What VR skills do you need to get hired?

For managing VR hardware I would also recommend getting a good mobile device management system which will help with managing internal hardware as well as hardware that you deploy with clients.

Crafting immersive VR experiences requires a developer's toolkit. Different platforms and devices demand specific SDKs, game engines, frameworks, and libraries. Popular choices include Unity, Unreal Engine, and Oculus SDK. We also need to be hardware wizards! Testing and debugging VR across headsets, controllers, and trackers ensures a smooth user journey. Mastering these tools unlocks the true potential of VR!

Most VR developers started and continued with Unity engine, which supported most platforms on day one. The second engine with growing support is Unreal Engine. Keep that possibilities are growing, but platform support is often lagging e.g. Meta Avatars. As for WebXR you can try Unity targeting or build natively, but this platform misses monetization opportunities for now. Now for tools. The most future-looking low-level bridge between XR devices and applications is OpenXR. Be careful, it can miss advanced features. XR interactions require detail and polish. Go for VRTK for business apps. Meta Interaction SDK helps with Quest hand support. In game dev, you should know platform integration SDKs: SteamVR for Steam/PCVR and Meta Platform SDK.

I'll focus on Unity support from my own experience. Strong C# is a must. You should be aware of a data-oriented programming paradigm that you can leverage as a candidate. In Unity world a data-oriented (e.g. ECS) approach is getting applied more, especially in networked and heavy apps and games. Another critical language-oriented C# skill in regards of VR is being aware of memory usage just like in regular game development. In Unity tool-making is also a crucial skill so making tools in immediate mode requires learning and differs from regular game development.

For those wanting to develop applications for the Apple Vision Pro I would also suggest learning Swift, which is interoperable with Objective C and C++.

The first and foremost development setup is making sure you can iterate rapidly. In an on-site environment, a good practice is to test often and leverage that other team members are around. VR development requires a lot of tweaking and polish. Use someone as a VR player e.g. to test interactions and tweak params in Editor. In remote you can use input recorder to record interaction input and then iterate how your app responds.

Beyond the basics, consider honing your User Experience (UX) skills to craft seamless, immersive environments. Be adaptable and innovative, demonstrating your ability to evolve with the ever-changing VR landscape. Sharpen your problem-solving prowess in three-dimensional space, anticipating and addressing user challenges effectively. Understand the psychology of VR users to create engaging experiences and pay meticulous attention to detail in your projects. Showcase your ability to collaborate across disciplines and integrate hardware seamlessly. Lastly, ethical considerations encompass privacy, security, and psychological impacts, emphasizing responsible development practices.