{"id":948551,"url":"https://alion.io/job/world-labs-research-engineer-scientist-3d-tech-lead-2","title":"Research Engineer / Scientist (3D Tech Lead)","company":{"id":43961,"name":"World Labs","domain":"worldlabs.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/world-labs","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"is_intermediary":false,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":95,"open_postings":10,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":208,"computed_at":"2026-09-23T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Leadership","role_family":"Leadership","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Francisco, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":250000,"max":350000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":350000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Computer Vision","optional":false},{"name":"Machine Learning","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"World Models","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-01-28T01:00:14Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-01-28","last_verified_at":"2026-09-23T19:33:53Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":238,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":["company_stale"],"days_open":238},"description":"About World Labs\nWorld Labs is a frontier AI research and product company advancing spatial intelligence, the next frontier beyond large language models. Co-founded by Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Justin Johnson and Ben Mildenhall, the company is pioneering world models that perceive, generate, reason, and interact with virtual and physical worlds.\nThe company’s flagship product, Marble, transforms text, images, and video into fully navigable 3D worlds, unlocking applications across gaming, film, architecture, robotics, and immersive digital experiences. Backed by leading investors and with over $1B raised, World Labs is assembling a world-class team at the intersection of AI research and real-world deployment.\nRole Overview\nWe’re looking for a Tech Lead for 3D Modeling & Reconstruction to set technical direction and drive execution for our core 3D modeling efforts. This role is ideal for someone with a strong research science (RS) or research engineering (RE) background who has made meaningful contributions to the field of 3D reconstruction and/or modeling-through academic publications, widely used open-source projects, or production systems deployed at scale.\nThis is a hands-on leadership role. You’ll combine deep technical expertise with the ability to guide a high-impact team, shaping both the research roadmap and the production systems that bring modern 3D modeling methods into real-world products. You’ll work closely with research, engineering, and product partners to translate cutting-edge ideas into reliable, scalable capabilities.\nWhat You Will Do\nSet the technical vision and roadmap for 3D modeling and reconstruction, balancing research exploration with product-driven milestones.\n\nLead the design and implementation of state-of-the-art 3D modeling systems, spanning geometry, appearance, and scene-level representations.\n\nDrive innovation in modern 3D modeling approaches, including learning-based and optimization-based methods, with an eye toward robustness, scalability, and real-world data.\n\nGuide architectural decisions around 3D representations, training pipelines, and inference systems, ensuring they integrate cleanly with broader 3D data and rendering platforms.\n\nLead and mentor a small team of research scientists and/or research engineers: providing technical guidance, setting high standards, and fostering a culture of rigor and ownership.\n\nOwn end-to-end execution of key initiatives, from early research prototypes through production deployment and iteration.\n\nCollaborate closely with cross-functional partners to align 3D modeling capabilities with product needs, timelines, and quality bars.\n\nRepresent the team and its work internally and externally, including contributing to publications, technical talks, or open-source efforts where appropriate.\n\nContinuously evaluate emerging research and industry trends in 3D modeling and reconstruction, and translate the most promising ideas into actionable plans.\n\nKey Qualifications\n8+ years of experience in 3D reconstruction, 3D modeling, computer vision, graphics, or closely related fields.\n\nA strong track record of impactful contributions to the field, demonstrated through academic publications, influential open-source work, or widely deployed industry products.\n\nDeep expertise in modern 3D modeling and reconstruction methods, including representation design, optimization strategies, and learning-based approaches.\n\nProven experience leading or mentoring a small team, lab, or project group, with responsibility for technical direction and delivery.\n\nStrong programming skills in Python and/or C++, with experience building both research prototypes and production-quality systems.\n\nHands-on experience with machine learning frameworks and large-scale experimentation or training pipelines.\n\nSolid understanding of how 3D modeling systems interface with data pipelines, rendering, and downstream applications.\n\nComfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments, making high-leverage technical decisions with incomplete information.\n\nHigh ownership mindset and a product-aware perspective: you care not just about novelty, but about reliability, performance, and impact.\n\nEnjoy collaborating with senior peers across research and engineering, and raising the technical bar through example, mentorship, and clear technical communication.\n\nWho You Are\nFearless Innovator: We need people who thrive on challenges and aren't afraid to tackle the impossible.\n\nResilient Builder: Impacting Large World Models isn't a sprint; it's a marathon with hurdles. We're looking for builders who can weather the storms of groundbreaking research and come out stronger.\n\nMission-Driven Mindset: Everything we do is in service of creating the best spatially intelligent AI systems, and using them to empower people.\n\nCollaborative Spirit: We're building something bigger than any one person. We need team players who can harness the power of collective intelligence.\n\nWe're hiring the brightest minds from around the globe to bring diverse perspectives to our cutting-edge work. If you're ready to work on technology that will reshape how machines perceive and interact with the world - then World Labs is your launchpad.\nJoin us, and let's make history together.\nLogistics:\nLocation: This role is based in San Francisco, California; we work in-person in the office 5 days a week.\nVisa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the visa process together.\nBenefits: We offer generous health, dental, vision and 401K benefits, flexible PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.\nEqual Employment Opportunity\nWorld Labs is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. We welcome all qualified applicants and are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the hiring process upon request.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6141,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan","Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["Generative 3D","Foundation Models","AI Research Labs"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-15T22:36:32Z"}],"liveness":{"score":34,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.766,"p_room":0.44,"age_days":238,"expected_fill_days":208,"reasons":["conf:1","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-09-23T05:45:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":350000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/world-labs-research-engineer-scientist-3d-tech-lead-2","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/world-labs-research-engineer-scientist-3d-tech-lead-2.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-09-23T21:50:09Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers"}}