The opportunityPhotoshop is 35 years old. Its rendering engine is not.
We're rebuilding the core that draws every pixel in Photoshop - replacing decades of accumulated architecture with a modern, GPU-first engine called NGE (NextGen Engine). This is a full rebuild, not an incremental extension, and it unlocks things that weren't possible before: live, non-destructive on-canvas filters, natural media brushing, and image quality built for professional video, film, and VFX work.
You'd be joining the team building this engine and bringing it into Photoshop Desktop - a multi-year effort spanning filters, adjustments, layer effects, blend modes, and every existing tool in Photoshop. It's the kind of ground-up rebuild most engineers only get to work on once in a career.
What you'll do- Design, build, and optimize GPU-based imaging and rendering features using modern C++, WebGPU, and WGSL
- Write and tune GPU shaders and compute kernels for real-time image processing
- Profile and optimize performance across the rendering pipeline - GPU occupancy, memory latency, submit batching, and frame time across a range of hardware, from integrated to discrete GPUs
- Help extend the engine's compositing and color pipeline (blending, color spaces, precision)
- Write automated tests for the rendering and imaging code you build
- Use AI tools thoughtfully to speed up development, debugging, and testing
- Make architectural calls when specs are open-ended or still forming
- Write clear, self-documenting code that your teammates can easily read and extend
- Contribute to engineering docs and design reviews, and take part in regular code reviews
About youYou:
- Enjoy working close to the hardware - squeezing performance out of GPUs and low-level rendering code
- Like contributing to something bigger than your own individual output
- Can make steady progress even when a problem is ambiguous or not fully prioritized yet
- Bring strong analytical and debugging skills, especially for tricky performance or correctness issues
- Care about precision and craftsmanship, down to the pixel and the frame
- Communicate clearly and can distill complex technical tradeoffs for different audiences
- Stay steady and adaptable when plans shift or setbacks come up
- Treat challenges as opportunities to learn something new
- Enjoy solving problems in ways that are both elegant and durable
Experience & educationWe're hiring across levels for this role, from early-career through senior, so requirements scale with level:
- A bachelor's or master's degree in Computer Science, or equivalent experience in the field
- Solid grounding in graphics and GPU programming fundamentals - pipelines, shaders, memory and performance tradeoffs
- Familiarity with GPU hardware architecture across vendors (e.g., integrated vs. discrete GPUs)
- Experience with one or more graphics APIs, such as Metal, DirectX, Vulkan, or WebGPU
- Experience building applications in modern C++ (years of experience scale with the level you're hired at)
- Comfort writing asynchronous, production-quality code
- A plus, not a requirement: experience with image-processing pipelines, WebAssembly, or large-scale codebases like Photoshop's
If you're earlier in your career and don't check every box, we'd still like to hear from you - this role is built to grow engineers into this work, not just hire people who've already done it.
Expected Pay Range:Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $139,000 -- $257,550 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.
In California, the pay range for this position is $177,900 - $257,550In New York, the pay range for this position is $177,900 - $257,550In Washington, the pay range for this position is $161,700 - $234,150
At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).
In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.
