Company and role
In Virtualis LLC is a grant-funded AI research company building human-AI interaction (HAI) systems that map brain-computer interface signals to real-world actions: a transparent, intuitive XR and human-robotics interface. Our funding runs January 2027 through January 2029 with available extensions, so the runway is in hand.
We are hiring a lead engineer to own:
- XR interface design and build (Unity; Apple Vision Pro and other headsets), integrated with robot and simulation targets
- API and SDK integration with our neurotech partners (BCI and neural-interface hardware)
- Agentic loop engineering: the multi-step pipelines where models, tools, and user feedback are chained, tested, and evaluated
- Software testing and release discipline for the whole stack
- Initial deployments with our robotics and BCI partners
- Keeping the whole pipeline reproducible enough that a second engineer could run it
You will wear many hats and work directly with the founder/PI. Hardware you will touch: Apple Vision Pro and other XR headsets, gaze and ring-style inputs, partner BCI hardware, robotics simulators (AI2-THOR, NVIDIA Isaac Sim), physical robot platforms, and a humanoid robot we plan to bring in during the award.
The ideal candidate brings enthusiasm, creativity, and vision to the role. Our intent is to bring on a strong builder for the grant project (through 2029). The grant pays for the role. Equity is earned by the vision you bring beyond it, and when the role converts to a founding position, vesting is credited from your first day.
What we're offering
In Virtualis today is one founder, an advisory bench, and partner companies with letters in hand. You would be the second person in the room.
A paid project for a high-agency builder, in a small company at the intersection of neurotech and BCI, AI, and robotics. The build is scoped and funded by the NSF for two-plus years, with extensions and industry collaborations on the table: we hold multiple letters of support and trial projects in writing with neurotech and assistive robotics partners.
You will have a say in what gets built and where the company goes. The initial role is funded and project-specific; the promotion is into a significant equity-based role in a company you helped shape, without the equity locked behind slow vesting.
Who this is for
A builder. Evidence of diverse, shipped projects outweighs a polished CV or FAANG/academic pedigree.
Hard requirements:
- Shipped XR. Unity or native visionOS, with gaze, hand, or eye-tracking input. This is the first thing we screen on: ML experience we can grow in you, shipped XR we can't wait on.
- Authorized to work in the U.S. We do not sponsor visas at this time.
- 3+ years shipping software professionally
- One product with real users that you can show us
- A public GitHub (or equivalent) with something you built.
You are a good fit if you:
- Bring curiosity well beyond the XR you've shipped: what the interface should become, not just what it is.
- Can teach yourself effectively, especially with AI tools: GitHub repos, shipped prototypes, builds that show you went from zero to functional in a domain you didn't know. Show us how you tackle a new challenge.
- Have carried at least one thing from idea to a working system in someone's hands—data in, model, interface, deployment, and the fixes after.
- Demonstrate clear, straightforward communication. Know your work preferences and be able to say how you operate best in a small team.
Strong candidates also have (any two of these):
- XR development: Unity, Apple Vision Pro, Quest, or similar; gaze, hand, or eye-tracking input
- ML ops: training pipelines, model versioning, eval harnesses, deploying models to edge or client devices
- Software deployment: CI, packaging, shipping something real to real users. Our current stack is Python, C#, Swift/Xcode, and Unity.
Not required:
- Neuroscience or neurotech background. We will teach you what you need.
- Signal or time-series ML. Neural signals familiarity a bonus, not required.
- An advanced degree. Not discouraged, just not required.
How we hire
1. Cover letter and resume review. The cover letter is 200–400 words and we weigh it heavily. Answer two things: why this problem and this company—show us you read the posting and looked at what we do, and make the case in two or three sentences that your history is relevant; and tell us what big problem you ultimately want to work on and why. Don't pander.
2. Public GitHub review.
By invite: two 45-minute interviews and a take-home project. The project is described after the first interview and demoed at the second. It has two parts: an XR interface piece we specify, and an adaptive piece we leave open. How the system learns its user is yours to define, and we weigh your judgment there as much as the build. Expect it to take five-plus hours; the strongest submissions usually take more, and we read for what you did with the extra time. Prior public work in this space exists; use it if you like and tell us what you built on. If you are hired, the take-home is paid work, and the IP comes with you into the company.
We reply to every complete application: Resume/CV, GitHub link, and a cover letter that answers both questions. Incomplete applications may receive no reply.
Terms
| Rate | Trial (1099): $75–90/hr, depending on experience. On conversion (W-2, full-time): the same rate as salary, $156,000–$187,200/yr, plus benefits: up to $885/month toward an HSA-eligible health plan (75% of single or 70% of family premium, plus HSA match up to $2,000 single / $4,000 family), five paid holidays, paid sick leave, and a SEP-IRA contribution from year two (percentage set by grant budget availability) |
| Structure | 1099 contractor for an initial trial, converting to W-2 full-time or closing the contract within 60 days |
| Hours | Full-time preferred; will consider 30+ hrs/week to start |
| Location | Remote, US-based; U.S. work authorization required, no visa sponsorship. Seattle or Boulder/Denver area a plus, not required |
| Start | January 1, 2027 target; December 1, 2026 at the earliest |
| Equity | Not part of this role. This hire is project-specific and fully paid through the grant. The goal, though, is for it to convert to an equity-based Founding Engineer role or equivalent. When it does, vesting is credited from your first day on the trial, not from the conversion date |
Trial and conversion.
You start as a 1099 contractor on a paid trial: two weeks of admin and task onboarding, then a one-month build push. By day 45 you present a working prototype of something real, not a ramp-up plan. That is the bar for converting to W-2, and it is how we both find out early if it isn't working. Either way the decision is made within 60 days. We will not waste your time.
This is a funded position on a multi-year federal award, not a runway bet.
How we work
We work like a forward-deployed engineering team: understand the workflow, build the eval suite, deploy over what already exists. You would be the first engineer on that team.
If you want a defined 40-hour role with clear specs and a manager, this isn't it, and we would rather say so now than in month three.
If you can't link to something you built and shipped, please don't apply yet.
To apply
Send your cover letter, resume, and GitHub link tocareers@invirtualis.aiwith the subject line: "XR + ML Engineer - [YOUR NAME]"