Head of Real-Time & Editing Engine (Rust)

About us

Photoroom launched in 2020 after being accepted into Y Combinator and has become the world's most popular AI photo editor over the past four years. Our goal is to create the technology allowing anyone create studio-level product images in minutes.

With over 300 million downloads and processing 5+ billion images annually, we serve both individual creators and major enterprises like Amazon, DoorDash, and Decathlon through our B2C app and B2B API solutions.

We're a profitable, remote-friendly company that has raised Series B funding and aims for 40% year-over-year growth. Our team of 100+ passionate builders focuses on craft, innovation, and collaboration, creating exceptional impact for entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide.

TL;DR

🤓 We’re hiring a Head of Real-Time & Editing Engine (Rust) to own the core engine behind Photoroom’s live editing experience. You’ll lead the evolution of our Rust-based real-time engine, driving performance, correctness, and ambitious technical bets that power collaborative, low-latency image editing at scale.

💰 Up to 150k (local currency) + stock options

🇪🇺 Remote-friendly within a 3-hour flight from Paris (monthly visits, fully reimbursed)

✈️ Relocation support up to €10k + visa sponsorship (France-based roles)

💻 Full tech setup + annual company retreats

🇬🇧 English-first environment, with English & French lessons available

Read about what the team shipped recently on our blog: Building live collaboration in Rust for millions of users, part 1

You’ll own:

• End-to-end ownership of our Rust-based real-time editing engine, including rendering, document models, synchronisation, and collaborative editing.

• Low-latency, high-performance systems that power live editing across mobile and web platforms.

• Engine leadership — growing and mentoring a senior team working at the intersection of graphics, performance, and product-critical infrastructure.

• Technical depth and quality — architectural decisions, performance profiling, debugging concurrency issues, and setting a high bar for engine reliability.

Key opportunities to drive impact:

• Define the technical foundations for agentic and AI-driven editing workflows

• Evolve our wgpu-powered rendering pipeline for real-time, high-fidelity editing

• Enable fast experimentation while protecting engine stability and performance

Must-haves:

• Experience leading highly technical engine or infrastructure teams within product-driven environments.

• Strong systems-level expertise — comfortable with Rust internals, memory models, concurrency, and performance trade-offs.

• Background building real-time systems, engines, or performance-critical libraries used by other teams.

• Excellent cross-functional communication — able to partner closely with Product and Client teams while setting clear technical boundaries.

• Hands-on, credible leader who stays close to the code and technical decision-making.

Nice-to-haves:

• Experience with rendering or graphics APIs (OpenGL, WebGL, Vulkan, Metal, WebGPU, DX12).

• Experience scaling and maintaining large Rust codebases over multiple years.

• Familiarity with collaborative editing, CRDTs, text rendering, or vector graphics pipelines.

Reports to: Chief Technology Officer

✨ Hiring process ✨

• Recruiter screening

• Technical interview

• Technical presentation with the team

• Culture fit interviews

• Reference check & offer

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

We're committed to enabling everyone to feel included and valued at work. We believe our company and culture are strongest when composed of diverse experiences and backgrounds.

That's also why we have flexible working hours, trust people to work remotely, and extended parental leave.

All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, family, gender identity, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.