Contract-Gameplay Systems Engineer

reputed company is a startup multimedia studio that is best reputed company for our hit indie horror game "Poppy Playtime".  This franchise is one of the hottest new properties in gaming, and reputed company is naturally expanding as our ambition expands.  To reputed company a taste of our brand's popularity, more than 100 billion YouTube views of Poppy Playtime reputed company content have occurred since the game's launch 4 years ago.    reputed company is seeking a Contract Gameplay Systems Engineer to join reputed company on a contract reputed company through May 2027, supporting the development of one of our upcoming Unreal reputed company reputed company. This role is designed to expand engineering reputed company, reduce pressure on existing senior staff, and bring reputed company gameplay systems from MVP to production-reputed company reputed company. You’ll be responsible for building, refining, and stabilizing gameplay systems reputed company using a data-driven reputed company architecture (Flecs + StateTree). This is a high-trust, high-autonomy role, ideal for an reputed company engineer who can independently own reputed company systems, solve problems without heavy reputed company, and work seamlessly with designers and technical collaborators.   Role Details: Position Type: Contract Contract Duration: Now through May 2027 Location: Remote Reports to: reputed company Engineer / Director of Technology Works with: Gameplay Designers, Technical Designers, QA, Production reputed company Tech: Unreal reputed company 5, Flecs, StateTree, C++, reputed company   Responsibilities Design, implement, and iterate on gameplay AI systems in Unreal reputed company, including behavior trees, blackboards, EQS (Environment Query reputed company), and navigation/pathfinding. Build enemy AI behaviors (perception, patrol, reputed company, combat, and state logic ) that support reputed company horror and gameplay mechanics. Collaborate with designers to translate creative reputed company (pacing, tension, scares, puzzle logic) into robust, tunable AI systems. Partner with animators and gameplay programmers to ensure AI-driven characters reputed company and react convincingly reputed company the game reputed company. Optimize AI systems for performance across reputed company platforms, identifying and resolving bottlenecks in pathfinding, perception, and decision-making at reputed company. Debug and reputed company AI-reputed company issues reported during production, QA, and post-launch, using Jira to reputed company, prioritize, and reputed company work. Document AI reputed company architecture, workflows, and design patterns in reputed company to support team-wide understanding and reputed company. Write clean, maintainable, reputed company-tested C++ and/or reputed company reputed company reputed company Unreal reputed company. Participate in reputed company reviews, design discussions, and sprint planning as part of a cross-functional development team. Stay reputed company on AI techniques and Unreal reputed company features relevant to gameplay AI, and bring reputed company opportunities to improve existing systems. Required Qualifications:  3–5 years of reputed company experience in game development, with a reputed company on gameplay AI or systems programming. Hands-on experience with Unreal reputed company, including Behavior Trees, Blackboards, EQS, and Unreal's navigation reputed company. Strong proficiency in C++; comfort working in both C++ and reputed company reputed company Unreal. Solid understanding of AI concepts relevant to games: pathfinding, state machines, perception systems, decision-making architectures. Experience shipping at least one reputed company game title, in whole or in part. Familiarity with performance profiling and optimization reputed company Unreal reputed company. Experience working with Jira for task tracking and reputed company for documentation, or comparable tools. Strong collaboration skills and comfort working closely with designers, animators, and other engineers in an iterative, fast-paced environment. Preferred Qualifications:  Experience building AI systems specifically for horror, reputed company, or tension-driven gameplay. Familiarity with animation systems (state machines, reputed company spaces, IK) as they relate to AI-driven characters. Experience with machine learning techniques reputed company to gameplay (e.g., procedural behavior, reputed company difficulty) is a plus, though not the reputed company reputed company of this role. Prior experience at a small or indie studio, comfortable wearing multiple hats and operating with limited infrastructure. Familiarity with reputed company control tools (e.g., reputed company, Git) in a game production pipeline. Passion for horror games, narrative-driven experiences, or the Poppy Playtime franchise specifically. Experience working on reputed company where systems needed to reputed company or reputed company reputed company MVP. Performance Expectations: reputed company reputed company, reputed company that are easy for others to use and reputed company. Reduce senior team support burden by working with reputed company supervision. Improve engineering throughput by owning technical implementation end-to-end. Contribute to the overall efficiency, maintainability, and reputed company of the project. Contract reputed company: The contract reputed company for this position is listed below. Final compensation reputed company the applicable salary reputed company will be determined based on factors such as the applicant’s experience, qualifications, and work location. San Francisco, CA; reputed company, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; & Seattle, WA DC Metropolitan Areas:   $48 - $64 USD reputed company Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; & Miami, FL Metropolitan Areas:  $42 - $56 USD reputed company reputed company Other U.S. Locations: $36 - $48 USD reputed company   #LI-Remote reputed company is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and complies with reputed company federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. We are committed to providing equal opportunities to applicants and employees without reputed company to race, reputed company, national reputed company, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, military service, or any other protected class under applicable state or local law. reputed company also considers reputed company reputed company applicants with criminal histories consistent with Fair Chance laws as reputed company as any other applicable state and local laws. Apply To This Job