Antic Games is an indie studio on a mission to reimagine the colony simulation and real-time strategy (RTS) genres. Based in Vancouver but operating remotely, our team develops SuperColony, a strategy game where players lead a genetically evolving ant colony through harsh biomes filled with competitors, including other colonies of insects. It’s a sandbox of autonomy and design - where players can customize ant behaviors and build thriving superorganisms using AI systems crafted with care.

Our studio is currently seeking a Senior/Lead Game Developer to take the reins of our core simulation and AI systems - and to help us build not just a game, but a foundation for long-term creative development.

The Role

We are looking for a highly experienced developer who can step into a technical leadership role - taking ownership of the sophisticated AI and simulation systems originally developed by our CTO, and continuing to evolve them with clarity, scalability, and long-term vision. As our CTO transitions to the role of the lead designer.

This is not a task-oriented dev job - it’s a hybrid leadership and architecture position. You will:

• Be a systems thinker and builder, someone who sees the big picture.
• Evaluate feature requests and propose robust technical solutions.
• Act as the bridge between high-level design ideas and low-level implementation realities.
• Lead a small but growing team of junior developers.
• Instill a culture of quality, documentation, accountability, and collaborative problem-solving.

This role requires strong Unity expertise, sharp algorithmic thinking, patience for debugging complex AI behavior, and a passion for building elegant tools and systems - especially ones that empower designers and make simulations come alive.

Key Responsibilities

• Take full technical ownership of the Utility AI system, including simulation, pathfinding, behavior trees, pheromone logic, and evolutionary systems.
• Maintain and evolve the Unit Editor - a system that allows players and designers to define autonomous unit behaviors using modular logic blocks and genes.
• Collaborate with the Creative Director and Game Designer to scope features and evaluate design proposals for technical feasibility.
• Architect scalable systems that empower other developers, reduce bugs, and support frequent iterations.
• Lead sprint planning for technical tasks, provide task breakdowns, and hold the team accountable for delivery timelines.
• Write clear, modular, performant C# code in Unity that others can easily understand and extend.
• Mentor junior Unity developers - reviewing their code, and helping them succeed in a remote studio environment.
• Champion debugging discipline, maintain a “paper trail” of decisions, and help the team develop diagnostic tools for troubleshooting.
• Participate in high-level discussions about long-term project goals and contribute to roadmap planning for future versions or expansions.

Who You Are

• You’ve shipped games or complex prototypes in Unity and know what it means to own systems from start to finish.
• You enjoy the challenge of working in a simulation or strategy game, where behavior, systems, and design constraints constantly intersect.
• You’re both a builder and a communicator: you can implement complex features and explain your thinking clearly to technical and non-technical teammates.
• Youthrive in ambiguity and care about getting things right - not just working.
• You have the patience to debug, the discipline to document, and the vision to build for the future.
• You're excited about mentoring junior devs, and you want to help shape a productive, respectful team culture.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in game development (Unity/C# preferred).
• Demonstrated experience building or extending AI, simulation, or systems-heavy game features.
• Strong architecture and debugging skills.
• Familiarity with math-based systems like decision trees, equations, scoring systems, or pathfinding algorithms.
• Proven experience scoping tasks and delivering against deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Experience mentoring or managing other developers, especially in small or agile teams.
• A personal or professional interest in simulation, RTS, survival, colony management, or sandbox strategy games.

Bonus Skills

• Experience building or extending Utility AI or behavior-driven agents.
• Experience with tooling or editor extensions in Unity.
• Previous work with pathfinding, data-driven design, or multi-agent systems.
• Familiarity with the challenges of indie game development or start-up environments.

What We Offer

• A market-level compensation, aligned with your experience and seniority.
• A funded project with creative autonomy and room to influence major decisions.
• A chance to build something industry-defining in the sim/strategy space—and to do it with a team that values curiosity, thoughtfulness, and playful ambition.
• Full-time role with flexible hours and remote work setup.

How to Apply

Please send us your resume, including links to any past projects, prototypes, or repositories that show your technical work.

Application questions:

• Please provide a link to your portfolio, game demo, or technical breakdowns of systems you’ve worked on. If your work is under NDA, describe it in as much detail as you can.
• In 2–4 sentences, describe one technical system you’ve built or owned in a past game. What problem did it solve, and how did you approach it?
• What is your favorite strategy or simulation game, and what makes its systems engaging to you as a player or developer?
• What is your preferred process for debugging a large system when something goes wrong but you don’t know why yet?
• How many years of game development experience do you have?

Join us in this exciting opportunity to lead innovative projects in Canada!