Staff Automation Engineer

Level AI; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 170,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Level AI is seeking a Staff Automation Engineer to set the technical direction for build, release, and test automation across game projects and studios. You will architect the CI/CD platform that engineering, art, and production teams in Austin and Auckland rely on, acting as a force multiplier for teams shipping educational games.

You will define studio-wide quality gates, instrument engine-integrated testing, and shape build pipelines across targets, while mentoring engineers and driving

Qualifications

• 10+ years in build/release, CI/CD, or test automation engineering, with shipped games across platforms
• Expert-level game engine experience (Unreal, Unity, or a proprietary engine)
• Cross-team impact: initiatives that changed how multiple teams build, test, or ship software
• Proven GitHub Actions CI/CD and build infrastructure that scaled across projects
• Deep Git at scale: large repos/LFS, branching strategy, and migrations
• Deep C#/.NET and/or C++ across build/release tooling and test automation, plus scripting (Python, PowerShell, Bash)
• Experience setting technical standards and influencing leadership on infrastructure investments
• Staff-level IC experience (not a people-management role)

Responsibilities

• Automation Architecture: Set technical direction for Git and GitHub Actions CI/CD and test automation across multiple game projects, studios, and platforms
• Quality Strategy: Define studio-wide quality gates, engine-integrated testing, and regression automation
• Platform and Build Strategy: Shape engine, platform, and console build pipelines, SDK management, and certification workflows
• Developer Productivity: Identify bottlenecks in build, iteration, and test times and lead multi-quarter improvements
• Source Control Strategy: Lead repo and branching strategy, including migrations such as Perforce to Git
• Incident Leadership: Lead resolution of complex cross-team build and release incidents
• Standards and Governance: Establish automation standards and review practices
• Tooling and Vendor Evaluation: Evaluate CI platforms, runner infra, and test tooling investments
• Mentorship at Scale: Mentor senior and mid-level engineers across teams
• Technical Communication: Represent automation build engineering in planning discussions

Skills

CI/CD

Build automation

Git

GitHub Actions

C#/.NET

C++

Python

PowerShell

Bash

Architecture leadership

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Perforce

CI pipelines

Job description

Staff Automation Engineer

Level is a learning technology company dedicated to helping students build real academic and life skills with confidence and joy. We combine proven curriculum principles with world class interactive design to make meaningful practice something students want to come back to, not something they struggle through.

We support what teachers, schools, and parents are already doing by increasing student engagement with high quality, standards aligned practice that reinforces classroom learning. That’s why we’re building:

For students: Rewarding and motivating learning experiences that meet students where they are to build real academic proficiency.

For educators: Tools that fit naturally into instruction and help students stay engaged while reducing teacher workload.

For parents: Activities that help your kid catch up or get ahead, build confidence, and minimize homework battles, whether learning at school or at home.

We are committed to helping every person maximize their potential and live a life of meaning. It’s a difficult problem that requires brilliant people and tremendous effort over time.

Level is seeking a Staff Automation Engineer to set the technical direction for build, release, and test automation across our game projects and studios. You'll architect the CI/CD and automation platform that engineering, art, and production teams in Austin and Auckland all build on, and act as a force multiplier for every team that ships with it. This is a cross-team leadership role for someone whose architectural decisions will shape how the entire organization ships educational games.

What You Will Do

• Automation Architecture: Set technical direction for Git and GitHub Actions CI/CD and test automation spanning multiple game projects, studios, and platforms, including the reusable workflow and runner foundations teams build on.

• Quality Strategy: Define the studio-wide approach to quality gates, engine-integrated testing, and performance and regression automation, and decide where automation should and should not be applied.

• Platform and Build Strategy: Shape the approach to engine, platform, and console build pipelines, SDK management, and certification workflows across targets.

• Developer Productivity: Identify systemic bottlenecks in build, iteration, and test times across teams, and lead multi-quarter initiatives to eliminate them.

• Source Control Strategy: Lead large-scale repository and branching strategy, including migrations such as Perforce to Git, and the tooling that supports them.

• Incident Leadership: Lead resolution of the most complex cross-team build, release, and pipeline incidents, and drive the process changes that prevent recurrence.

• Standards and Governance: Establish automation standards, review practices, and design guidance that other teams adopt across the org.

• Tooling and Vendor Evaluation: Evaluate and recommend CI platform, runner infrastructure, and test tooling investments, including cost and build-vs-buy trade-offs.

• Mentorship at Scale: Mentor senior and mid-level engineers across teams and help shape the automation career ladder.

• Technical Communication: Represent automation and build engineering in cross-discipline planning, translating infrastructure trade-offs for engineering leadership.

Qualifications

Need to Have

• 10+ years in build/release, CI/CD, or test automation engineering, with shipped games across platforms

• Expert-level game engine experience (Unreal, Unity, or a proprietary studio engine)

• Demonstrated cross-team impact: initiatives you led that changed how multiple teams build, test, or ship software

• Proven architecture of GitHub Actions CI/CD and build infrastructure that scaled across projects teams, or studios

• Deep Git expertise at scale: large repos/LFS, branching strategy, and source control migrations

• Deep C#/.NET and/or C++ across build/release tooling and test automation, plus strong scripting (Python, PowerShell, Bash)

• Experience setting technical standards and influencing engineering leadership on infrastructure investment

• Staff-level individual contributor experience (not a people-management role)

Nice to Have

• Console/platform build pipelines and certification (devkits, TRC/XR requirements)

• Engine build tooling such as UAT/UBT, BuildGraph, Horde, or Unity build automation

• Godot build or test automation experience

• Perforce-to-Git migration experience at studio scale

• Distributed build farms and self-hosted runner infrastructure

• Other CI systems (Jenkins, TeamCity, Azure DevOps) and infrastructure as code (Terraform)

• Experience supporting teams across studios and time zones