Principal Software Engineer - Game Engine Systems (C++)

Roblox; California (MO); On-site; USD 243,000 - 295,000; Full time

Job summary

Roblox is seeking a Senior Network Transport Engineer to help ensure real-time, low-latency game networking across desktop, mobile, and console clients. You will work on a powerful user-space network stack, a massive distributed system, and a game engine networking layer to optimize performance.

You have 7+ years in game networking, deep CPU-level memory and C++ expertise, and a passion for open source. This role is based at the Roblox San Mateo headquarters with on-site work requirements.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in game networking from a game engine/studio.
• Deep understanding of CPU-level memory management and modern C++ features.
• Experience with Linux networking, QoS, congestion control.
• Strong systems-level thinking and openness to open source contributions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize the user-space network stack for scale, latency, and throughput.
• Contribute to a large multithreaded distributed system serving millions of players.
• Work across desktop, mobile, and console targets.
• Collaborate on game engine networking components to improve real-time synchronization.
• Analyze and optimize network communication to minimize waste and latency.

Skills

C++ programming

Linux networking

Network stack

Distributed systems

Game networking

Job description

Every day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect with friends in 3D immersive digital experiences– all created by our global community of developers and creators.

At Roblox, we’re building the tools and platform that empower our community to bring any experience that they can imagine to life. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together, from anywhere in the world, and on any device. We’re on a mission to connect a billion people with optimism and civility, and looking for amazing talent to help us get there.

A career at Roblox means you’ll be working to shape the future of human interaction, solving unique technical challenges at scale, and helping to create safer, more civil shared experiences for everyone.

The Engine Networking Team pulls the players together by ensuring the communication of the game state to all. As a Senior Network Transport Engineer you will help the players experience the game as a nearly synchronous world. Just as the nerves in our bodies coordinate our actions, the network system coordinates all the computers involved into a smooth experience for the players. You will work in all areas of the game platform in your quest for real-time communication of every part of Roblox.

You Have:

• Worked on a powerful user-space network stack, solving problems related to scale, performance, latency, and throughput in client/server environments.

• Worked on a very large multithreaded distributed system that connects millions of users worldwide.

• Worked on all the devices Roblox supports - from desktop clients to mobile phone clients to console clients

• Worked on a game engine and understand how a game engine works

You Are:

• A software engineer with 7+ years of experience with Game networking coming from a Game Engine/Studio

• A deep understanding of Network Stack with a passion for working with open source

• Strong systems-level C++ programming experience and fascinated by the actual work the CPU does when you use smart pointers, templates, virtual functions, and blocks of memory, both structured and raw

• Experience with Linux networking, QoS, Congestion Control Algorithms.

• Keen to each millisecond of the network exchanges: You know where the time goes and how to reduce the waste

• Understanding of what happens on the operating systems level when certain code is completed

For roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay for this position is as shown below. The actual base pay is dependent upon a variety of job-related factors such as professional background, training, work experience, location, business needs and market demand. Therefore, in some circumstances, the actual salary could fall outside of this expected range. This pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity compensation and for benefits as described on this page.

Annual Salary Range

$243,290—$295,250 USD

Roles that are based in an office are onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with optional presence on Monday and Friday (unless otherwise noted).

Roblox provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Roblox also provides reasonable accommodations to candidates with qualifying disabilities or religious beliefs during the recruiting process.

For US based roles only, please note the Company may not be able to employ candidates for this role who have United States work authorization related to certain U.S. visa categories, or support future H-1B sponsorship at this time.