Senior Staff Research Engineer, 3D Gaussian Splatting

Ofinno • Reston, VA

5d

About The Position

As a Senior Staff Research Engineer in the Advanced Media Lab, you will serve as the technical owner for our 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) coding direction. You will set research direction with cross-team impact, turning 3DGS coding ideas into reproducible evidence, standards-ready proposals (as applicable), and patentable inventions. This role is hands-on and execution-driven, bridging research and implementation to deliver measurable gains in compression efficiency, quality, and runtime complexity.

Requirements

• M.S. (EE/CS or related) with 7+ years of relevant research and/or product experience in compression, 3D/graphics/vision, and/or learned representations.
• Prior delegate or active contributor experience in MPEG, with focus on immersive media and/or 3D representation coding.
• Deep understanding of compression fundamentals and strong expertise in at least one of: 3D representations, neural rendering, point clouds, or view synthesis pipelines.
• Hands-on experience with MPEG V-PCC and/or G-PCC implementations and/or tool development.
• Proven ability to act as an architect/tech stack owner: make sound technical decisions, set direction, and drive execution through measurable outcomes.
• Strong implementation skills: C/C++ for performance-critical prototypes and pipelines; Python for experimentation is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to represent the company in standards meetings and industry events.
• Track record of technical impact through peer-reviewed publications, patents, and/or standards contributions.

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. (EE/CS or related) with 7+ years of relevant research and/or product experience in compression, 3D/graphics/vision, and/or learned representations.
• Hands-on experience in point cloud / volumetric / neural representation coding workflows and evaluation (datasets, metrics, streaming constraints).
• Familiarity with the patent filing process and collaborating with patent attorneys.

Responsibilities

• Own 3DGS coding technical direction end-to-end, from research framing to reproducible prototypes and proposal-ready evidence.
• Design and evaluate novel coding tools for 3DGS representations (e.g., geometry/attribute representation, parameter quantization, entropy modeling, structure/cluster coding, streaming and progressive refinement).
• Establish rigorous experimental methodology and benchmarking (rate-distortion, quality metrics, complexity/latency/memory), including ablations and reproducibility practices.
• Collaborate cross-team to remove blockers, integrate tool interactions, and improve shared infrastructure (pipelines, scripts, datasets, configurations, regression tests).
• Drive external-facing technical output as needed: author technical proposals, defend results, and align test conditions/baselines with partners or standards groups.
• Invent and develop patentable solutions that improve efficiency and/or complexity, and support the full IP process - from invention disclosure through filing.
• Mentor and multiply team output through code reviews, technical coaching, and onboarding others to 3DGS coding methodology and best practices.

Benefits

• 401(K) matching -- We help you plan and save for retirement with a 401(K) matching program that’s available on day one.
• Free healthcare plans -- Ofinno covers full premiums for you are your family on select healthcare plans, including employer HSA contributions if applicable.
• Free Food -- Our kitchen is always fully stocked, including lunch, protein bars, fruit, sodas, coffee, and tea.
• Unlimited Paid Time Off -- Our lives are enriched by family time, vacations, and personal time. We offer unlimited paid time off and sick leave.
• On-campus gym -- Unwind, reduce stress and feel great – even when you’re at work.
• Other benefits, too long to list -- Please discuss with our great People Ops team about additional benefits offered.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior