Team Lead - Drone Flight Simulator (Unreal Engine)

Djinni; Kraków; On-site; PLN 252,738 - 336,984; Full time

Job summary

A technology company is seeking a Team Lead for their drone flight simulator project in Kraków, Poland. The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of experience in Unreal Engine and will guide a team of developers in resolving technical challenges while implementing performance optimizations. The role offers office-based and hybrid options, and candidates from the EU are also welcome to apply. Proficiency in English and a collaborative attitude are essential for this position.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Unreal Engine development.
• Experience leading small development teams.
• Proficiency in AI behavior and physics simulation.

Responsibilities

• Guide architecture and technical decisions for the drone simulator.
• Mentor team members and ensure performance optimizations.
• Develop local multiplayer systems and manage workflows.

Skills

Unreal Engine expertise

AI and Autonomous Behavior Systems

Physics Simulation

Team Leadership

Performance profiling

Job description

**About the Project**We are developing a drone flight simulator built on Unreal Engine. Our prototype is functional, and we are now scaling toward a production-ready product. We're looking for a Team Lead who combines hands-on Unreal Engine expertise with the ability to mentor a team and drive technical decisions. You'll be working directly with our existing developers—a level designer, a physics simulation specialist, and a programmer—guiding architecture, solving performance challenges, and ensuring we build systems that scale.Team Size: 3 direct reports (with potential to grow)**Required Expertise****Unreal Engine**- Deep understanding of rendering pipeline bottlenecks: draw calls, overdraw, GPU vs. CPU binding- Practical experience implementing Level of Detail (LOD) strategies for complex environments- Proficiency with Hierarchical LOD (HLOD) for large open-world or aerial-view scenarios- Familiarity with Unreal 5 features: Nanite virtualized geometry, Lumen, World Partition- Experience with level streaming, occlusion culling tuning, and mesh/material optimisation- Ability to profile performance (GPU Visualizer, Unreal Insights, stat commands) and translate findings into actionable improvements- Experience developing local multiplayer systems in Unreal Engine**AI and Autonomous Behavior Systems**- Strong experience with Unreal's Behavior Trees and Blackboard architecture- Knowledge of Environment Query System (EQS) for spatial reasoning and decision-making- Understanding of layered AI architecture: strategic decision-making, tactical planning, and physics-constrained execution- Experience designing AI that operates under realistic movement constraints (momentum, acceleration limits, turning radius)- Familiarity with utility-based AI patterns or other decision-making frameworks beyond behavior trees is a plus**Physics Simulation and Analysis**- Experience with Unreal's physics systems for realistic object simulation- Understanding of Chaos Destruction or similar systems for dynamic fragmentation- Ability to implement event-driven data capture (collision events, impact recording, telemetry logging)**Team Leadership**- Proven experience leading or mentoring small development teams (2-5 people)- Ability to translate high-level product goals into concrete technical tasks- Experience establishing workflows for teams with mixed experience levels**Nice to Have** - Experience with AirSim, PX4, ArduPilot, Cesium, or other drone simulation frameworks- Background in defense, aerospace- Familiarity with drone flight dynamics**Location**Our preferred location is Kraków, Poland, where we can offer office-based or hybrid arrangements. We will consider strong candidates located elsewhere in the European Union for remote collaboration, with periodic travel to Kraków.We look forward to hearing from you* **Only from 5 years of experience*** **Office, Remote, Hybrid Remote*** **EU** Countries where we consider candidates* + **English B1 - Intermediate** + **Ukrainian B1 - Intermediate**