Principal Research Engineer, Epic Developer Assistant

HellaGoodAudio; United States; On-site; USD 245,000 - 396,000; Full time

Job summary

Epic Games seeks a Principal AI Programmer to build AI-in-Unreal Engine integrations, designing and shipping the full stack that lets LLMs operate inside the editor and runtime. You will work across engine architecture, cloud services, and tooling to empower content developers worldwide.

You will collaborate with engine, tools, and backend teams, mentor colleagues, and help define reliability, safety, and evaluation for AI-driven automation.

Qualifications

• Hands-on Unreal Engine experience, including engine architecture and tooling/editor scripting.
• Experience shipping AI/LLM-powered products or strong understanding of LLMs.
• Experience with cloud-native services, web APIs, databases and deployment.
• Strong C++ (engine-side) and Python and/or a web backend language.
• Experience in games industry or interactive entertainment.
• Ability to work full-stack and reason about tradeoffs across engine and backend/frontend.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; BS/MS in CS or related field.

Responsibilities

• Design and ship AI-driven agents and tools inside Unreal Engine with engine tooling.
• Extend cloud-hosted agent harness, services, and databases.
• Work across engine tooling, cloud backend, and web UI to deliver end-to-end features.
• Evaluate emerging LLM capabilities and integrate into engine tooling.
• Define direction for reliability, safety, and evaluation of LLM-driven automation.
• Mentor teammates on game engine internals and LLM system design.

Skills

Unreal Engine experience

AI/LLM integration

Cloud-native services

C++ and Python

Games industry experience

Full-stack / web frontend

Strong communication

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science or related field

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 - UNREAL ENGINE

What We Do

Unreal-powered projects have been on the bleeding edge of real-time entertainment for over 20 years. Our team of programming experts are always innovating to improve the tools and technology that empower content developers worldwide.

What You'll Do

We're looking for a Principal Al Programmer who builds products that integrate Al into Unreal Engine. You'll design and ship the full stack of systems that let LLMs act inside the engine (from end to end, not just a single layer), bringing depth in game engine architecture, cloud services, and how LLMs actually work.

In this role, you will

• Design and build LLM-driven agents and tools that operate directly inside Unreal Engine, including engine-side C++/Python tooling and editor scripting
• Design and extend the cloud-hosted agent harness, services, and database that mediate between LLMs and the engine
• Work across the full stack (engine tooling, cloud backend, and the web UI used to drive and monitor agents) to ship end-to-end features
• Evaluate and integrate emerging LLM capabilities (tool use, multi-agent orchestration, context management) into Epic's engine and pipeline tooling
• Define technical direction for the reliability, safety, and evaluation of LLM-driven engine automation
• Partner closely with engine, tools, and backend programmers, and mentor others on both game engine internals and LLM system design

What we're looking for

• Strong programming background with hands-on experience in a game engine (Unreal Engine strongly preferred), including engine architecture and tooling/editor scripting
• Practical experience building or shipping products powered by LLMs (agents, tool-calling, RAG, prompt/context engineering), or a strong conceptual understanding of how LLMs work
• Experience with cloud-native services and infrastructure: web APIs, databases, and service architecture and deployment
• Excellent programming skills across C++ (engine-side) and Python and/or a web backend language
• Experience in the games industry or equivalent, developing interactive entertainment products
• Ability to work full-stack and reason about tradeoffs across engine code, backend services, and a web front end
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a BS/MS in Computer Science or a related field

This role is open to multiple locations in North America (including CA, NYC, & WA).

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).

New York City Base Pay Range

$245,975 - $360,763 USD

California Base Pay Range

$270,572 - $396,838 USD

Washington Base Pay Range

$245,975 - $360,763 USD

ABOUT US

Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 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.

Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!

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 here.

Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.