Netflix

Senior Gameplay Programmer, Game Prototypes

Netflix$140K — $250K *
US-AnywhereRemote in Canada
Consumer Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in gameplay programming across diverse game genres
  • Proficient in Unreal Engine 5 with strong skills in C++ and Blueprints
  • Experience prototyping and shipping multiple game titles focusing on player experience
  • Strong mathematical abilities for optimization and debugging
  • Excellent communicator, able to convey technical concepts to non-technical team members

Responsibilities

  • Contribute to various projects across multiple game genres with tailored engineering approaches
  • Own and drive complex gameplay features from prototype to polished product
  • Translate design concepts into functional systems using UE5 and associated tools
  • Optimize and debug gameplay systems to ensure performance on cloud streaming platforms
  • Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to enhance feature integration and maintain design intent

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health and dental plans
  • Mental health support resources
  • RRSP retirement plan with employer matching
  • Stock option program for employees
  • Flexible time off for salaried employees with generous paid leave allowances
Full Job Description
We're looking for a highly-skilled Senior Gameplay Programmer to join an in-house strategic incubation game development team focused on shaping the gameplay foundation of Netflix Games. This role is central to our efforts regarding the cloud streaming platform, the Netflix Game Controller (NGC), and other potential platforms. You will be responsible for implementing and refining gameplay systems across a diverse portfolio of game prototypes. These prototypes will cover a wide spectrum of genres available in the Netflix portfolio. The right candidate will possess industry-leading craft expertise, meticulous attention to detail, and a proactive curiosity. This role requires a Senior Gameplay Programmer comfortable working across diverse game genres, from children's titles to AAA Action Adventures games, as well as working with a unique input device (the NGC). You will contribute to every stage of development, from initial vision to creating playable prototypes. A key expectation is the ability to move seamlessly between gameplay sensibility and hands-on engineering. This includes partnering with designers to shape systems and directly building them yourself using technical fluency in Unreal Engine 5, leveraging a combination of C++ and Blueprints as well as using Gen AI. You must possess the engineering rigor to architect reliable, maintainable systems and the prototyping speed to find the fun fast. THE TEAM Our mission is to empower small teams of exceptional developers to build breakout hits, leveraging innovative gameplay married with beloved IPs and served with minimal friction within the Netflix ecosystem. We seek new teammates who care deeply about the experiences they create and the people they make them with, who bias towards hands-on action and are energized by the learning that comes with bold experimentation at an agile pace. As a part of Netflix, we strive to hire the best and value integrity, excellence, respect, inclusion, and collaboration. RESPONSIBILITIES • Build Across Genres: Contribute to a rotating slate of projects spanning many different genres, adapting your engineering approach to fit the genre, audience, and platform at hand. • Drive Feature Areas End-to-End: Own multiple complex gameplay features from prototype to polished implementation, producing well-engineered, reliable, and maintainable code. • Prototype in UE5: Translate design intent into functional, playable systems and mechanics using Unreal Engine 5 with a combination of C++, Blueprints, Gen AI, and custom tools to validate gameplay hypotheses and find the fun fast. • Optimize & Debug: Profile, optimize, and debug both code and content across projects as needed to keep prototypes performant on TV via the cloud streaming platform and other targets. • Collaboration Catalyst: Partner closely with designers, artists, producers, and other engineers to integrate and improve features, ensuring cohesion between design intent and execution. Participate in code reviews and create documentation and functional tests for the features you build. THE IDEAL CANDIDATE • Proven experience prototyping and shipping two or more titles as a Gameplay Programmer/Engineer across varied genres, with a focus on excellent player experience. • Excellent technical knowledge in C++, optimization, math, and debugging, with extensive hands-on experience in Unreal Engine 5 and strong Blueprint implementation skills. • Strong gameplay and design sensibilities, able to partner with designers to shape systems and articulate the core elements that contribute to the "feel" and success of each genre. • Demonstrates ability to develop complex features and systems end-to-end, and to produce reliable, maintainable code under fast iterative timelines. • Thrives in a fast-moving, prototype-first environment where scope and direction evolve quickly, demonstrating exceptional adaptability to change. • Strong communicator who can translate complex technical ideas for other disciplines and communicates actively about the status of their tasks. • Maintains a broad and active engagement with games, offering well-informed and strong perspectives on the elements that contribute to an exceptional player experience. • Demonstrates good judgement on the required quality level and technical approach for a wide array of tasks ranging from quick and dirty prototypes to shippable features. • Demonstrates a commitment to task planning and timely delivery of tasks REQUIRED APPLICATION DETAILS • Resume • Portfolio examples are welcomed LOCATION This is a remote position based in Canada. However, candidates must be willing to travel for work-related events and adhere to a development team schedule oriented toward Eastern Standard Time (EST). Generally, our compensation structure consists solely of an annual salary; we do not have bonuses. You choose each year how much of your compensation you want in salary versus stock options. To determine your personal top of market compensation, we rely on market indicators and consider your specific job family, background, skills, and experience to determine your compensation in the market range. The range for this role is $140,000.00 - $250,000.00. Netflix provides comprehensive benefits including Supplemental Health and Dental Plans, Mental Health support, a RRSP Retirement Plan with employer match, Stock Option Program, Disability Programs, Family-forming benefits, and Life and Serious Injury Benefits. We also offer paid leave of absence programs. Full-time hourly employees accrue 35 days annually for paid time off to be used for vacation, holidays, and sick paid time off. Full-time salaried employees are immediately entitled to flexible time off. See more detail about our Benefits here.

About Netflix

Netflix, Inc. is an American media company founded on August 29, 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, and currently based in Los Gatos, California, with production offices and stages at the Los Angeles-based Hollywood studios (formerly old Warner Brothers studios) and the Albuquerque Studios (formerly ABQ studios). It operates an eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand service, which showcases acquired and original programming as well as third-party content licensed from other production companies and distributors. Netflix is also the first streaming media company to be a member of the Motion Picture Association.
Learn more about Netflix
Size
11,300 employees
Market Cap
$127.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
$2.7 billion
Founded
1997
5 Year Trend
+27.5%
Revenue
$24.9 billion
NASDAQ

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