Senior AI Engineer

We are seeking an experienced AI Engineer to join an early-stage team, focusing on building systems and features for a rich open world in Unreal Engine 5. The role involves tackling unique challenges in open-world AI and collaborating within a multi-disciplinary environment to deliver dynamic and reactive AI behaviors.

Must Have

• Design, implement, and maintain AI systems for a dynamic open world.
• Collaborate with design, animation, and gameplay teams on AI behaviors.
• Develop and support AI authoring tools for efficient content creation.
• Build performant, well-architected C++ systems optimized for large-scale simulation.
• Debug and optimize AI performance across multiple platforms.
• Contribute to long-term technical planning for AI systems.
• Provide technical mentorship and support to other developers.
• Uphold engineering best practices, coding standards, and documentation quality.
• 6+ years of professional experience in Unreal Engine on AAA titles.
• Strong working knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 AI tools and systems.
• Expertise in modern C++ with strong software architecture, debugging, and optimization skills.
• Proven ability to design scalable, maintainable, and content-friendly complex systems.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating across departments and leading cross-functional initiatives.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, solution-oriented mindset.

Good to Have

• Experience building AI for open-world, systemic, or sandbox games.
• Familiarity with Mass Entity, crowd systems, or large-scale AI simulation.
• Knowledge of animation systems (Montages, Motion Matching, Control Rig) and their intersection with AI behavior.
• Experience developing AI debugging tools or in-editor visualization tools.
• Background in machine learning, utility systems, or experimental AI techniques.
• Passion for emergent gameplay, systemic design, and building living worlds.

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive package of benefits
• Vacation time
• Sick time
• Company holidays
• Parental leave
• Medical/dental/vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• 401(k) matching
• Potential for bonus and equity

Summary

We are looking for an experienced AI Engineer to join our early stage team. In this role you will build systems and features that support a rich open world in Unreal Engine 5. We are looking for someone who is excited by the unique challenges of open world AI systems and who loves working in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment.

Core Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain AI systems, features, and tools that support a dynamic and reactive open world.
• Collaborate with design, animation, and gameplay teams to prototype, iterate, and deliver new AI behaviors, abilities, and systemic interactions.
• Develop and support AI authoring tools that enable designers to efficiently create, test, and tune behaviors at scale.
• Build performant, well-architected C++ systems optimized for large-scale simulation and open-world streaming.
• Debug and optimize AI performance across multiple platforms, ensuring stability, scalability, and responsiveness.
• Contribute to long-term technical planning for AI systems, including architecture, workflow improvements, and new technology initiatives.
• Provide technical mentorship and support to designers and other developers who use the AI systems you build.
• Collaborate with technical leaders to uphold engineering best practices, coding standards, and documentation quality.

Core Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional experience working in Unreal Engine on AAA titles.
• Strong working knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 AI tools and systems, including:
• Navigation (NavMesh)
• Behavior Trees
• State Trees
• EQS
• Perception System
• AI Controllers, Blackboards, and related frameworks
• Expertise in modern C++ with strong software architecture, debugging, and optimization skills.
• Proven ability to design complex systems that are scalable, maintainable, and content-friendly.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating across departments and leading cross-functional initiatives involving design, animation, and gameplay engineering.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, solution-oriented mindset.

Plus If...

• Experience building AI for open-world, systemic, or sandbox games.
• Familiarity with Mass Entity, crowd systems, or large-scale AI simulation.
• Knowledge of animation systems (Montages, Motion Matching, Control Rig) and how they intersect with AI behavior.
• Experience developing AI debugging tools or in-editor visualization tools.
• Background in machine learning, utility systems, or experimental AI techniques.
• Passion for emergent gameplay, systemic design, and building living worlds.

Description

• Full time job with benefits.
• Role is on-site in San Rafael, CA.
• Office is located near downtown San Rafael – near transit stations and freeways.

The base pay range for this position is $160,000 to $190,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.