Staff Software Engineer (iOS)

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

If you are passionate about iOS development and excited to join a dynamic team of creators, we encourage you to apply for this position and help us empower creators worldwide. At VSCO, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented individuals who share your passion for innovation and creativity. We're building an ecosystem of end-to-end tools for photographers, enhancing our existing product while creating entirely new tools and services. This is a crucial role for someone who will help define and drive that vision forward, shaping the way our users create, connect and earn. Join us in shaping the future of mobile technology and making a meaningful impact on the global creative community.

As a Staff Engineer, you are first and foremost a technologist. You'll be in the trenches with the team — writing code, solving hard problems, and staying current with the latest technologies. But your impact goes beyond individual contributions. You'll act as a technical leader who guides the team through complex challenges, champions best practices, and anticipates what's coming around the corner so the team can stay ahead. You think about scalability, long-term maintainability, and future features — even while the rest of the team is focused on shipping today's work. You'll mentor engineers, raise the bar on quality, and enable others' success.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead decision making on forward-thinking architectural decisions. Align technical choices with company goals, and be pragmatic enough to choose the faster path when the business demands it. Watch for what is coming down the pike in mobile development.
• Lead by example: write clean, testable, maintainable Swift and Objective-C code. Push for rigorous testing, solid CI practices, and high standards across the codebase.
• Mentor and elevate the team: guide engineers through tricky bugs, design decisions, and architectural trade-offs. Coach, teach, and create space for others to grow.
• Drive code quality through PR reviews, pushing work toward completion in an encouraging way. Your critical feedback motivates authors to improve their work and reach approval.
• Champion AI-assisted development. You’ve used AI tools extensively in your own workflow and actively mentor others to adopt them. You see AI as a multiplier for the team's velocity and quality.
• Architect and implement performant, intuitive solutions for the interactive manipulation of images, video, and mixed media, enabling rich creative expression on mobile devices.
• Contribute to the release process: help manage and improve our release cadence, including feature flagging, release management best practices, and get the process smooth and predictable.
• Collaborate across the organization: work closely with Product, Design, and business stakeholders. Translate complex technical concepts into clear language for non-technical audiences.
• Willing to blur the lines: you are willing to step outside your defined role when the work demands it. Whether it's jumping into an unfamiliar part of the stack or pitching in on cross-platform efforts, you are flexible to help where needed.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience building iOS applications in Swift and/or Objective-C
• Experience owning projects end-to-end from initial prototypes to customer roll out
• Professional experience working on mobile consumer applications at scale
• Experience collaborating with other engineers: iOS, Android, server, and web
• Track record of mentoring engineers and raising team-wide code quality
• Experience with feature flagging, release management, and observability tools (Datadog, Crashlytics, etc.)
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills (you've worked closely with designers, product managers, and business stakeholders)
• Comfort with AI-assisted development workflows and a desire to push what's possible

Nice to haves

• Experience with React Native
• Experience working with media manipulation frameworks on iOS such as AVFoundation, Core Image/Video/Audio, and Metal
• Experience with OpenGL, 3D rendering, and matrix-based transformations.
• Experience integrating third-party tools for media manipulation.
• Familiarity with Android to facilitate cross-platform design discussions.

Note: You don't need to check every box. If you're excited about this role and think you'd be a strong fit, we encourage you to apply — even if your experience doesn't match every qualification listed above.

Job Perks

• Hybrid work with an office in San Francisco, CA
• Regular in-person events to connect and collaborate
• Competitive salary & equity 
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and families
• Flexible Time Off
• Company-paid parental, medical and caregiver leave
• Other perks including mental health resources and tech reimbursements

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 $230,000 - $260,000. 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.