Senior Gameplay Engineer (Contract, 3-6 months)

Uplift Games; United States; Remote; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Signing bonus

Long-term cash bonus (4 years)

Annual studio bonus

Employee benefits

Job summary

Uplift Games is seeking a senior gameplay engineer to lead from concept to launch and ongoing improvements. You will build player-facing features in Lua/Luau, guide teammates, and help set technical standards for a live game with a large audience.

The role emphasizes end-to-end ownership, strong security focus, and collaboration with cross-disciplinary peers to craft engaging gameplay experiences.

Qualifications

• Senior-level gameplay engineering experience with strong Lua or Luau skills.
• Ability to lead complex work and deliver polished features end to end.
• Sound judgment about security, server-side authority, and input validation.
• Experience debugging and optimizing systems at scale.
• Strong communication and mentoring mindset.

Responsibilities

• Develop gameplay, interface, visual effects, and content features in Lua or Luau.
• Own initiatives through design, implementation, polish, testing, and release.
• Build server-authoritative systems with robust validation to limit client-side exploits.
• Diagnose and optimize services across many concurrent game servers.
• Reduce technical debt, establish engineering practices, and mentor other engineers.
• Collaborate with creative and technical peers, applying design judgment and user experience insight.

Skills

Lua/Luau proficiency

Gameplay engineering

Leadership & mentoring

Security & server authority

Performance debugging

Job description

Role overview

Lead gameplay engineering work from initial concept through launch and ongoing improvements. You’ll build and refine player-facing features while helping set technical standards, guide teammates, and coordinate across disciplines on a live game with a large audience.

Responsibilities

• Develop gameplay, interface, visual effects, and content features in Lua or Luau.
• Own initiatives through design, implementation, polish, testing, and release.
• Build server-authoritative systems with robust validation to limit client-side exploits.
• Diagnose and optimize services operating across many concurrent game servers.
• Reduce technical debt, establish engineering practices, and mentor other engineers.
• Collaborate with creative and technical peers, applying design judgment and user experience insight.

Requirements

• Senior-level gameplay engineering experience and strong Lua or Luau skills.
• Ability to lead complex work and deliver polished features end to end.
• Sound judgment about security, server-side authority, and input validation.
• Experience debugging and optimizing systems at significant scale.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with interest in mentoring and continuous learning.
• Must be at least 18 and eligible to work in the United States or United Kingdom.

Benefits and work setup

• Full-time contract expected to last 3–6 months, with a 40-hour work week.
• Remote work is available to candidates based in the US or UK.
• Compensation is negotiable; example annualized ranges provided are $110,000–$140,000 USD for Dallas and £65,000–£95,000 GBP for London.
• The posting describes a signing bonus, a four-year vested cash bonus, an annual studio bonus, and employee benefits.