Principal Software Developer - Full Stack (Unity, C#)

Zynga; Toronto; On-site; CAD 114,300 - 164,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Job summary

Zynga seeks a Principal Software Engineer in Toronto to lead core client technology and engine‑level systems for a casual mobile game. You will own architecture, optimize load times, frame rates, and memory footprint while collaborating with a distributed team.

The role requires strong C#, Unity experience, and a proven track record shipping mobile titles. You’ll mentor engineers, influence tooling pipelines, and contribute to long-term feature roadmaps.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. in Computer Science or equivalent/experience
• 6+ years in game industry/mobile app development
• Shipped titles or live games experience (mobile)
• Expert knowledge in C#
• 3+ years Unity experience including engine-level work
• Solid client/server architecture understanding
• Experience with AWS, Kubernetes and Datadog
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to diagnose performance issues and optimize load times, frame rate and memory usage
• Experience with third-party libraries, SDKs, and engine maintenance
• Familiarity with Git and dev tooling

Responsibilities

• Define and develop core Unity/C# systems and client infrastructure
• Diagnose and fix performance issues across load times, frame rate, and memory
• Own evaluation and maintenance of third-party libraries and engine dependencies
• Design architecture changes to enable future feature roadmaps
• Produce technical designs and implementation plans
• Estimate work with clear assumptions and risks
• Mentor engineers and review code/ designs
• Profile, optimize, and refactor to meet performance KPIs
• Lead multi-week infrastructure/tooling projects
• Present talks on architectures built and evolved

Skills

C#

Unity

Mobile game dev

Performance profiling

Client/server architecture

Engine-level systems

Git

Build tooling

Communication

Troubleshooting

Education

B.Sc. in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

Unity Editor

AWS

Kubernetes

Datadog

CI/CD tooling

Git

Job description

Zynga is looking for a Principal Software Engineer level in the Austin, Eugene, Toronto, San Mateo, Carlsbad, or Chicago areas.

This position will be to develop and maintain the core client technology, engine‑level systems, and infrastructure for a game with a cozy vibe targeting a casual audience. You should have a passion for engineering excellence and be comfortable diagnosing and solving deep, systemic technical problems, such as improving load times, frame rate, memory footprint, and other cross‑cutting performance concerns. You’ll need to operate with rigorous engineering discipline while working largely independently to plan and execute complex, multi‑week technical initiatives.

We have a well‑rounded, highly motivated, distributed team with a mission‑driven culture working on a new game. We need a self‑driven engineer who confronts challenges with optimism, communicates clearly and easily, and takes a great deal of pride in their work. You’ll have an opportunity to own core engine and infrastructure work, including upgrading and maintaining third‑party libraries and dependencies, evolving build and tooling pipelines, and making foundational changes to the client architecture that unlock future feature roadmaps for the rest of the engineering team.

What You’ll Do

• Define, architect, and develop core systems and client infrastructure in Unity and C#
• Diagnose and resolve complex, game‑wide technical issues such as slow load times, low frame rates, memory pressure, and build/runtime stability
• Own the evaluation, upgrade, and maintenance of third‑party libraries, SDKs, and engine dependencies
• Design and implement foundational architecture changes that enable future feature roadmaps for feature‑focused engineers to build upon
• Produce technical design documentation and implementation plans for infrastructure and systemic initiatives
• Scope and cost work accurately from loosely defined requirements, presenting estimates with clear assumptions and identified risks
• Adapt plans and technical approaches when requirements or platform constraints change
• Review code, technical design documentation, and implementation plans for other team members
• Proactively profile, optimize, and refactor code to meet team performance and stability KPI goals
• Explore, develop, and integrate new technologies and tools that benefit the broader engineering team
• Work closely with other engineers to lead multi‑week or month‑long infrastructure and tooling efforts
• Give team and divisional tech talks on architectures that you’ve built
• Work to improve and evolve team process and engineering standards
• Help to mentor other engineers

What You Bring

• B.Sc. in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent education / work experience
• 6+ Years game industry / mobile app experience as a software developer
• Shipped titles and/or live games experience, especially mobile (iOS / Android)
• Expert knowledge in C#
• 3+ Years Unity experience, including engine‑level and low‑level systems work
• A solid understanding of client/server architecture in modern mobile games
• Understanding, interest and knowledge of server‑side architecture in mobile games
• Solid foundation in data structures, algorithms and software methodologies
• Demonstrated experience diagnosing and resolving performance issues such as load times, frame rate, and memory usage
• Experience upgrading, integrating, or maintaining third‑party libraries, SDKs, or engine versions
• Experience with the AWS ecosystem, Kubernetes, and back end monitoring technologies such as Datadog
• Excellent communication skills and comfort working in a collaborative environment
• Excellent ability to foresee and proactively resolve blockers, technical risk, and points of failure
• Excellent ability to function in an asynchronous distributed work environment while still tuning in to key team meetings
• Experience with git
• Experience with performance profiling and optimization tools

Bonus Points

• Experience with Unity engine source modification or custom engine forks
• Experience with build pipeline, CI/CD, or dev tooling for game teams
• Experience playing and working on games that target a casual audience
• Experience using Claude Code or a similar AI coding tool

What We Offer You

Zynga offers a world‑class benefits package that helps support and balance the needs of our teams. To find out more about our benefits, visit the Zynga Benefits site.

The pay range for this position in Toronto at the start of employment is expected to be between $114,300 and $164,300 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.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $133,900 and $180,000 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.

The pay range for this position in Illinois at the start of employment is expected to be between $120,600 and $170,000 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. The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization. Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at [e-mail] to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.

Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third‑party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others. Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel. Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage. Zynga’s in‑house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, take2games.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).