C++ Gameplay Engineer – Hero-Driven Fantasy RTS

Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.

In 2022, we announced that our studio is implementing a four-day work week as well as supporting in-studio, remote within Canada, and hybrid work arrangements as permanent options to our employees.

About the role

Blackbird Interactive is extending the life of an iconic, hero-centric real-time strategy title with a new expansion. As a C++ generalist on the gameplay team, you’ll design, implement, and polish fresh campaign content, competitive balance updates, and live-ops features that keep millions of commanders returning. You’ll own features end-to-end, collaborate closely with design and art, and sharpen your craft inside a large-scale RTS codebase.

What you’ll tackle

• New campaign & modes: Prototype, iterate, and ship story missions, co-op variants, and multiplayer experiences in modern C++.
• Hero systems & combat: Expand hero abilities, talents, items, and progression; tune tactical combat, micro, and counterplay.
• Creeps, neutrals & objectives: Evolve neutral encounters, map objectives, and XP/loot flows to deepen strategic choices.
• Quality-of-life upgrades: Streamline UI/UX flows, improve onboarding, squash long-standing bugs, and refine custom-game pipelines.
• Simulation & AI: Enhance deterministic simulation, pathfinding, squad/unit behaviors, and encounter scripting for tight, responsive play.
• Systems architecture: Extend a mature proprietary engine with data-driven, multithreaded gameplay systems that scale across PC platforms.
• Performance & stability: Profile, optimize, and debug code to hit 60 fps during large-scale battles, reduce load times, and improve automated test coverage.
• Live-ops & balance: Help plan and deliver balance patches, seasonal events, and telemetry-informed tuning for ranked and custom play.
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration: Work hand-in-hand with design, art, animation, and audio to translate ideas into shippable features; drive playtests and incorporate feedback.
• Technical leadership: Contribute to code reviews, share best practices, and mentor associates through pair-programming and informal guidance.

You’ll thrive here if you…

• Deliver modern, maintainable C++ in large codebases with 3+ years of professional game-dev experience.
• Have shipped at least one commercial title or substantial live-ops update featuring your gameplay work.
• Enjoy rapid iteration, data-driven design, and balancing creative intent with technical realities.
• Communicate clearly across disciplines and give constructive feedback in code reviews.
• Are comfortable with Perforce, Git, or similar VCS and modern debugging/profiling tools.
• (Nice to have) Experience with hero-driven RTS mechanics, encounter scripting, deterministic sims, or custom-map/mod ecosystems.