Gameplay Engineer

Role Description

We are seeking a Gameplay Engineer who is a specialist — deeply fluent in C++ and Unreal Engine, experienced shipping AAA systems, and capable of taking a brief from a gameplay designer and turning it into production-quality code that holds up on every platform and survives every patch.

Key Responsibilities

• Core Gameplay Systems (~50%)
  • Implement gameplay systems from designer briefs: combat, abilities, movement, AI behaviours, progression, inventory, interaction, camera — scope varies by engagement.
  • Build reusable, maintainable, testable gameplay code in C++ (and Blueprint where appropriate) within Unreal Engine 5.
  • Own Gameplay Ability System (GAS) implementation — AttributeSets, Abilities, GameplayEffects, GameplayCues — on engagements where GAS is in use.
  • Implement animation-gameplay integration: Anim Notifies, state-driven Anim BPs, root motion handling, blendspaces.
  • Implement multiplayer-safe gameplay code on engagements with networking requirements — replication, client-server authority, lag compensation.
• Quality & Performance (~25%)
  • Profile and optimise gameplay code to target platform budgets — CPU frame time, tick overhead, replication cost.
  • Write code that is reviewable: clean, commented where logic is non-obvious, consistent with project standards.
  • Catch and fix gameplay bugs — including edge cases, exploit patterns, and regression from live updates.
  • Participate actively in code review: review peers' PRs with specificity, receive and act on feedback without defensiveness.
• Design Collaboration (~15%)
  • Work directly with gameplay designers to translate design intent into engine behaviour — close the gap between what is specced and what ships.
  • Identify implementation risks in design briefs early — before they become rework — and propose alternatives when the spec is not buildable as written.
  • Expose gameplay parameters to designers in a way that is tunable without engineering involvement (Blueprint exposed properties, Datatable-driven tuning, etc.).
• Documentation & Handoff (~10%)
  • Document systems clearly — architecture decisions, integration points, known limitations.
  • Support technical handoffs between phases or teams: leave the codebase in a state that the next engineer can understand without a phone call.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional game development experience with at least 3 years in AAA or mid-tier shipped titles.
• At least 2 shipped commercial titles on PC or console as a gameplay engineer — prototypes and internal tools do not count.
• Deep Unreal Engine 5 experience in C++: Gameplay Framework (Actor, Component, GameMode, GameState, PlayerController), GAS, CharacterMovement, Anim BP integration.
• Strong C++ fundamentals: memory management, data-oriented thinking, performance-aware coding.
• Blueprint proficiency — not just reading it, but building designer-facing tooling in it.
• Experience with multiplayer gameplay replication (nice to have, not required for all engagements).
• Strong game design sensibility — can tell good gameplay from broken gameplay and can articulate why.
• Remote-first habits: clear async communication, writes things down, doesn't create silent dependencies.

Preferred

• Online multiplayer systems — Actor replication, GameplayEffects replication, ability prediction and correction.
• Console platform experience: certification pipelines, platform-specific constraints.
• Gameplay AI systems in UE5: Behavior Trees, EQS, AI Perception — not required but valuable for certain engagements.
• Prior co-development or external development experience.

Benefits

• This would be a full-time employment role with standard industry benefits in Canada.