Senior Research Programmer

Epic Games; Montreal; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading game development company in Montreal is seeking a developer for its Special Projects team. This role involves programming AI tools to enhance gaming experiences and collaborating with various teams. Ideal candidates have a strong background in machine learning and Python programming and experience with real-time systems. Competitive benefits and a supportive work environment are offered.

Benefits

100% benefits coverage for employees and dependents

Robust mental well-being program

Competitive retirement savings plan with employer match

Qualifications

• 5+ years building production ML or distributed systems.
• Comfort reading papers and turning ideas into robust code.
• Experience with reinforcement learning or RAG techniques.

Responsibilities

• Own the data pipeline and enforce data quality.
• Train and align at scale with distributed workflows.
• Collaborate with teams to ship real-time experiences.

Skills

Expert Python

AI-assisted development tools

Familiarity with reinforcement learning

Strong systems skills

Education

B.S. in CS/ML/EE/Math or equivalent

Advanced degree a plus

Tools

Python

Copilot

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?

At the core of Epic’s success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it’s building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we’re always innovating.

Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We’re constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.

PROGRAMMING - SPECIAL PROJECTS

What We Do

The Special Projects team at Epic is responsible for executing high-impact projects that push the envelope to define the future of real-time graphics and gaming technology (The Matrix Awakens, Lumen in the Land of Nanite). In collaboration with the Unreal Engine team, we strive to put our technology and knowledge into the hands of users, empowering developers and content creators with the most powerful suite of real-time tools in the world.

What You'll Do

Epic’s R&D team is developing tools to bring AI-powered conversational technology to games. You will program the tools and fine-tune the LLMs to enable more immersive experiences for players and new creative possibilities for developers.

In this role, you will

• Own the data pipeline: source/synthesize scalable conversational datasets, and enforce data quality, privacy, and provenance
• Train and align at scale: build distributed SFT/DPO/RLHF workflows, automate evals, and iterate quickly
• Enable the creation of new real-time experiences: integrate LLMs with tool use, memory/RAG, and TTS/ASR; meet strict latency and cost budgets for live gameplay
• Collaborate with the moderation teams: work with Epic’s moderation teams to continue refining safeguards and policy checks
• Partner widely: collaborate with gameplay programmers, designers, and artists to prototype and ship real-time experiences in games

What we're looking for

• B.S. in CS/ML/EE/Math or equivalent; advanced degree a plus
• 5+ years building production ML or distributed systems (flexible for exceptional impact)
• Expert Python (async I/O, data programming); strong systems skills
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf)
• Comfort reading papers and turning ideas into robust code
• Experience with reinforcement learning, safety alignment, or RAG techniques
• LLM-related open-source contributions or published research

EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE

We pay 100% for benefits for both employees and dependents and offer coverage for supplemental medical, dental, vision, critical illness, telemedicine, Life and AD&D, long term disability insurance as well as weekly indemnity (short term disability) and a retirement savings plan with a competitive employer match. In addition to the EAP (employee assistance program), we also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents.

Pay Transparency Information

The expected annual base pay range(s) for this position are detailed below. Each base pay range is relevant only for individuals who are residents of or will be expected to work within the specified locale. Compensation varies based on a variety of factors, which include (but aren’t limited to) things such as skills and competencies, qualifications, knowledge, and experience. In addition to base pay, most employees are eligible to participate in Epic’s generous benefit plans and discretionary incentive programs (subject to the terms of those plans or programs).

ABOUT US

Epic Games spans across 25 countries with 46 studios and 4,500+ employees globally. For over 25 years, we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.

Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy.