real-time and backend integration - live session sync, authentication/identity binding, and API patterns against a cloud backend.
- Cross-platform strategy - establish the iOS architecture first, then define how Android mirrors it.
- Performance, battery, and device-compatibility strategy across a broad device matrix; technical direction and mentorship for native and AR engineers.
What you must have
- Has architected production native AR on both ARKit/RealityKit and ARCore, and been accountable for how it performed and scaled on-device (direction-level is fine — you guide AR engineers rather than write every line).
- Has rendered and manipulated live 3D content on-device — a scene the user drives in real time — not just placed pre-built 3D assets into a camera view.
- Has owned the architecture of production native apps on both iOS and Android, with deep command of Swift and Kotlin.
- Has handled high-bandwidth media / demanding data throughput on mobile — continuous video streaming plus concurrent XR/sensor and AI-pipeline data — without wrecking frame rate or battery.
- Has architected real-time mobile features (live video/audio, session sync) integrated with cloud backends and identity systems.
- Can decide quickly, document clearly, and align a small distributed team with little oversight.
Strongly preferred
- Built production AR natively rather than through a cross-platform game engine — and understands its on-device performance and failure modes first-hand.
- Background in AR/XR, sports-tech, motion capture, media, or games-plus-application products where polished UX and a real-time AR/3D experience coexist.
- Real-time comms SDKs (e.g., Agora); Azure backends and Microsoft Entra identity; multi-tenant SaaS architecture.
- Comfortable operating fractional/interim — fast to ramp, decisive, effective without heavy supervision.
This role is NOT
• A feature-development, bug-fixing, or ticket-closing IC seat.
• A Unity or cross-platform-game-engine role. We build AR natively.
• An asset-placement AR role. Dropping pre-made 3D models into a camera view (furniture preview, try-on) is not the real-time 3D motion rendering this role owns.
• A full-time-from-day-one seat -this starts fractional/interim and remote (US-hours overlap); full-time is a potential extension by mutual fit, not a guaranteed offer.
How to apply
In your application, answer this in a few sentences:
“Describe one production AR feature you architected - what was rendered, how the 3D content got on-screen, and whether the user was manipulating pre-built assets or live/generated geometry (e.g., a moving skeleton or mesh).” Name the app and, if public, link its App Store / Play Store listing.
Note: Applications that skip this question, or answer with a skills list instead of a project, won’t be reviewed.