---
title: 'Senior Staff Software Engineer at VSCO'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-software-engineer-vsco-san-francisco-qxnvjye3h05b'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Senior Staff Software Engineer at VSCO

- **Company:** VSCO
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-08-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vsco39/jobs/8731843002

## Job description

## About VSCO

For years, we've helped photographers create their work. Now we're building what comes next.

VSCO exists for photographers. Not as a side feature, not as an afterthought, but as the whole point. We build the connected system photographers rely on, and we've spent over a decade earning the trust of a global creative community that takes the craft seriously.

Photography is at an inflection point. AI is reshaping what's possible for creative work, and that's where our mission shines. VSCO is building the full photographer's workflow: from creating and editing your work, to delivering it to clients, to running your business. All of it built thoughtfully, with photographers leading the way. We believe the future of photography tools creates more space for creativity, handling the busy work so photographers can focus on the craft.

If you care about craft, community, and what technology can unlock for creative people, this is the work. We're a mission-driven and focused company where your work ships quickly, is meaningful, and reaches tens of millions of people worldwide. You'll have a real say in what we build and how we build it. We hire people who don't wait to be asked, naturally connect the dots, care about the quality of what they ship, and believe the best outcomes come from building together.

## About The Role

VSCO is hiring a Senior Staff Engineer to own Reflex, our production GPU image-processing engine, and the path it takes into Studio Pro on iOS and macOS.

This is a critical technical leader. You will deepen a stack that is already in customers’ hands: new capabilities (RAW, large-image export, desktop), production quality (color correctness, memory, performance), and the contracts that let product engineers ship on top of the engine without becoming graphics programmers. You will also lead company-wide engineering mentorship and force-multiplication — tools, workflows, and AI-assisted development that make the rest of the team more effective.

In This Role, You Will

- Own the Reflex imaging engine: DAG execution, WGSL operators, GPU resource/memory budgets, and color management (linear working space, LUTs, Display P3, bit-depth)
- Ship engine changes through the native bridge (UniFFI + Nitro) into Studio Pro on iOS and macOS, including versioning and release
- Take new imaging capabilities from design to production (current examples: RAW develop, tiled/gigapixel export, further parity with the existing VSCO imaging stack)
- Diagnose and fix production-class mobile graphics problems: OOM, cache eviction, HEIC encode, editor vs. batch vs. export paths
- Define and keep the render/pipeline contracts in the shared Studio Pro core so mobile and desktop stay coherent
- Mentor Senior engineers toward Staff-level ownership; raise the quality of design and code review across the org
- Lead force-multiplication: better native packaging and CI, shared review/agent workflows, and AI tools that shorten idea-o-production
- Partner with Product, Design, and Engineering to turn product and business goals into technical direction; make pragmatic tradeoffs between long-term architecture and getting value into customers’ hands.

## Qualifications

- 10+ years in engineering, with a track record as the owner of a production rendering, imaging, or GPU-compute system
- Deep GPU/rendering experience: pipelines, shaders, color, and memory — not just “used a graphics API”
- Strong systems language experience; Rust is strongly preferred. Comfortable reading and writing shaders (WGSL, Metal, or equivalent)
- Experience taking imaging or graphics work onto mobile (memory budgets, decode/encode, thermal/GPU limits). iOS/Metal preferred
- Experience working 0→1 inside an existing product: evaluate nascent ideas, pick high-leverage work, sequence small investments into sizable change
- Experience mentoring other Senior engineers to grow into Staff-level leaders
- AI-assisted developer workflows (parallel agents, MCP, eval/review automation) that you have actually landed in a team, not just demoed

## Nice to have

- wgpu, WebGPU, or WASM
- Native bridges (UniFFI, JNI, Nitro, or similar) and React Native
- Photographic imaging: RAW, color management, LUTs, film emulation
- On-device or cloud ML in a creative-tools context (segmentation, style transfer)

## Compensation

The base salary for this position will vary based on several factors, such as relevant experience, location and your approved internal leveling assessed during the interview process. The base salary range for this role is $260,000 - $290,000. Salary is one component of our total compensation package. This position also qualifies for equity (i.e. stock options) and is eligible for discretionary bonuses based on performance.

The benefits available for this position include flexible time off, a 401K retirement plan, insurance (medical, dental, vision, life/AD&D, short and long term disability), and 11 paid holidays. We also provide paid sick time as required by state and local law. Additional benefits and perks contained in our standard employee benefits package are also offered for this position.

## About VSCO

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: VSCO is a connected system for photographers, providing professional editing tools, client galleries, studio management, portfolio websites, and a creative community to help photographers build a sustainable business.
- **Entity Type**: Private (funded with $100M total, Series B stage)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2011
- **Founders**: Joel Flory and Greg Lutze

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Creative Tools & Software, Photography, Social/Community
- **Target customers**: B2C (primarily aspiring and professional photographers) and B2B (freelance photographers, studios)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To give photographers the tools, the system, and the community to build a photography business that lasts—on their own terms.

## Products & Services
- **VSCO Membership**: Pro-level photo and video editing tools, AI features, and business tools for client work. [vsco.co](https://www.vsco.co/)
- **VSCO Hub**: Client gallery and studio management platform (launched 2024).
- **Portfolio Websites**: Tools for photographers to build professional portfolio sites.
- **Canvas**: A creative community feature (launched 2025).
- **VSCO Capture**: A camera app for professional-grade mobile photography (launched 2025).
- **Workspace**: Business management tools for photographers (launched 2025).
- **VSCO One**: A unified subscription offering (launched 2026).
- **Studio Pro**: Advanced studio management software (launched 2026).
- **AI Lab**: Internal research and development for AI-powered creative tools (launched 2025).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$100M**.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Accel Partners, Glynn Capital, Icon Ventures, Obvious Ventures. [vsco.co](https://www.vsco.co/about)
- **Growth Signals**: VSCO has been aggressively expanding its product suite through acquisitions (Rylo in 2019, Trash app in 2020, Facet in 2024, Táve's Studio Manager in 2025, The Freelance Photographer in 2025) and launching new products (Canvas, Workspace, AI Lab, VSCO Capture, Studio Pro, VSCO One). The company is clearly pivoting from a mobile editing app to a full-stack business platform for photographers.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Brand & Community**: A globally recognized brand with a loyal community of millions of photographers, built over 15 years.
- **Vertical Integration**: Owns the entire photographer workflow—from editing and AI tools to client management, portfolio hosting, and business operations—creating a sticky, all-in-one ecosystem.
- **AI Focus**: Active investment in generative AI through a dedicated AI Lab, positioning them at the cutting edge of creative tools.
- **Strategic Acquisitions**: A clear track record of acquiring and integrating complementary technologies and teams (Facet, Táve, The Freelance Photographer) to rapidly expand product capabilities.

## Strategic Focus
- **Platform Expansion**: Transforming from a photo editing app into a comprehensive business system for photographers.
- **AI Integration**: Leveraging AI (including tools like ChatGPT, TensorFlow) to enhance creative workflows and business efficiency.
- **Professionalization**: Shifting focus from casual creators to professional and aspiring professional photographers who need business tools.
- **Community Monetization**: Building a sustainable business model around subscriptions (VSCO One) and professional services.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Values**: Strong emphasis on "Championing Customers," "Hyperfocus on Outcomes," and "Winning Together." The culture is described as collaborative, modest, and ambitious. [vsco.co](https://www.vsco.co/about/careers)
- **Work Model**: Hybrid. The San Francisco office serves as a "shared hub for intentional connection," with employees gathering twice a year for in-person collaboration. Flexible remote work is also supported. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/vsco/faq/workplace-perception)
- **Benefits**: Flexible Time Off, 401(k), comprehensive medical/dental/vision, paid parental/medical/caregiver leave, monthly tech & well-being stipend, and access to Peloton, Wellhub, One Medical, Spring Health, and Headspace. [vsco.co](https://www.vsco.co/about/careers)
- **Compensation**: Competitive base pay plus stock options for all new hires, ensuring shared ownership in the company's success.
- **Tech Stack**: Modern and diverse, including AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, Go, React, React Native, Swift, Python, TensorFlow, Kafka, Snowflake, and more. [vsco.co](https://www.vsco.co/about/careers)
- **Growth & Development**: Promotes from within, provides customized development tracks, and uses an OKR operational model to align goals and priorities.

## Sources
1. [VSCO About Page](https://www.vsco.co/about)
2. [VSCO Careers Page](https://www.vsco.co/about/careers)
3. [VSCO Greenhouse Job Board](https://boards.greenhouse.io/vsco39)
4. [Built In VSCO Profile](https://builtin.com/company/vsco/faq/workplace-perception)

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