Job Title: Sr Software Apps Engineer
Business Title: Senior Chromium Engineer
Duration: 6 months
Location: US Remote
Time zone preference: EST
Pay: $105-110/hr on W2 (Only USC/GC)
Chromium Engineer is someone that will bring knowledge from years of experience working on Chromium-based browsers.
Responsibilities & Expectations:
- Primary responsibilities (daily/weekly):
- Develop and maintain core desktop browser features and UI components built on top of Chromium's architecture.
- Debug and resolve complex platform-specific issues related to rendering, networking, multi-process architecture, and system integration within the Chromium codebase.
- Use AI coding tools (Claude Code, Codex) to write and maintain high-quality, efficient code — our team does not write code by hand.
- Optimize the browser for performance, memory usage, and responsiveness across desktop platforms.
- Participate in code reviews as applicable, weekly meetings, daily standups and weekly demos (Fridays).
- Key projects or initiatives for the role:
- Desktop browser feature development: AI-driven features, custom browser UI, and service integrations
- Performance, stability, and quality improvements across the Desktop app
- Developer tooling, CI/CD, and build system improvements as needed
- Success metrics or KPIs for this role:
- Quality and stability of patches — PRs pass CI, don't regress existing features, and maintain clean separation from upstream
- Feature velocity — shipping user-facing desktop features within our 1-week cycle cadence
- Effective use of AI coding tools — leveraging agents for implementation while providing expert Chromium review and architectural guidance
- Ability to ramp quickly on unfamiliar parts of the codebase (our specific fork, patch system, build pipeline) using AI tools to bridge knowledge gaps
- How is success measured?
- PRs shipped per week
- Stability metrics — crash rates, bug count, CI pass rate on desktop builds
- Peer feedback and ability to unblock other engineers on Chromium-related questions
Candidate Profile:
- Must-have skills/qualifications (technical, soft skills, certifications, tools):
- 6+ years of professional software engineering experience
- Strong C++ proficiency (Chromium is ~35M lines of C++)
- Direct experience working in the Chromium codebase — not just "browser experience," but actually building on, patching, or forking Chromium
- Experience maintaining a Chromium fork or downstream browser (e.g., Brave, Vivaldi, Edge, Opera, Arc, or similar)
- Experience with Chromium's build system (GN/Ninja) and development workflow (depot_tools, gclient)
- Comfort with large codebases (Chromium is one of the largest open-source projects in existence)
- Willingness and ability to use AI coding tools (Claude Code) as the primary development method
- Ideal experience level (years, leadership, industries):
- 6-10+ years of software engineering, with at least 2+ years working directly in or with Chromium
- Prior experience at a company that ships a Chromium-based browser or embedded WebView product is ideal
- No management or leadership requirement — this is a hands-on IC role
- Any preferred industries or companies for background?
- Browser companies: Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, Arc (The Browser Company), Microsoft Edge, Mighty, Sidekick
- Former Chromium/Google Chrome team members
- Companies shipping Chromium-based desktop apps: Electron-based apps (Slack, VS Code, Discord) — though native Chromium fork experience is strongly preferred over Electron
- Embedded browser/WebView companies
- Desired personality or work style:
- Self-directed and autonomous — our team runs 1-week cycles with minimal process, no sprint planning or backlog grooming
- Comfortable with AI-first development — must be willing to use AI agents as the primary coding method, not just autocomplete
- Pragmatic and ship-oriented — we demo every Friday, everyone presents
- Collaborative — ideas come from everywhere (engineering, design, product), and this person will need to share Chromium expertise across the team
- Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration — "ship-to-learn, not plan-to-ship"
- Key attributes or values sought in the candidate:
- Deep Chromium systems knowledge that can accelerate the whole team
- Ability to navigate and explain Chromium internals to teammates who are less familiar
- Bias toward action
- Comfort being an expert resource while still being hands-on
- Resourcefulness with AI tools — uses agents to bridge knowledge gaps rather than waiting to become an expert before contributing
- Strong communication — reaches out early for clarity rather than spinning in isolation
Recruitment & Logistics:
- Interview process (who, how many rounds): 1 culture fit interview to assess team alignment and working style + 1 pairing session where the candidate shares their screen, brings their preferred AI coding tools (IDE, CLI, or similar), and pair-programs on a simple Windows/macOS desktop project
- Location and remote work options: Remote