Principal Software Engineer, Gameplay AI | Unannounced Game

About the position

Blizzard is looking for a highly motivated and talented Senior Gameplay Engineer to help craft a new, unannounced game. Our team values creativity, collaboration, and a dedication to quality, and we are searching for contributors aligned to our core Blizzard values to add to our team of dedicated game makers. As a Principal Gameplay Engineer, you will work with designers and other engineers to boost an amazing player experience using AI/ML platforms/technologies to improve players' in-game experience by providing timely appropriate tips. You will have a formative role in the exciting future we're planning. You will also mentor earlier-career engineers in solving complex challenges and building strong habits for supporting a long-running game. We value diverse voices and varied backgrounds, and we're looking for individuals to help us build fun, compelling, and inclusive gameplay, and experiences. This role is a hybrid work position, with some work required to be on-site and some work-from-home. The home studio is Irvine, CA.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with designers, product managers, and other engineers to build player copilot gameplay systems.
• Manage the intricacies of building a codebase focused on continuously delivering gameplay content as a large-scale live service with first-class support for mobile and PC.
• Review feature requests to assess their feasibility, comprehensiveness in design, and associated risks.
• Bolster the success of fellow team members by offering technical guidance, engaging in code reviews, and providing mentorship to junior team members.

Requirements

• Experience with implementing multiplayer game logic as a full-stack engineer working on both client and server software.
• Experience in machine learning engineering and/or AI research applied to real-world applications.
• Deep experience deploying and managing machine-learning models and data pipelines.
• High comfort level working in collaboration on a large, complex codebase.
• Dedication to delivering excellence to players and unlocking potential within the team.
• Able to communicate and collaborate effectively with artists, designers, and other engineers, both verbally and in writing.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with competitive strategy games.
• Experience with AAA game engines, e.g. Unity, Unreal, etc.
• Experience with .NET 8.
• Experience with mobile game development.
• Experience supporting a large-scale live service.
• Database development experience (e.g. Cassandra).
• Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or related degree.
• Familiarity with Blizzard's game universes.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D 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.
• Relocation assistance if the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job.