Senior Backend Engineer (C++)

Rushdown Studios; City of Albany (NY); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

Paid Holidays

Flexible PTO

Annual Winter Break

401(k) Retirement Plan

Parental Leave

Annual Game Budget

Job summary

Rushdown Studios is seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to join our team in Saratoga Springs, NY on a hybrid basis. You will build and integrate central technologies to service multiple games with scalable backend services.

The role emphasizes collaboration with designers and external programmers, cloud-based microservices, and experience shipping networked multiplayer features. Game development background is a plus but not required. This is not a gameplay-engineering role.

Qualifications

• Four years of professional experience with C++.
• At least one year of professional experience with Golang.
• Experience developing and shipping commercial games and writing maintainable code.
• Experience integrating with online systems and multiplayer features.
• Ability to dive into a game engine and work with cloud services and databases.

Responsibilities

• Prototype and build cloud-based backend microservices.
• Contribute to a healthy technical culture and learning.
• Partner with designers to iterate features and optimize player experience.
• Integrate first‑party platform features and meet console requirements.
• Collaborate with external programmers to optimize features.
• Develop new services and write software design docs.
• Support live features and releases.
• Troubleshoot crashes on PC and console.
• Work with partners and provide technical feedback.

Skills

C++

Golang

Multiplayer backend

Cloud integration

Communication

Tools

MongoDB

DynamoDB

Redis

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Founded by games industry veterans, Rushdown was created with a simple philosophy in mind: We believe that when talented developers are consistently challenged and given clear ownership of their work, extraordinary things will happen. As a co-dev game studio, we now focus on solving some of the most difficult problems that face multiplayer games — and we bring our experience working on games like PUBG, League of Legends, and Rocket League with us. We truly love the work we do and we want to funnel our passion and expertise into features and games that billions of players will enjoy worldwide.

Our Role

Rushdown Studios is looking for a Senior Backend Engineer to join us in support of our partner studio! In this role, you'll work alongside our team to build and integrate central technologies capable of servicing multiple games with unique needs.

Our ideal candidate is a self-motivated and demonstrated team player with the ability to juggle and jump between different tasks as necessary. Game development experience is preferred due to the nature of this project, but it's not mandatory; we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all of the requirements listed below!

Work Location: For this role, we are only able to consider candidates willing to work from our office in Saratoga Springs, NY on a hybrid basis (e.g., Tuesday-Thursday). This is not a fully remote position and, in this case, Rushdown is not able to offer relocation assistance to successful candidates located outside of a reasonable commuting distance.

Disclaimer: Please note that this is not a gameplay engineering role.

Responsibilities

• Prototype and build cloud-based microservices in the backend.
• Contribute to a healthy technical culture that encourages engineers to learn and grow.
• Partner with designers to iterate on features and optimize for a smoother player experience.
• Integrate first‑party platform features and ensure console certification requirements are met.
• Collaborate with external programmers to enable their features to run as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Develop new services and author software design documents.
• General support for live features and releases.
• Solve crashes and other problems on both PC and console.
• Work closely with our partners and take / provide technical feedback.

Requirements

• Four (4) years of professional experience with C++.
• At least one (1) year of professional experience with Golang.
• Experience developing and shipping commercial games, as well as the broader ability to write clear, maintainable, and portable code.
• Experience integrating with online systems and related best practices.
• Experience building and debugging networked features for multiplayer games.
• Ability to dive into a game engine to complete a task.
• Proficiency with scalable non-relational database solutions (e.g., MongoDB, DynamoDB, Redis).
• Ability to comfortably navigate and integrate with one or more cloud service providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Willingness to selflessly put player experiences first — before even your own code and ego.
• Proactive approach to communication, particularly when it comes to unblocking yourself and navigating obstacles as part of a team.

Nice-to-Haves

• Familiarity with game server scaling and orchestration frameworks.
• Experience with PlayFab, Epic Online Services, or other popular backend game services.
• Experience with multiple game engines, including Unreal Engine or bespoke game engines.
• Experience integrating Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo APIs or adhering to their Technical Requirements Checklists (TRCs).
• Experience developing SDKs or plugins to be used by other developers you may not be working with directly.

Benefits:

• Compensation: $115,000-135,000/year. Please note that final base pay will ultimately depend upon a combination of factors, including your prior experience, general qualifications, and broader skill set.
• 9 Paid Holidays plus Flexible PTO and Annual Winter Break Closure
• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Annual Video Game Budget
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Paid Parental Leave

EEO Statement

At Rushdown Studios, we believe that we're made better by each of the different perspectives that our team members bring to the table. We said it above, and we'll say it again: We want to hear from you, even if you don't meet all of the requirements for a specific role.

We're also an equal opportunity employer and we do not discriminate on the basis of race; color; ancestry or national origin; religion; physical or mental disability; age; sex, including pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender, gender identity, or gender expression; medical condition; genetic information; or marital, military, or veteran status.