Expert Engineer, Security - Central Technology

DEMONWARE (CANADA) , INC.; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 115,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is seeking an Expert Engineer, Security to lead anti-cheat efforts on the Ricochet team in Canada. You will craft advanced protection systems, optimize detection mechanisms, and collaborate with multiple studios to ensure high-integrity gameplay across Call of Duty titles.

The role emphasizes deep C++ expertise, low-level systems work, and a passion for securing large-scale, latency-sensitive platforms in a global environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software development experience.
• Deep familiarity with C++ codebases and refactoring.
• Experience with CI/CD, scalability and automation.
• Strong debugging, optimization and performance tuning skills.

Responsibilities

• Innovate and Evolve: Design and implement advanced anti-cheat technologies to stay ahead of threats.
• Strengthen Core Systems: Analyze, update, and enhance protection frameworks to maintain top-tier security.
• Detect and Defend: Develop and deploy cheat detection mechanisms for fair gameplay.
• Collaborate Across Studios: Work with engineers across teams to ensure seamless integration and performance.

Skills

C++

Large-scale systems

CI/CD

Debugging

Performance tuning

Assembly language

Communication

Job description

Job Title and Requisition

Expert Engineer, Security - Central Technology Requisition ID: R027803

Job Description

Your Mission Call of Duty is one of the most iconic and successful video game franchises in the world, delivering unforgettable experiences to millions of players. At the heart of that experience is fair play—and that’s where the Ricochet team comes in. We’re on a mission to detect and eliminate cheaters swiftly, ensuring every player enjoys a level playing field. As an Expert Engineer on the Ricochet team, you’ll be a key driver in designing and building cutting-edge systems that safeguard our game clients. Your work will directly protect the integrity of one of the most beloved franchises in gaming.

What you bring to the table

The Game Security team’s priorities can change quickly based on the threat landscape. The following areas of ownership will act as a baseline. Therefore, this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Innovate and Evolve: Design and implement advanced anti-cheat technologies to stay ahead of emerging threats.
• Strengthen Core Systems: Analyze, update, and enhance existing protection frameworks to maintain top-tier security.
• Detect and Defend: Investigate, develop, and deploy cheat detection mechanisms that keep gameplay fair and fun.
• Collaborate Across Studios: Work closely with engineers across multiple teams to ensure seamless integration and performance.

Why This Role Matters

Your contributions will help millions of players experience Call of Duty as it’s meant to be played—competitive, fair, and thrilling. You’ll tackle complex technical challenges, influence the future of anti-cheat technology, and make a real impact on one of the world’s largest gaming communities.

Player Profile

Minimum requirements: Experience 8+ years of relevant professional software development experience Proven experience working on large-scale complex systems Deep familiarity with C++ codebases and refactoring Experience working in an engineering organization with a focus on CI/CD, scalability, and automation Expertise in debugging, optimization and performance tuning Knowledge & Skills Advanced knowledge of algorithms and data structures Key Attributes Strong passion for delivering high-quality products Curiosity and drive to understand how systems work under the hood, break them down, analyze their behavior, and improve them Passion for low-level systems work, including comfort reading and debugging compiled code at the assembly level Clear and effective communication skills, both written and verbal

Extra points

Experience:

• Experience working on the internals of a multi-player game engine
• Experience in reverse engineering software analysis
• DevOps experience
• Knowledge & Skills Background in Mathematics and/or cryptography
• Deep understanding of C++ compilation, linking, and toolchains, including diagnosing compiler and linker failures and optimizing build performance
• Deep understanding or hands-on experience in the anti-cheat domain

Your Platform

Activision Central Tech works to support our development studios and their titles. Comprised of seven main teams, we have many specialties including big data, privacy and security, motion capture and animation pipeline technologies, graphics, build and infrastructure for studio development and data centers, optimization, systems programming and online services including matchmaking and networking. Central Tech is distributed globally with offices across the U.S., and in Canada, England, Ireland and Japan. Most of our teams are comprised of both engineering and research talent, allowing us to always have an eye on the future. Our talented engineers help with title development and provide valuable knowledge sharing between studios while our researchers are action-oriented and keep a strong connection with the needs of the game studios. Central Tech is part of Activision. To learn more about us and our research, please visit us at https://research.activision.com/. Our World At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our “press start” is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences. We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization. We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance. Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.

You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

Base Pay Range

The standard base pay range for this role is $115,060.00 - $227,010.00 CAD. These values reflect the expected annualized base pay range of new hires in British Columbia, Canada. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed.

About The Company

Activision Blizzard, Inc. is the world’s largest interactive entertainment company, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Skylanders®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™, and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet! We’re proud to be recognized as one of FORTUNE’s "100 Best Companies To Work For®” for five consecutive years and have earned a spot on FORTUNE’s “Most Admired Companies,” and “Future 50” lists. Our 10,000+ global employees are some of the best and brightest talents across entertainment, media, and technology.

Equal Opportunity Employment

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics. We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [e-mail]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

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