Senior Core Engineer

Unity; Washington; On-site; USD 172,000 - 259,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Commute subsidy

Employee stock ownership

Retirement plans

Vacation days

Job summary

Unity is seeking engineers to help invent how real-time 3D runtimes communicate and render in constrained environments. You’ll own subsystems from low-level C++ to high-level C# APIs across editor, build, and runtime code, delivering high-performance, extensible architecture.

Ideal candidates have strong C++/C# skills, experience with engine cores, and a passion for performance, serialization, and asset lifecycles in host environments you don’t control.

Qualifications

• Experience building or extending game engine cores, middleware, or foundational systems (serialization, etc.).
• Design modular, testable systems, then implement and debug end-to-end.
• Strong C++ and C# skills with understanding of CPU caches, memory layout, and profiling.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve critical subsystems across the engine stack, from low-level C++ to high-level C# APIs across editor, build, and runtime code.
• Design and implement high-performance, extensible APIs for embedded, cross-process, and networked configurations.
• Develop schemes to manage execution timing and resource contention within or between processes and over the network with minimal overhead
• Orchestrate loading, change tracking, serializing, and synchronizing components and assets in bandwidth and latency-constrained environments.

Skills

C++

C#

Engine development

Performance optimization

Cross-process APIs

Job description

The Opportunity

PolySpatial is the core technology behind Unity's support for visionOS, streaming Unity games into Fortnite, and iteration tools like Play to Device, Scene Recording, and AI data capture and analysis. Underneath all of it is a single model for connecting devices, users, applications, and even different game engines, and we're constantly finding new places to put it to work.

We're looking for engineers eager to help us invent how different real-time 3D runtimes communicate and render under real-world constraints. You’ll work at the intersection of core engine tech, high-performance networking, distributed systems, and graphics. This is your opportunity to build the fundamental infrastructure for the next generation of interconnected game and 3D ecosystems. You’ll own critical tech that enables Unity to run as a guest within other processes, engines, and distributed systems. This is deep engine work requiring a holistic understanding of execution models, serialization, asset lifecycles, and runtime performance—all operating reliably in host environments we don’t control. You'll design systems that allow Unity to load, run, and synchronize assets when we don't own the main loop, design clean, extensible architecture, then drop into assembly to shave off milliseconds.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Own and evolve critical subsystems across the engine stack, from low-level C++ to high-level C# APIs across editor, build, and runtime code.


• Design and implement high-performance, extensible APIs intended for embedded, cross-process, and networked configurations.


• Develop schemes to manage execution timing and resource contention within or between processes and over the network with minimal overhead


• Orchestrate loading, change tracking, serializing, and synchronizing components and assets in bandwidth and latency-constrained environments.

What We’re Looking For

• Core Engine Expertise: Experience building or fundamentally extending game engine cores, middleware, or foundational systems (e.g., serialization, build pipelines, memory subsystems).


• Architectural Vision + Practical Implementation: Design modular, testable systems, then implement and debug them yourself end-to-end


• High-Performance Coding: Strong C++ and C# skills, with practical understanding of CPU caches, branch behavior, memory layout, and profiling.


• Engine-Wide Breadth: Hands-on experience across multiple engine domains (e.g., physics, animation, input, assets) and how they interact.

You Might Also Have

• Familiarity with compression, streaming, replication, authority models, RPCs, state diffing, delta encoding, or network protocols for real-time interactive systems.


• Experience with determinism, replay systems and simulation consistency.


• Deep knowledge of multithreading, job systems, lock-free techniques, and/or Unity DOTS.


• Experience with MCP-style tool interfaces, training data generation, machine learning, or agentic workflows.

Additional Information

• Relocation support is not available for this position


• Work visa/immigration sponsorship is not available for this position

Base Salary Range: We determine the base salary range for this role based on your primary work location:

Zone A: $135,800 - $203,600 USD gross

Zone B: $153,400 - $230,200 USD gross

Zone C: $172,400 - $258,600 USD gross

This range reflects the anticipated base salary for this position. Beyond base salary, this role may be eligible for equity awards and participation in our company incentive plans (such as annual discretionary bonuses or sales commissions). The final offer amount will depend on several factors, including geographic location and the candidate’s relevant experience, professional background, and skill set.

Benefits

At Unity, we want our team members to thrive. We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support well-being and work-life balance. Please note: Benefits eligibility, specific offerings, and coverage vary based on the country and employment status. While specific benefits vary, here are some of the ways we strive to take care of our eligible team members globally: Comprehensive health, life, and disability insurance | Commute subsidy | Employee stock ownership | Competitive retirement/pension plans | Generous vacation and personal days | Support for new parents through leave and family-care programs | Office food snacks | Mental Health and Wellbeing programs and support | Employee Resource Groups | Global Employee Assistance Program | Training and development programs | Volunteering and donation matching program

Life at Unity

Unity [NYSE: U] is the world’s leading game engine, powering play for more than 3 billion consumers each month. The top mobile games in the world, the most played PC indie titles, the most innovative console games, and virtually all of the top XR and Web Games are developed, deployed, and grown in Unity. Unity also enables teams across industries like automotive, manufacturing, and healthcare to design, simulate, and collaborate in 3D — closing the gap between ideas and reality. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.

Unity is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment and celebrate our employees across age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law. Our differences are strengths that enable us to support the growing and evolving needs of our customers, partners, and collaborators.

If you have a disability that means there are preparations or accommodations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please fill out this form to let us know.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

This position requires the incumbent to have a sufficient knowledge of English to have professional verbal and written exchanges in this language since the performance of the duties related to this position requires frequent and regular communication with colleagues and partners located worldwide and whose common language is English.