Staff Frontend Engineer - Mapping & Spatial Platform

About the Role

We are looking for a founding Staff Engineer to lead the technical architecture of our next-generation Spatial Platform. For the past decade, floor plans have been static images; we are rebuilding that foundation from the ground up as a high-performance, interactive, and collaborative 3D engine.

This is a greenfield role for a builder who wants to own a core pillar of Verkada’s infrastructure before we hit the public markets. You won't just build features—you will architect a platform that supports 8+ product lines, solving the "hard math" of geospatial projections and the "hard graphics" of rendering thousands of interactive assets at a buttery-smooth 60 FPS.

What You'll Do

• Build the Rendering Platform: Design a high-performance rendering architecture that supports both an interactive viewer for high-density geospatial visualization and a precision editing surface for real-time vertex manipulation.
• Set the UX Bar: Partner with Design to define the interaction model for spatial editing — easing curves, snapping behavior, cursor states, loading transitions — and hold the line on pixel-level polish across the platform.
• Optimize for Latency: Solve the "500-element wall" with partial GPU buffer updates and custom shaders, ensuring sub-millisecond input latency during real-time vertex manipulation.
• Spatial Intelligence: Develop power-user tools like real-time 3D line-of-sight analysis, signal strength heatmaps, and AI-driven hardware placement suggestions.
• Build the Sync Engine: Own the client-side CRDT architecture (Yjs/Automerge-class) powering offline-first, multi-user editing — document model, local persistence, presence, and conflict resolution.

What You Bring

• 5+ years of experience building complex, customer-facing web applications or high-performance graphics engines.
• Mastery of Web Technologies: JavaScript fundamentals (scoping, closures, contexts, prototypes, classes, etc.) and React expertise (common state and data libraries like React Query, Zustand, etc.)
• CS Fundamentals: A degree in Computer Science or a related field, with strong intuition for data structures, memory management, and linear algebra.
• Eye for Detail: Pixel-perfect execution — you notice the half-pixel misalignment, the 16ms jank, the easing curve that feels "off." You hold a high bar for visual polish and won't ship until interactions feel right.
• Product Grit: Ability to bridge the gap between CAD-level precision and consumer-grade UX, partnering closely with Design to turn rough specs into delightful, production-grade experiences.
• Mathematical Precision: Understanding of coordinate system conversions, geospatial projections, and 3D geometry.

Nice to Haves

• Graphics Stack: Experience with Deck.gl, MapLibre, Three.js, or raw WebGL/WebGPU.
• Collaborative Systems: Experience with real-time sync architectures (e.g., Yjs, Automerge, or Operational Transforms).
• Low-Level Web: Proficiency in high-performance 2D/3D graphics (Canvas API, low-level buffer management, or custom shaders).
• Geospatial Mastery: Familiarity with PostGIS, vector tiling (MVT), and GIS workflows.

• Healthcare programs that can be tailored to meet the personal health and financial well-being needs - Premiums are 100% covered for the employee under at least one plan and 80% for family premiums under all plans
• Nationwide medical, vision and dental coverage
• Health Saving Account (HSA) with annual employer contributions and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) with tax saving options
• Expanded mental health support
• Paid parental leave policy & fertility benefits
• Time off to relax and recharge through our paid holidays, firmwide extended holidays, flexible PTO and personal sick time
• Professional development stipend
• Fertility Stipend
• Wellness/fitness benefits
• Healthy lunches provided daily
• Commuter benefits

Additional Information

• We do sponsor and take over sponsorship of employment visas for this role. If we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa.