Principal Engine Programmer, Verse Framework

ENGINEERING - UNREAL ENGINEWhat We Do

Unreal-powered projects have been on the bleeding edge of real-time entertainment for over 20 years. Our team of engineering experts are always innovating to improve the tools and technology that empower content developers worldwide.

What You'll Do

We’re looking for a passionate Principal Engine Programmer to help empower the Verse Framework team to build the best content and game creation platform. You can expect to contribute across a variety of framework and gameplay features and hardware platforms, from desktop to console to mobile. You will lead cross-functional groups and partner closely with Unreal Engine technical teams as well as game teams, ensuring that the underlying systems we build are scalable and secure. You should have a broad knowledge of modern game engine technology, as well as experience with a variety of gameplay systems. You should also have a strong understanding of API design and maintenance. Additionally, you should have experience leading cross-functional and cross-team initiatives, working closely with developers in all disciplines, not just other programmers. Your team’s goal is to empower Unreal Engine developers, including Fortnite, to make world-class experiences using the systems that you create, through close iteration with both our internal game teams and external engine customers. Your impact can be in all of the areas of the development spectrum, from design, to usability, to deployment in projects while ensuring stellar runtime performance. As a member of the Verse Framework Unreal Engine team, you will help guide the creation of the next generation of Unreal Engine. You will be responsible for collaborating with other programmers from a variety of other teams to design the APIs and gameplay systems that will enable programmers and designers from 1st Party Teams, Licensees, and our Creator Community, who are building their game upon our Unreal Engine Framework technology. Your contributions to the team will help build towards the next generation of amazing gameplay experiences while finding paths to expose those toolsets to our content creator ecosystem using Unreal Editor For Fortnite.

In this role, you will

• Provide technical leadership to a team of world-class programmers and coordinate development of gameplay systems and creator ecosystem APIs
• Architect and guide gameplay system development to help Unreal Engine grow to fit the needs of current and future games and applications
• Research capabilities for gameplay system functionality available on various platforms such as characters, input, networking, physics, audio/visual effects, content creation and more
• Mentor and foster the professional development of more junior team members, as well as scope and prioritize work in close collaboration with the team, making trade-offs when they’re appropriate, and work closely with other teams, often across different projects, along with their leads and production to align feature work to help everyone succeed
• Design new APIs that will support gameplay features for both Epic’s games and the Unreal Engine, as well as build tools that make it easier to develop content in Unreal Editor For Fortnite
• Support external Unreal Engine developers by answering their requests and questions about framework systems, as well as provide samples and documentation that showcase how to best use the framework APIs and tools in the Unreal Engine and Unreal Editor for Fortnite
• Bug fix and maintain the Unreal Engine code base

What we're looking for

• 7+ years of experience working with AAA game engines and a variety of game engine systems and technologies
• 2+ years of experience technical leadership
• Excellent leadership skills, including mentoring your team, planning technical roadmaps, making trade-offs, and prioritization
• Focused on engineering excellence and a passion for well designed and architected systems
• Strong problem-solving, logic, and troubleshooting skills
• Experience with one or more of the following: game engines, consoles (Xbox, Nintendo, Playstation), or mobile (Android, iOS)
• Experience in a cross-disciplinary development environment, with excellent cross-discipline communication skills. You should be able to communicate and explain trade-offs with non-programmers

This role is open to multiple locations across the US (including WA).

Pay Transparency Information

The expected annual base pay range(s) for this position are detailed below. Each base pay range is relevant only for individuals who are residents of or will be expected to work within the specified locale. Compensation varies based on a variety of factors, which include (but aren’t limited to) things such as skills and competencies, qualifications, knowledge, and experience. In addition to base pay, most employees are eligible to participate in Epic’s generous benefit plans and discretionary incentive programs (subject to the terms of those plans or programs).