Principal Engineer, Security - Game Protection

As a Principal Engineer on the Game Protection team, you will be a key driver in designing and building cutting-edge systems that safeguard game clients. Your work will directly protect the integrity of one of the most beloved franchises in gaming. You will innovate and evolve anti-cheat technologies, strengthen core systems, detect and defend against cheats, and collaborate across studios to ensure seamless integration and performance. Your contributions will help millions of players experience Call of Duty as it’s meant to be played—competitive, fair, and thrilling.

Must Have

• 15+ years of professional software development experience
• Proven experience architecting and implementing multiple versions of large-scale applications or services that span complex systems
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python
• Ability to read and write x86_64 assembly
• Knowledge of compiler theory and code obfuscation techniques
• Experience working in an engineering organization with a focus on CI/CD, scalability, and automation
• Advanced knowledge of algorithms and data structures
• Expertise in optimization and debugging at scale
• Clear and effective communication skills, both written and verbal

Good to Have

• Game development experience
• Deep understanding or hands-on experience in the anti-cheat domain
• Familiarity with Call of Duty game architecture and cheat ecosystem
• Experience analyzing cheat software
• Professional experience in Windows kernel development
• Ability to read and write ARM64 assembly
• DevOps experience

Perks & 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 required to move geographic locations)

Your Mission

Call of Duty is one of the most iconic and successful video game franchises in the world, delivering unforgettable experiences to millions of players. At the heart of that experience is fair play—and that’s where the Ricochet team comes in. We’re on a mission to detect and eliminate cheaters swiftly, ensuring every player enjoys a level playing field.

As a Principal Engineer on the Game Protection team, you’ll be a key driver in designing and building cutting-edge systems that safeguard our game clients. Your work will directly protect the integrity of one of the most beloved franchises in gaming.

What You’ll Do:

• Innovate and Evolve: Design and implement advanced anti-cheat technologies to stay ahead of emerging threats.
• Strengthen Core Systems: Analyze, update, and enhance existing protection frameworks to maintain top-tier security.
• Detect and Defend: Investigate, develop, and deploy cheat detection mechanisms that keep gameplay fair and fun.
• Collaborate Across Studios: Work closely with engineers across multiple teams to ensure seamless integration and performance.

Why This Role Matters:

Your contributions will help millions of players experience Call of Duty as it’s meant to be played—competitive, fair, and thrilling. You’ll tackle complex technical challenges, influence the future of anti-cheat technology, and make a real impact on one of the world’s largest gaming communities.

Minimum Requirements:

• 15+ years of professional software development experience
• Strong passion for delivering high-quality products
• Proven experience architecting and implementing multiple versions of large-scale applications or services that span complex systems
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python
• Ability to read and write x86_64 assembly
• Knowledge of compiler theory and code obfuscation techniques
• Experience working in an engineering organization with a focus on CI/CD, scalability, and automation
• Advanced knowledge of algorithms and data structures
• Expertise in optimization and debugging at scale
• Clear and effective communication skills, both written and verbal

Extra Points

• Game development experience
• Deep understanding or hands-on experience in the anti-cheat domain
• Familiarity with Call of Duty game architecture and cheat ecosystem
• Experience analyzing cheat software
• Professional experience in Windows kernel development
• Ability to read and write ARM64 assembly
• DevOps experience

Your Platform

Activision Central Tech works to support our development studios and their titles. Comprised of seven main teams, we have many specialties including big data, privacy and security, motion capture and animation pipeline technologies, graphics, build and infrastructure for studio development and data centers, optimization, systems programming and online services including matchmaking and networking. Central Tech is distributed globally with offices across the U.S., and in Canada, England, Ireland and Japan.

Most of our teams are comprised of both engineering and research talent, allowing us to always have an eye on the future. Our talented engineers help with title development and provide valuable knowledge sharing between studios while our researchers are action-oriented and keep a strong connection with the needs of the game studios.

Central Tech is part of Activision. To learn more about us and our research, please visit us at https://research.activision.com/.

Our World

At Activision, we strive to create the most iconic brands in gaming and entertainment. We’re driven by our mission to deliver unrivaled gaming experiences for the world to enjoy, together. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, Crash Bandicoot™, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™, and Guitar Hero®. As a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products, our “press start” is simple: delight hundreds of millions of players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.

We’re not just looking back at our decades-long legacy; we’re forging ahead to keep advancing gameplay with some of the most popular titles and sophisticated technology in the world. We have bold ambitions to create the most inclusive company as we know our success comes from the passionate, creative, and diverse teams within our organization.

We’re in the business of delivering fun and unforgettable entertainment for our player community to enjoy. And our future opportunities have never been greater — this could be your opportunity to level up.

Ready to Activate Your Future?

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• 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;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $154,100.00 - $285,084.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable.