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Junior Compositor Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Principal Graphics Engineer

New York, NY ยท Remote

$143K - $177K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

New York, NY

$153K - $189K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

San Francisco, CA ยท Remote

$143K - $177K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

San Francisco, CA ยท On-site

$164K - $203K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

Santa Clara, CA ยท On-site

$164K - $203K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

Santa Clara, CA ยท Remote

$143K - $177K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

Austin, TX ยท On-site

$138K - $171K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

Austin, TX ยท Remote

$143K - $177K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Principal Graphics Engineer

San Francisco, CA ยท On-site +1

$164K - $203K/yr

CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end ... as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger. Requirements This is a technically ...

Junior Compositor information

See salary details

$19K

$52.5K

$88K

How much do junior compositor jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for junior compositor in the United States is $52,462.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $36,000.00 and $57,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Junior Compositor vs Compositor?

AspectJunior CompositorCompositor
Required CredentialsBasic knowledge of compositing software, often an entry-level certification or diplomaAdvanced skills, portfolio, and possibly a degree in visual effects or related field
Work EnvironmentAssist senior compositors, work on smaller tasks, often in a collaborative studio settingLead projects, handle complex compositing tasks, and oversee junior staff
Industry UsageCommonly used in film, TV, and advertising studios as an entry-level roleUsed across similar industries for experienced professionals managing projects

The main difference between a Junior Compositor and a Compositor lies in experience, responsibility, and skill level. Junior Compositors typically support senior staff and handle simpler tasks, while Compositors manage complex projects and have more advanced expertise. Both roles are essential in visual effects production, with the Junior Compositor serving as an entry point for those starting their careers in compositing.

What is a Junior Compositor?

A Junior Compositor is an entry-level visual effects artist who combines various visual elements into a single image or sequence for film, television, or advertising. They work under the supervision of more experienced compositors to seamlessly integrate live-action footage, computer-generated imagery (CGI), matte paintings, and other assets. Junior Compositors use specialized software, such as Nuke or After Effects, to adjust color, lighting, and effects, ensuring the final product looks realistic and cohesive. This role is a great starting point for building skills and advancing in the visual effects industry.

What are some typical challenges a Junior Compositor faces when starting in a VFX studio?

As a Junior Compositor, you may encounter challenges such as learning to balance multiple tasks while meeting tight deadlines, adapting to new software tools, and understanding studio-specific workflows. Collaborating effectively with senior artists and other departments, like 3D and roto/paint teams, is also crucial for integrating feedback and ensuring shots meet the required visual standards. Overcoming these challenges usually leads to rapid skills development and greater confidence in handling complex shots.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Junior Compositor, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Junior Compositor, you need a solid understanding of visual effects principles, digital imaging, and compositing techniques, often supported by a relevant degree or portfolio of work. Proficiency with industry-standard software such as Nuke, After Effects, or Fusion, and familiarity with color grading and tracking tools, is typically required. Strong attention to detail, teamwork, and effective communication help you collaborate smoothly with VFX supervisors and other departments. These skills and qualities are essential to ensure seamless integration of visual elements and to meet fast-paced production deadlines in the film and television industry.
More about Junior Compositor jobs
What cities are hiring for Junior Compositor jobs? Cities with the most Junior Compositor job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Compositor jobs? The most popular types of Compositor jobs are:
What states have the most Junior Compositor jobs? States with the most job openings for Junior Compositor jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Junior Compositor jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Junior Compositor jobs are:
Infographic showing various Junior Compositor job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 94% Full Time, and 6% Part Time. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $52,462 per year, or $25.2 per hour.

Principal Graphics Engineer

Parallelz

New York, NY โ€ข Remote

$143K - $177K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement

Posted 29 days ago


Job description

About Parallelz

Parallelz is building a new technology platform that enables new ways of delivering, discovering, and extending mobile applications, ways that were never thought possible. We allow developers to, with no modifications to their code, transform existing mobile apps into web-native apps that can run anywhere, all without a walled garden app store.

You will be getting in at a pivotal stage, contributing to the technical strategic roadmap, helping build a world-class technical team, and working in a small, agile, flat organization to evolve our R&D initiatives into a live, scaled operational platform that will have an impact across the industry.

Parallelz is an AI-native organization. We expect every engineer to use AI tools and agentic systems as a core part of how they design, build, debug, and ship. Not as a side experiment, but as a multiplier on judgment, velocity, and quality.

Our founding team and advisors are serial entrepreneurs and technologists from Google, Mozilla, MIT Media Labs, and other top organizations. The company is joined by top-tier and global venture funds and angel investors.

About the Role

We are seeking a passionate and resilient Principal Graphics Engineer to own a foundational piece of our infrastructure: the rendering and runtime layer that lets unmodified mobile apps execute and stream pixel-perfect, low-latency experiences to any browser.

You will spend your time deep in graphics pipelines, shaders, GPU compositing, frame timing, and the cross-stack interactions between Android/Linux graphics, browser engines, and WebGL/WebGPU. The role demands first-principles thinking, an instinct for getting to the root of difficult problems, and the maturity to ship performance-critical code that holds up at scale.

We are equally interested in candidates with a deep graphics engineering background (game engines, browser graphics, GPU systems, real-time rendering) and candidates from adjacent low-level systems backgrounds with demonstrated graphics depth.

What You'll Do
  • Own the design, implementation, and evolution of our graphics and rendering stack across native (Android/Linux) and web (WebGL, WebGPU) targets.
  • Write efficient, maintainable, performance-critical C/C++ for system-level and rendering components, with hard requirements on frame budgets, memory, and latency.
  • Profile and tune the full pipeline: CPU/GPU bottlenecks, shader cost, texture and buffer management, compositor interactions, and end-to-end streaming latency.
  • Investigate and resolve faults in complex environments, tracing issues from the browser engine down through the runtime to the OS, kernel, and graphics driver.
  • Drive upgrades to the underlying platforms (AOSP versions, browser engines, GLES/WebGPU evolution) while keeping the system stable and shippable.
  • Partner with other teams to define and implement robust testing strategies for rendering correctness, performance regressions, and cross-device fidelity.
  • Operate as a senior independent contributor: scope your own work, drive it to completion, and communicate clearly with a small, high-trust team.
  • Work natively with AI coding agents and tooling (Claude Code, Cursor, agentic workflows, custom internal agents) to accelerate research, prototyping, code generation, debugging, and review, treating these tools as a junior pair you direct and verify, not a passenger.

Requirements

This is a technically demanding role that rewards resilience, creative problem-solving, and out-of-the-box thinking.

Must-Haves
  • Strong systems programming foundation: C/C++ proficiency on performance-critical, low-level codebases, with deep familiarity with Linux and OS-level internals.
  • Deep experience with one or more real-time graphics stacks: OpenGL ES, WebGL, WebGPU, Vulkan, Metal, or DirectX, including shader programming, GPU memory and pipeline optimization, and frame/latency budgeting.
  • Track record of owning complex, multi-component graphics or systems products end-to-end, from research prototype through production at scale.
  • Daily fluency with AI coding agents and LLM tooling, with a clear bias toward verifying and pushing back on AI output rather than accepting it.
  • A "dig until it bleeds" investigative instinct: the drive to understand every layer of the system.
  • Strong written communication and a self-directed working style suited to a small, senior, high-trust team.

We'd love to see depth in two or more of the following:

  • Browser engine internals (Chromium/Blink, Gecko, WebKit), particularly the graphics, compositor, or rendering subsystems.
  • Game engine internals, real-time renderers, or GPU compute frameworks.
  • Android internals and custom AOSP development (kernel, HAL, SurfaceFlinger, System Services, GMS, Android Build System).
  • Android/Linux graphics stack (EGL, Gralloc, DRM/KMS, Mesa) and graphics driver work.
  • Web platform technologies: WebAssembly, WebRTC, and the surrounding browser security/sandboxing model.
  • Containers and virtualization (LXC, namespaces, cgroups) and their interaction with hardware-accelerated graphics.
  • Real-time network and socket programming, including low-latency streaming protocols and frame pacing.
  • Linux device driver programming.
Nice-to-Haves
  • Experience building, fine-tuning, or evaluating internal AI/agent tooling that augments engineering work.
  • A data-driven mindset, relying on qualitative and quantitative signal to make informed decisions.
  • Mobile game development experience, including engines, SDKs, and the broader ecosystem.
  • Background in advanced compression, video codecs, or color management.
  • Graduate work or research background in computer graphics, systems, or a related area.

Benefits

  • Group Retirement Savings Plan matching and participation
  • Comprehensive benefits package (health, dental, vision), including Health and Wellness spending account
  • Generous time off policies
  • Access to leading AI tools and platforms