What we need: 31st Union is looking for a Senior Gameplay Engineer to develop our Player Bots - AI agents that stand in for human players in our AAA free-to-play, cross-platform action game. Using C++, Unreal Engine 5, and our in-house utility AI framework, you will make bots that fight, traverse, loot, and team up convincingly enough that players second-guess whether they're facing a human. The same bots power mode backfill and automated testing at scale.
Responsibilities:- Develop combat behavior: target prioritization, hero-appropriate weapon and ability use, movement, and disengagement
- Develop humanization: tunable aim, reaction time, and error models across difficulty levels
- Develop macro behavior: team cohesion, traversal, pacing, events, looting, and progression
- Extend our utility AI framework: new behaviors, scoring, and tuning
- Keep bot populations performant: throttling, suspension, and LOD
- Extend bots as automated test clients, from feature tests to match-scale load tests
- Build bot evaluation tooling: debug visualization and playtest metrics
- Partner with design to tune behavior through playtests
Who you are:- 5+ years of gameplay or game AI engineering on shipped action games
- Strong C++ and Unreal Engine fluency, including AI controllers, navigation, and EQS
- Utility AI or comparable decision-making architectures
- AI in networked multiplayer: client/server authority, prediction, dedicated servers
- Humanlike combat AI: aim and error models, reaction time, believable movement
- Optimizing many concurrent agents: LOD and tick throttling
Nice-to-Haves:- Player bots in a competitive shooter
- Unreal Engine 5, StateTree, and the Gameplay Ability System
- Control systems (e.g., PID controllers) and input simulation
- Automated test clients and load testing
The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $108,900 and $161,160 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 this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.
Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company's discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.
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