Senior Gameplay Engineer

2K; United States; On-site; USD 108,900 - 161,160; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Paid holidays

Health, dental, vision insurance

Job summary

31st Union is seeking a Senior Gameplay Engineer to develop our Player Bots—AI agents that stand in for human players in a AAA free-to-play, cross-platform action game. You will use C++, Unreal Engine 5, and our in-house AI framework to create bots that fight, traverse, loot, and team up convincingly, powering mode backfill and automated testing at scale.

Responsibilities include building combat, humanization, macro behavior, extending the utility AI framework, and ensuring high-performance bot

Qualifications

• 5+ years in gameplay or game AI on shipped action games.
• Proficient with C++ and Unreal Engine, including AI controllers, navigation, and EQS.
• Experience with utility AI or comparable decision-making architectures.
• Experience with AI in networked multiplayer: client/server authority, prediction, dedicated servers.

Responsibilities

• Develop combat behavior: target prioritization, weapon and ability use, movement, disengagement.
• Develop humanization: tunable aim, reaction time, error models across difficulty levels.
• Develop macro behavior: team cohesion, traversal, pacing, events, looting, progression.
• Extend our utility AI framework: new behaviors, scoring, tuning.
• Keep bot populations performant: throttling, suspension, and LOD.
• Extend bots as automated test clients for feature tests and load tests.
• Build bot evaluation tooling: debug visualization and playtest metrics.
• Partner with design to tune behavior through playtests.

Skills

C++

Unreal Engine

Gameplay AI

Networking (client/server)

AI decision-making

Performance optimization

Bot testing

Tools

ECS/Animation systems

Job description

WE ARE GAME MAKERS

Who we are:

We are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere.We pursue growth and innovation in an environment of safety and trust. Our culture is built on the belief that the more varied voices in our collective will strengthen our team and our games. We are looking for our next teammate who will raise our bar and make us better.

What we need:

31st Union is looking for a Senior Gameplay Engineer to develop our Player Bots — AI agents that stand in for human players in our AAA free-to-play, cross-platform action game. Using C++, Unreal Engine 5, and our in-house utility AI framework, you will make bots that fight, traverse, loot, and team up convincingly enough that players second-guess whether they’re facing a human. The same bots power mode backfill and automated testing at scale.

Responsibilities:

• Develop combat behavior: target prioritization, hero-appropriate weapon and ability use, movement, and disengagement
• Develop humanization: tunable aim, reaction time, and error models across difficulty levels
• Develop macro behavior: team cohesion, traversal, pacing, events, looting, and progression
• Extend our utility AI framework: new behaviors, scoring, and tuning
• Keep bot populations performant: throttling, suspension, and LOD
• Extend bots as automated test clients, from feature tests to match-scale load tests
• Build bot evaluation tooling: debug visualization and playtest metrics
• Partner with design to tune behavior through playtests

Who you are:

• 5+ years of gameplay or game AI engineering on shipped action games
• Strong C++ and Unreal Engine fluency, including AI controllers, navigation, and EQS
• Utility AI or comparable decision-making architectures
• AI in networked multiplayer: client/server authority, prediction, dedicated servers
• Humanlike combat AI: aim and error models, reaction time, believable movement
• Optimizing many concurrent agents: LOD and tick throttling

Nice-to-Haves:

• Player bots in a competitive shooter
• Unreal Engine 5, StateTree, and the Gameplay Ability System
• Control systems (e.g., PID controllers) and input simulation
• Automated test clients and load testing

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $108,900 and $161,160 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.