Gameplay Programmer Wanted!

We are seeking a specialist in gameplay engineering with the desire and ability to help shape the technology of a new sci-fi adventure game.

As a Senior Gameplay Engineer, you’ll collaborate closely with other creatives on a multi-disciplinary team. You don’t just bring the technical skills for building complex tools and systems - you also have the experience and good judgment to build simple ones. You’re a generous mentor and creative partner, exchanging thoughtful and meaningful feedback with your colleagues.

As part of our small, experienced team, you will have the opportunity and the responsibility to push the game’s quality and iteration speed. Our project has ambitious visual and narrative elements - VFX, environment, character, dialog and ability systems that will interact in novel ways. This role will be foundational in defining not only the in-engine architecture for these elements, but how the team creates and iterates together more broadly.

Unreal Engine 5 offers a superb technical starting point with solutions for many of the problems that a modern creative team will encounter. We are seeking an engineer with strong technical & gameplay design sensibilities, who can judge when the engine’s in-built features are sufficient and when they must be extended or even replaced.

Work Task Examples

• Rapid prototyping of gameplay systems for playtest
• Develop tooling for artists, narrative writers and others to quickly and safely add content to the game’s systems
• Identify & communicate performance constraints and asset resource budgets
• Create automated test scenarios to maintain the stability of gameplay systems
• Work with the team and stakeholders to align on priorities and deliverables
• As part of our technology team, identify and fix behavior and performance issues in game and engine code
• Participate in thorough, thoughtful & constructive peer review of your own and others’ work
• Communicate and collaborate with your fellow engineers as well as artists, sound designers, level designers and narrative developers to identify requirements or solve complex problems

Required

• At least 5 years experience with C++ or similar static programming languages
• Demonstrable experience building in Unreal or other similar real-time engine environments
• Experience growing ideas from simple, disposable prototypes into performant, fully-realized systems
• Experience profiling, debugging and optimizing compiled code
• An understanding of game design and how your choice of technical approach may affect some players’ experience in the game
• You have been responsible for coaching and mentoring colleagues in your previous work
• Excellent communication and organizational skills

Nice-to-have Skills or Experience

• Proven experience working on video game projects
• Experience extending and customizing the Unreal Editor
• Experience creating and optimizing shaders or materials
• Experience with adjacent gameplay domains such as VFX, animation or mesh sculpting
• Other creative interests such as writing, illustration, music or crafting

Work Culture + Expectations

• We are a fully remote studio, with travel opportunities for events and/or team summits. Travel is optional for most roles.
• We are distributed across North American time zones. Expect flexible work hours, prioritizing asynchronous communication, with meetings during shared core hours.
• Anyone able to legally work in the USA or Canada may be considered. As an Ontario-based organization, those working from within Ontario are especially encouraged to apply.
• Our language of communication is English. Fluency in written and spoken English will be important for you to fully participate in workplace discussions.
• We value diverse experiences and opinions. We are actively and continually working on nurturing an environment of confidence, maturity, and mutual respect. 
• We are generally seeking full-time roles, but we are open to other arrangements based on your preferences and circumstances. Please indicate when applying if you are interested in discussing alternatives to full-time work.

Benefits

We believe in wellness as a key to our success. Here’s how we are striving to achieve this:

• Extended Health Benefits (Dental, Vision, Mental Health Support and more) active on your first day of work
• Competitive vacation, sick leave and sabbatical policy
• Flexible hours

As our team grows, we will continuously re-evaluate how we meet the needs of our team and modify our benefits offering as needed. We invite everyone in our team to give us feedback on how we can ensure wellness is a pillar of our employee’s experience.

A Note on Qualifications

Even if you feel like you don’t fit every criteria listed, or think that you might be under-qualified based on the description, please don’t self-reject. We know that many talented folks, particularly people from marginalized or non-traditional backgrounds, are more likely to self-reject if they don’t fit all of the criteria perfectly. If you’re excited about the role and know your own strengths and weaknesses, then we want to hear from you! We strive to create a culture where we can grow alongside each other, so we encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn’t perfectly match the job description.

How to Apply

To apply, please fill out the short form at the link below. This will allow us to collect some basic information, including attachments like a resume or cover letter. It should just take a couple minutes to fill out and helps us stay organized - Thanks!