Principal Mobile Native iOS/Android Architect

Job Description

Job Description

Salary:

Principal Mobile Native iOS/Android Architect

STATUS: Fraction / Interim leading to full-time hire

A senior technical authority to own the architecture of the native iOS and Android mobile platform, including the native AR and 3D-rendering layer. This is a decisions-and-ownership role, with hands-on development as needed: the architect makes and documents the structural calls the engineering team builds against, finalizes the detailed native AR/3D approach, and provides technical direction to the native iOS, native Android, and AR engineers.

What this role owns

• The mobile architecture decision record: the structure of the native iOS and Android applications, the module boundaries, and the finalized native AR/3D rendering approach - documented so the team builds against a single source of truth.
• Native AR architecture (hard requirement): ARKit / RealityKit on iOS and ARCore on Android - environment scan, plane detection, spatial anchoring, cross-device spatial consistency, and the flow of AR/sensor/telemetry data into the application and backend layers.
• Native 3D scene rendering for motion playback: skeletal and mesh motion data rendered as an interactive 3D scene (pause, scrub, zoom, rotate) on each platform - Jetpack SceneCore/SceneView on Android and RealityKit on iOS
• Real-time and backend integration architecture: live session synchronization, authentication and identity binding, and API integration patterns with a cloud backend.
• Cross-platform strategy: establishing the iOS architecture first, then defining how the Android codebase mirrors it.
• Unity as a Library (UaaL) - understanding of where the native app ends and the 3D scene begins to design the bridge interface that embeds Unity as a lightweight sub-view.
• Performance, battery, and device-compatibility strategy across a broad iOS and Android device matrix.
• Technical direction and mentorship for native and AR engineers; the escalation point for stack-level decisions.

Required experience

• Native AR architecture across both ARKit/RealityKit and ARCore not necessarily hands-on (provide direction to AR developers).
• Native 3D scene rendering experience (real-time, on-device) - rendering and manipulating 3D content, not just consuming pre-built assets.
• Senior / principal-level native mobile architecture: has owned the architecture of production native apps and been accountable for how they performed and scaled.
• Deep command of both Swift and Kotlin.
• Experience with High-Bandwidth Media and/or Background Data Optimization to the required experience sections. Know how to stream continuous video and handle all other very demanding data throughput (XR data, AI pipeline data, etc.).
• Experience architecting real-time mobile features (live video/audio, session sync) and integration with cloud backends and identity systems.
• The judgment and communication to decide quickly, document clearly, and align a small distributed team.

Strongly preferred

• Background in AR/VR, media, sports-tech, or games-plus-application products where polished app UX and a real-time AR/3D experience coexist.
• Has architected production native AR, understands its on-device performance and failure modes, and has built AR natively rather than through a cross-platform game engine.
• Real-time communication SDKs (e.g., Agora); Azure-based backends and Microsoft Entra identity; multi-tenant SaaS architecture.
• Comfort operating in a fractional/interim capacity - fast to ramp, decisive, effective without heavy oversight.

Engagement structure

Fractional or interim, and front-loaded: the foundational decisions are concentrated in the first several weeks, before significant application code is written - successful completion can lead to permanent full-time hire. Hybrid, with meaningful overlap to US working hours.

First 30-60 days - what success looks like

• A documented architecture decision record for the native mobile platform, including the finalized native AR and 3D-rendering approach.
• A real-time / session-sync and backend integration architecture validated with the backend and AR leads.
• An iOS-first build foundation established, with a clear path defined for the Android codebase.