Senior Expert ARM Kernel Developer – RICOCHET - Central Technology

Activision Blizzard; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 167,000 - 309,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays and vacation

Mental health programs

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Activision Blizzard Inc. is seeking a Senior Expert ARM Kernel Developer for our RICOCHET Central Tech team in the United States.

You will design, implement, and maintain kernel-mode drivers and anti-cheat protections for Windows on Arm, with a focus on x64 and ARM64 platforms. You will investigate advanced threats, collaborate with multiple studios, and help ship secure driver technology across live titles.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software development experience with deep expertise in C/C++.
• 5+ years developing, debugging, and maintaining Windows kernel-mode drivers
• Windows on Arm, ARM64, or ARM64EC development experience
• Experience diagnosing and resolving complex driver, platform, and OS compatibility issues
• Experience with automated build, test, and validation environments

Responsibilities

• Build and Evolve Platform Protections: Design, develop, and maintain kernel-mode driver capabilities that provide a strong foundation for anti-cheat protections across x64 and Windows on Arm platforms.
• Strengthen Core Driver Systems: Analyze, port, debug, and enhance production driver functionality while ensuring stability, performance, and compatibility across a wide range of hardware and Windows configurations.
• Investigate and Counter Advanced Threats: Research cheat techniques and evasion methods, leveraging expertise in Windows internals, reverse engineering, and kernel architecture to develop resilient detection and protection mechanisms.
• Collaborate Across Studios and Platforms: Partner with security engineers, platform teams, and external partners to validate hardware compatibility, improve development and testing infrastructure, and successfully ship and operate driver technology in live products.

Skills

C/C++

Kernel development

Windows internals

WinDbg

ARM64

System software

Tools

WinDbg

Job description

Senior Expert ARM Kernel Developer – RICOCHET - Central Technology

Requisition ID: R028287

Job Description

Your contributions will help millions of players experience Call of Duty as it's meant to be played: competitive, fair, and thrilling. You'll solve complex challenges involving Windows kernel development, driver security, platform architecture, and low-level system behavior while helping shape the future of anti-cheat technology on both traditional PC and Windows on Arm devices. Your work will directly influence the security, reliability, and effectiveness of the RICOCHET platform and help protect one of the world's largest gaming communities.

What You Bring To The Table

The Game Security team's priorities can change quickly based on the threat landscape. The following areas of ownership will act as a baseline. Therefore, this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Build and Evolve Platform Protections: Design, develop, and maintain kernel-mode driver capabilities that provide a strong foundation for anti-cheat protections across x64 and Windows on Arm platforms.
• Strengthen Core Driver Systems: Analyze, port, debug, and enhance production driver functionality while ensuring stability, performance, and compatibility across a wide range of hardware and Windows configurations.
• Investigate and Counter Advanced Threats: Research cheat techniques and evasion methods, leveraging expertise in Windows internals, reverse engineering, and kernel architecture to develop resilient detection and protection mechanisms.
• Collaborate Across Studios and Platforms: Partner with security engineers, platform teams, and external partners to validate hardware compatibility, improve development and testing infrastructure, and successfully ship and operate driver technology in live products.

Why This Role Matters

Your contributions will help millions of players experience Call of Duty as it's meant to be played: competitive, fair, and thrilling. You'll solve complex challenges involving Windows kernel development, driver security, platform architecture, and low-level system behavior while helping shape the future of anti-cheat technology on both traditional PC and Windows on Arm devices. Your work will directly influence the security, reliability, and effectiveness of the RICOCHET platform and help protect one of the world's largest gaming communities.

Player Profile

Experience

Minimum Requirements

• 10+ years of professional software development experience with deep expertise in C/C++
• 5+ years developing, debugging, and maintaining Windows kernel-mode drivers
• Proven experience building and supporting production-quality system software
• Windows on Arm, ARM64, or ARM64EC development experience
• Experience diagnosing and resolving complex driver, platform, and OS compatibility issues
• Experience with automated build, test, and validation environments

Knowledge & Skills

• Deep understanding of the Windows on Arm, Windows kernel, driver model, and operating system internals
• Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Arm, x86/x64 assembly
• Expert-level debugging skills using WinDbg and related tooling
• Strong understanding of Windows Internals, process, memory, and executable image internals
• Solid understanding of algorithms and data structures

Key Attributes

• Passion for building reliable, high-quality low-level software
• Curiosity to understand how systems work internally and solve complex technical problems
• Comfortable analyzing and debugging code at the assembly level
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills
• Clear and effective communication skills

Extra Points

Experience

• Windows security or security software development experience
• Reverse engineering experience
• Experience developing anti-cheat, endpoint security, anti-malware, or EDR solutions
• Experience working with multiplayer game technology

Knowledge & Skills

• Understanding of advanced cheat-evasion techniques, rootkits, bootkits, including hypervisors, DKOM, EPT manipulation, and vulnerable-driver abuse
• Deep understanding of C++ build systems, compilation, linking, and toolchains

Your Platform

Activision Central Tech works to support our development studios and their titles. Comprised of seven main teams, we have many specialties including big data, privacy and security, motion capture and animation pipeline technologies, graphics, build and infrastructure for studio development and data centers, optimization, systems programming and online services including matchmaking and networking. Central Tech is distributed globally with offices across the U.S., and in Canada, England, Ireland and Japan.

Most of our teams are comprised of both engineering and research talent, allowing us to always have an eye on the future. Our talented engineers help with title development and provide valuable knowledge sharing between studios while our researchers are action-oriented and keep a strong connection with the needs of the game studios.

Central Tech is part of Activision. To learn more about us and our research, please visit us at https://research.activision.com/.

Our World

At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our "press start" is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.

We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization.

We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up.

Rewards

We Provide a Suite Of Benefits That Promote Physical, Emotional And Financial Well-being For ‘Every World’ - We’ve Got Our Employees Covered! Subject To Eligibility Requirements, The Company Offers Comprehensive Benefits Including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&DD insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $166,990.00 - $308,980.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to [e-mail]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.