Gameplay AI Software Engineer, Original Game (Unreal Engine 5)

Blackbird Interactive

$96K — $144K *
Consumer Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of professional game development experience
  • Strong experience with C++ and Unreal Engine
  • Deep experience in responsive and designer-friendly gameplay systems
  • Knowledge of AI decision-making tools like behavior trees
  • Confidence using navigation and pathfinding systems
  • Ability to collaborate across multiple disciplines
  • Strong ownership mindset and practical decision-making abilities

Responsibilities

  • Build, refactor, and maintain robust AI features
  • Prototype and implement AI behaviors alongside the design team
  • Implement AI-controlled characters like enemies and NPCs
  • Integrate AI systems with gameplay engineers
  • Optimize perception and decision-making systems for performance
  • Work on navigation and pathfinding systems while debugging complex AI issues
  • Maintain AI middleware across all platforms

Benefits

  • Remote-friendly role with Pacific-time overlap
  • Opportunities for mentorship and technical leadership
  • Focus on high-quality, fun game experiences
  • Collaborative environment with design and content teams
  • Emphasis on establishing best practices for code quality
Full Job Description
We are looking for a Gameplay AI Software Engineer to drive the technical direction and execution of a new original game being developed in Unreal Engine 5. You will be embedded in a core gameplay team to implement gameplay features and systems within our games that are essential to delivering a polished, performant and fun experience. This role is remote-friendly in Canada with Pacific-time overlap required.

What You'll Lead and Deliver

  • Work across disciplines to build, refactor and maintain a variety of robust, flexible, and well-architected AI features.
  • Work with the design team to prototype and implement AI behaviors that empower the fun.
  • Implement enemies, NPCs or any kind of AI managed characters.
  • Work with gameplay engineers to integrate developed AI systems.
  • Implement optimizations in perception systems and decision-making systems to make the AI performant.
  • Work on navigation & pathfinding systems and demonstrate the ability to debug complex AI issues.
  • Integrate and maintain AI middleware across all platforms.
  • Partner closely with design and content teams to build high quality and fun experiences.
  • Drive engineering quality across gameplay code, emphasizing performance, maintainability, extensibility, and production-readiness.
  • Establish engineering best practices for Unreal Engine 5 development, including code review standards, debugging workflows, profiling habits, and technical planning.
  • Collaborate with technical leadership to break down risks, define implementation strategies, and align engineering execution with project goals and production timelines.
  • Communicate clearly with stakeholders about technical constraints, trade-offs, dependencies, and execution plans.


You'll Thrive Here If You

  • Have 5+ years of professional game development experience, with demonstrated technical leadership through project ownership, mentorship, and setting engineering standards.
  • Have strong professional experience with C++ and Unreal Engine, including gameplay architecture, runtime systems, debugging, and optimization.
  • Have deep experience building and maintaining gameplay systems that are responsive, scalable, and designer-friendly.
  • Advance knowledge on blueprints and AI decision making tools (Unreal behavior trees, utility AI, etc.).
  • Demonstrate confidence in using navigation and pathfinding systems.
  • Are comfortable working across systems boundaries, collaborating with multiple disciplines, and balancing short-term production needs with long-term technical health.
  • Bring a strong ownership mindset, practical decision-making, and a focus on helping teams move effectively under production constraints.


Bonus XP

  • Experience with the Unreal Engine 5 systems, like Blackboards, StateTree, and EQS.
  • Familiarity with Perforce, Jenkins, Unreal Build System, Unreal Gauntlet.


$96,000 - $144,000 a year

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