Jack Yang
Reimagining Reality with XR + AI
I’m Jack, an engineer at Microsoft shipping avatar and social experiences for Microsoft Mesh and Teams. For over a decade, I’ve built interactive XR + AI products across research, startups, and enterprise platforms with a focus on making remote collaboration feel more natural, expressive, and human.
- Location
- Seattle, United States
- jackyangzzh@gmail.com
- GitHub
- jackyangzzh
- Medium
- jackyangzzh
- jackyangzzh
Experience
– present
XR + AI Software Engineer at Microsoft
Highlights
- Currently working on tented project that I can't talk about publicly yet. Stay tuned!
- Build the cross-platform UI system (UXTools) powering Mesh and Avatar surfaces across Teams desktop, web, and immersive (Quest) clients.
- Ship the avatar customization experience and contribute to the core avatar stack used by Avatars in Teams and Microsoft Mesh immersive events.
- Drive performance, accessibility, and localization work across the avatar pipeline so the same identity renders consistently from 2D meeting tiles to crowded 3D venues.
–
AR/VR Interaction Engineer at Holos
Highlights
- Developed AR/VR training platform featuring gesture recognition, hand tracking, and contextual guidance.
- Implemented multiplayer networking, automated 3D model ingestion, and advanced interaction mechanics.
- Partnered with leadership to secure $750K U.S. Air Force contract and acceptance into Techstars accelerator.
–
XR Researcher at Kats Research Group
Highlights
- Developed chromatic adjustment algorithms to simulate color vision deficiency on hyperspectral imagery, deployed in color-calibrated Oculus Rift demonstration.
- Built AI model that mimics human color vision behavior, achieving 90% chromatic adjustment accuracy.
–
Graphics Researcher at UW Graphics Group
Highlights
- Built low-latency VR control loop mapping hand gestures to remote robotic arm manipulation.
- Designed Unity UI for replaying robotic arm motion from datasets spanning 15+ lab experiments.
Education
–
Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin–Madison
Courses
- Double-majored in Computer Science and Communication Arts.
- Served as a teaching assistant for CS 559 (Computer Graphics) for 2 semesters.
–
National Game Academy from Carnegie Mellon University
Courses
- Studied game design at the CMU Entertainment Technology Center.
- Led development and release of Kitchen Kraving, a VR game for the Oculus Rift DK2.
Publications
“Passive frequency conversion of ultraviolet images into the visible using perovskite nanocrystals”
Co-authored research on hyperspectral imaging and color perception.
Effective Leaders: Four Attributes That Underpin The Core Characteristics of Effective Leadership
Featured article ‘Critical Conversation’ published in the book.
Skills
- AR / VR / MR
- Level: 3/3Keywords:
- AI / ML
- Level: 3/3Keywords:
- UI / UX
- Level: 2/3Keywords: