Principal AI Programmer

We are looking for an experienced Principal AI Programmer to join our dynamic team. You will play a critical role in developing innovative AI systems essential to our gameplay experiences within Virtual Reality, while collaboratively helping us explore, refine, and polish AI-driven VR gameplay.

This position is ideal for someone passionate about AI in games, who thrives in collaborative, creative environments, and is keen to the push boundaries of what is possible with VR. 

In this role, you will implement and develop Game AI systems tailored to VR environments, collaborate with designers and engineers to craft intelligent NPCs and reactive game worlds, optimize AI for performance, ensuring seamless gameplay in VR, research emerging AI and VR technologies, assessing and integrating innovative approaches into development, and mentor junior team members and contribute to best practices for AI programming in VR. 

The rundown:

• Permanent role

• Full time (37.5 hours per week)

• Fully remote within the UK

• Salary is competitive and dependent on experience

Key responsibilities:

• Take ownership of our AI systems, pipelines and set-ups, delivering cutting edge AI character behaviour in VR. 

• Develop the perception, behaviour and planning systems that underly NPC and creature AI, integrating with Unreal 5 and custom code. 

• Develop the controlling logic for NPC character behaviour, utilizing standard Unreal AI systems, your own code and new UE5 AI tech like Mass Entity and State Trees. 

• Ensure AI systems and data are robust, maintainable and well documented, and AI workload is consistently performant for a stable VR framerate. 

• Work alongside other disciplines, planning AI alongside animation, gameplay, art, audio and design requirements for best player experience. 

• Help guide the design teams when making combat areas and other AI-driven experiences. 

• Help with project planning for your areas of work, liaising with project management for best outcomes and predictable timely feature delivery. 

• Self-develop your own knowledge of state-of-the-art AI techniques and the inner nuances of Unreal 5’s AI systems. 

• Be a positive behavioural and mental role model for the team and studio. 

• Help with staff development, departmental structure, mentoring and hiring.