Senior Gameplay Engineer - High Moon Studios

3 Months ago • 5 Years + • Systems Design • $101,000 PA - $186,754 PA

Job Summary

Job Description

As a Senior Gameplay Engineer at High Moon Studios, you'll collaborate with designers and animators to create and expand gameplay systems. You'll support the design department, develop innovative gameplay experiences, implement, debug, and optimize systems in C/C++ and other languages within a large cross-platform codebase. Mentorship of junior engineers is also a key responsibility. The role involves working on major game franchises and requires strong C++ programming, 3D math skills, design sensibilities, and excellent communication. Experience extending established codebases and 5+ years in commercial game development are essential.
Must have:
  • Excellent C++ skills
  • Proficiency in 3D math
  • Strong design sensibilities
  • Advanced debugging skills
  • 5+ years game dev experience
  • Experience extending codebase
Good to have:
  • Open world game dev experience
  • Expertise in player/weapon mechanics
  • Animation experience
  • Networked game logic experience
  • Scripting language experience
  • Console development experience
Perks:
  • Medical, dental, vision
  • 401k with company match
  • Tuition reimbursement
  • Paid holidays and vacation
  • Mental health & wellbeing programs
  • Relocation assistance (if applicable)

Job Details

Job Title:

Senior Gameplay Engineer - High Moon Studios

Requisition ID:

R024108

Job Description:

Great Games Start with Great People! This is a significant time in our company’s history - and one of the most exciting times to join us! We are seeking a talented Senior Gameplay Engineer who will work closely with content teams to push our gameplay systems to new heights of fun and visual fidelity, crafting new systems and leveraging existing ones to realize immersive and exciting gameplay. This is a great opportunity to work with a passionate engineering team on the world’s most popular game franchises!

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, and the home studio for this role is Carlsbad, CA.

What you’ll be doing…

  • Collaborate with designers and animators to create new gameplay systems and expand existing ones
  • Support the design department by working on a variety of generalist tasks, to facilitate their efforts
  • Spearhead the development of innovative gameplay experiences
  • Implement, debug and optimize major systems in C/C++ and other languages in the context of a large cross platform codebase
  • Provide mentorship to less experienced engineers

To succeed you must have…

  • Excellent C++ programming skills, with knowledge of algorithms and data structures
  • Proficiency in 3D math, related to game programming
  • Strong design sensibilities and outstanding communication skills
  • A passion for making video games
  • Advanced debugging skills
  • Experience extending an established code base
  • 5+ years of experience in game development, including working on commercial titles

We’d love it if you also have…

  • Open world game development experience
  • Expertise in one or more of the following areas:
    • Player mechanics, particularly in an FPS
    • Weapon mechanics
    • Animation – blend trees, IK, motion matching
    • Networked game logic
    • Physics simulation
    • Vehicle simulation
    • AI
  • Experience with scripting languages
  • Experience with console development
  • A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Math related field

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! At Activision Blizzard, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

High Moon Studios

Founded in 2002, High Moon Studios is an award-winning studio developing for the Call of Duty® franchise, with past development on over 15 titles including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 6, Warzone 2.0, Bungie’s Destiny 2: Forsaken, and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. We employ more than 170 people in Carlsbad, CA, a seaside city in San Diego County.

Our pride is our people and the experiences we have optimally crafted for our fans. High Moon's talent is comprised of gifted entertainment and technology professionals responsible for some of the most successful games ever made. We have award-winning developers, published artists and specialists recognized as among the best in their fields. Our studio has a history of using innovative techniques crafted to boost efficiency and product quality, which in turn enhances our studio's quality of life.

High Moon Studios is wholly owned by Activision. To learn more about our studio, please visit us at .

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?

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

High Moon Studios is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

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 . 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 .

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $101,000.00 - $186,754.00 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.

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About The Company

Founded in 1979, Activision continues to disrupt the world of entertainment with its extensive roster of epic blockbuster games -- Pitfall®, Tony Hawk®, Guitar Hero®, Crash Bandicoot™, Skylanders™, Bungie’s Destiny and Call of Duty.®


As the leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and products on consoles, mobile and PC, our “press start” is simple: delight players around the world with innovative, fun, thrilling, and engaging entertainment experiences.


Activision is headquartered in Santa Monica, and publishes globally in markets including U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong and the region of Taiwan.


At Activision, we strive to connect and engage our global player community through entertainment. Our success comes from the passionate, talented and diverse team of people behind our world-class franchises. Ensuring Activision is an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive will help us deliver a new era of epic entertainment for our players.

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