Senior Gameplay Engineer

The Office of Technology Enablement (OTE), a division of The Walt Disney Company, is seeking a Senior Gameplay Engineer to build future XR experiences across all Disney segments. This role involves hands-on coding, primarily using Unreal Engine, to implement interactive experiences based on Disney's characters and worlds. The engineer will work closely with design, production, and art teams, overcome hardware limitations, ensure implementation quality, and champion Disney values with a guest-first mentality.

Must Have

• Implement interactive experiences based on Disney’s robust portfolio of characters and worlds.
• Directly write code and work daily with design/production/art to establish and achieve goals.
• Implement using Unreal Engine, operating within its limitations.
• Empower designers by serving as their main support avenue during the development process.
• Find creative ways to overcome hardware limitations.
• Work closely with other members of the engineering and creative teams to ensure implementation quality.
• Champion Disney and team values, maintaining a ‘guest-first’ mentality.
• 5 years of experience developing console/PC/mobile games or other digital interactive entertainment.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 4/5+ at the native (C++) level.
• Participated in the creation and release of a commercial product in a hands-on programming role.
• Was one of the main authors of a major gameplay system.
• Understands and implements C++ code (Performance Impact, Memory Management, Inheritance).
• Understands and implements Client/Server architecture (Replication, Client-side Prediction, Movement Syncing).
• Understands and implements Game Mathematics (Linear Algebra, Vector Math, Kinematic Physics, Collision).
• Ability to guide engineers.
• A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Good to Have

• Shipped products for Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest or other VR Platforms.
• Graphics Programming experience.
• Mobile experience.
• Familiarity with Online Services.
• Experience with developing and publishing Unreal content.
• Broad understanding of XR experiences and the various devices that are available on the market.

Perks & Benefits

• Bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided.
• Full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

About the Role

The Office of Technology Enablement (OTE), a division of The Walt Disney Company, is embarking on a mission to build the future of XR experiences across all Disney segments.

Working with top-class industry talent, this role is perfect for the accomplished game engineer looking to create something magical – from focused R&D projects to working with different business units on new ways to experience the characters and stories you love.

OTE is looking for a uniquely talented Senior Gameplay Engineer to join us on this ambitious and exciting initiative. If you are an experienced game programmer with a love of Disney properties, you’ll want to check out this opportunity!

This role will report to the Director of Development.

What you Will Do:

• Leverage your knowledge to help implement a collection of interactive experiences based on Disney’s robust portfolio of characters and worlds.
• Be an active, hands-on participant in the process, directly writing code and working daily with design/production/art to establish and achieve goals for each interactive experience.
• A significant portion of this work will involve implementation using Unreal. This role will require a willingness and ability to operate within the limitations of that ecosystem and grow with it as the functionality matures.
• Empower designers by serving as their main support avenue during the development process.
• Find creative ways to overcome hardware limitations, maintaining a positive outlook along the way.
• Work closely with other members of the engineering and creative teams to ensure that implementation quality is maintained. Be an advocate of stability and flexibility.
• Champion Disney and team values. Maintain a ‘guest-first’ mentality by being an advocate for the audience experience.
• Serve as a key team member of a growing XR development team at Disney.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 5 years of experience developing console/PC/mobile games or other digital interactive entertainment.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 4/5+ at the native (C++) level.
• Participated in the creation and release of a commercial product, in a hands-on programming role. Was one of the main authors of a major gameplay system.
• Served as a programmer during the prototype phase of a project. Understands the difference in requirements/goals between prototyping and production.
• Understands and implements the following concepts at a production-quality:
• C++ code (Performance Impact, Memory Management, Inheritance, etc.)
• Client/Server architecture (Replication, Client-side Prediction, Movement Syncing, etc.)
• Game Mathematics (Linear Algebra, Vector Math, Kinematic Physics, Collision, etc.)
• Ability to guide engineers.
• A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Shipped products for Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest or other VR Platforms.
• Graphics Programming, Mobile experience, and familiarity with Online Services are all bonuses.
• Experience with developing and publishing Unreal content.
• Has a broad understanding of XR experiences and the various devices that are available on the market

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