Experience
Senior AR/VR Software Engineer
Apple | Sept 2022 - Present
As the directly responsible individual (DRI) for future spatial computing initiatives at Apple, I spearheaded the conceptualization and development of a novel idea in my first year. Expanding my expertise into software engineering, bringing the vision to life, leading the execution, engineering, and strategic direction of the project while leveraging AI and spatial computing. This initiative profoundly impacted our team’s and the Vision Product Group’s roadmap, broadening our scope and guiding the work of others. I lead regular cross-functional syncs to align and drive collective progress, drive features towards novel technical frameworks, actively file patents, and ensure continuous development towards a future product.
Senior Research Scientist
Apple | Jan 2022 - Sept 2022
As part of a small fundamental research team in the Vision Product Group, I accelerated innovation towards future AR/VR experiences, including spatial computing. I led research ideation, engineering, and execution among core team and cross-functional partners, delivering key insights for the launch of the Vision Pro. My efforts resulted in a broader allocation of resources towards AR/VR initiatives. I oversaw the technical implementation of research prototypes and tools, developed a novel track of research, managed vendors across multiple research sites, presented to VPs and executives, and submitted three patent applications.
Ethicist
Meta Reality Labs | Oct 2021 - Dec 2021
I was brought in for my expertise in ethical considerations of AR/VR and AI, demonstrated during my previous time at Reality Labs. In this role, I met with leads of Reality Labs to consult and guide ethical considerations relating to future products. I worked on an undisclosed project, providing critical insights and recommendations to ensure the ethical development and deployment of Meta’s innovative technologies.
Research Intern
Microsoft | Jul 2021 - Oct 2021
During my PhD internship at Microsoft, I was brought in to work on Intelligent AI, leveraging my expertise in AR/VR and AI. I conducted research in Intelligent AI, contributing to innovative project initiatives and incorporating my knowledge to advance the work towards Microsoft's suite of software solutions.
Research Scientist Intern
Meta Reality Labs | Jan 2021 - Jul 2021
During my PhD internship at Meta's Reality Labs, I was brought in to work on an undisclosed project with a group in Reality Labs, leveraging my expertise in AR/VR and ethical considerations of design. In this role, I worked on the future roadmap, created small prototypes to demonstrate key concepts, and contributed to the beginnings of a novel research area, applying my knowledge to guide and advance the project while balancing ethical considerations with technological innovation.
Co-Founder
Br8krm | Jul 2020 - Dec 2020
As a co-founder of Br8krm, I used research insights to create an MVP to help co-workers connect during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our startup was awarded an Epic Games Mega Grant and invited to interview with Y Combinator.
Research Intern
Microsoft Research AI | May 2019 - Aug 2019
This was the first time I was not working on AR/VR, where I learned about ethical design. Our project's goal was to investigate ways to increase empathy in the world. I researched initiatives to achieve this and built prototypes to demonstrate and investigate this concept.
Virtual Reality Research Engineer
Columbia University | May 2018 - May 2019
At Columbia University, I created VR experiences for social media education for youth and the adults, agencies, and organizations that leverage social media to make decisions about youth behavior.
Research Assistant
MIT Media Lab/Harvard Berkman Klein Center | May 2017 - Aug 2017
I conducted research in augmented reality and social computing during my time at MIT Media Lab and Harvard's Berkman Klein Center.
Augmented Reality Research Assistant
University of Central Florida | May 2016 - Aug 2016
At the University of Central Florida, I created experiment designs for social presence in augmented reality, developed environments in Unity for Oculus Rift and Microsoft Hololens, resulting in multiple peer-reviewed publications.
Virtual Reality Research Assistant
Vanderbilt University | May 2015 - Aug 2015
At Vanderbilt University, I created VR worlds with Oculus DK2, developed simulations for vection in virtual reality, designed and performed experiments on vection, and presented a poster on the induction of linear and circular vection in real and virtual worlds at IEEE VR 2016.
Education
Ph.D. | Human-Centered Computing | Clemson University
Thesis: A Youthful Metaverse: Towards Designing Safe, Equitable, and Emotionally Fulfilling Social Virtual Reality Spaces for Younger Users
Advisors: Dr. Andrew Robb and Dr. Guo Freeman
B.A. | Computer Science and Spanish | Sewanee: The University of the South
Select Publications
Freeman, G., & Maloney, D. (2021). Body, avatar, and me: The presentation and perception of self in social virtual reality. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction,(CSCW3).
Maloney, D., Freeman, G., & Wohn, D. Y. (2020). "Talking without a Voice" Understanding Non-verbal Communication in Social Virtual Reality. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, (CSCW2), 1-25.
Freeman, G., Zamanifard, S., Maloney, D., & Adkins, A. (2020). My body, my avatar: How people perceive their avatars in social virtual reality. In Extended Abstracts of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
Maloney, D., & Freeman, G. (2020). Falling asleep together: What makes activities in social virtual reality meaningful to users. In Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play.
Freeman, G., Zamanifard, S., Maloney, D., & Acena, D. (2022). Disturbing the peace: Experiencing and mitigating emerging harassment in social virtual reality. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 6(CSCW1), 1-30.
Maloney, D., Zamanifard, S., & Freeman, G. (2020). Anonymity vs. familiarity: Self-disclosure and privacy in social virtual reality. In Proceedings of the 26th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology.
Kim, K., Maloney, D., Bruder, G., Bailenson, J. N., & Welch, G. F. (2017). The effects of virtual human's spatial and behavioral coherence with physical objects on social presence in AR. Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, 28(3-4), e1771.
Maloney, D., Freeman, G., & Robb, A. (2020). A virtual space for all: Exploring children's experience in social virtual reality. In Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play.
Maloney, D., Freeman, G., & Robb, A. (2021). Stay connected in an immersive world: Why teenagers engage in social virtual reality. In Proceedings of the 20th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference.
Maloney, D., Freeman, G., & Robb, A. (2021). Social virtual reality: Ethical considerations and future directions for an emerging research space. In 2021 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops.
Sykownik, P., Maloney, D., Freeman, G., & Masuch, M. (2022). Something personal from the metaverse: Goals, topics, and contextual factors of self-disclosure in commercial social VR. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.