2k Games

Gameplay Systems Software Engineer

2k Games$71K — $105K *
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3+ years of professional game development or relevant real-time simulation experience
  • Strong modern C++ skills, including memory, performance, debugging, and data-oriented design knowledge
  • Production experience with Unreal Engine 4 or 5
  • Experience building gameplay, AI, animation, character, or simulation systems
  • Ability to profile and optimize runtime systems under CPU, memory, and frame-time constraints
  • Strong communication skills for collaboration across various teams

Responsibilities

  • Design and implement C++ runtime systems for large-scale crowd, NPC, and pedestrian simulation
  • Collaborate with AI, Animation, and design teams to translate behavior goals into performant systems
  • Build scalable LOD, significance, visibility, and culling systems for thousands of agents
  • Profile CPU, memory, and animation costs using Unreal Insights and platform tools
  • Contribute to character pipeline and runtime enhancements

Benefits

  • Access to full medical, financial, and other benefits
  • Bonus and/or equity awards may be included depending on role and performance
  • Subject to consideration for a wide range of benefits based on individual qualifications
Full Job Description
What We Need

We are seeking a passionate C++ Gameplay Systems Software Engineer to help build the runtime systems that drive crowds, pedestrians, background NPCs, and other non-player actors at scale. This is an important role responsible for contributing to the foundational systems that bring dense, believable, and performant worlds to life.

The ideal candidate has strong modern C++ fundamentals, hands-on Unreal Engine(UE5) experience, and an interest in building performant real-time simulation systems. Experience with crowd systems, NPC behavior, animation runtime systems, or large-scale actor optimization is highly valuable. You do not need to have worked on every system listed below. We are looking for engineers with strong C++ fundamentals, production Unreal experience, and the ability to reason about performance-sensitive runtime systems.

What You'll Do
Design and implement C++ runtime systems for large-scale crowd, NPC, and pedestrian simulation.
Collaborate with AI, Animation and design to translate behavior goals into maintainable, performant gameplay systems.
• Build scalable LOD, significance, visibility, and culling systems for thousands of active or semi-active agents.
Profile CPU, memory, and animation costs using Unreal Insights and platform tools.
• Contribute to our character pipeline and runtime

What Will Make You A Great Fit
3+ years of professional game development or relevant real-time simulation experience.
Strong modern C++ skills, including memory, performance, debugging, and data-oriented design fundamentals.
• Production experience with Unreal Engine 4 or 5.
• Experience building gameplay, AI, animation, character, or simulation systems.
• Comfortable profiling and optimizing runtime systems under CPU, memory, and frame-time constraints.
Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering, design, animation, and art.

Beneficial Qualifications
• Experience with UE5 MassEntity, StateTree, ZoneGraph, Smart Objects, or similar ECS/agent-behavior systems.
• Experience with large crowds, NPC populations, pedestrian systems, or background-life simulation.
• Familiarity with procedural generation or machine-learning-assisted approaches for agent behavior, population, or animation selection.
• Previous experience shipping a AAA title developed on Unreal Engine.

The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between $71,400 and $105,660 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for employees in regular roles may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, provided that temporary or intern roles will not be eligible for many of these payments or benefits. Details of participation in compensation and benefit plans (if applicable) will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

#LI-Hybrid

About 2k Games

2K Games is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded in January 2005 by Take-Two Interactive, and is best known for publishing the NBA 2K series of basketball games. Other popular franchises published by 2K Games include the Borderlands series, the BioShock series, and the Mafia series. The company has also published several licensed games based on popular movies and TV shows, such as The Walking Dead and WWE.
Learn more about 2k Games
Size
500 employees
Industry

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