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Sr. Gameplay Engineer

Undead Labs is developing an ambitious new installment of our franchise State of Decay and we need your help! We are looking for an enthusiastic, player-experience-focused, senior software engineer to join our team to help build user-facing gameplay systems.

As a member of our engineering department, you'll have a solid understanding of C++ and Unreal, as well as an understanding of concepts like the trade-offs between performance, memory usage, and ease-of-implementation. You will leverage your software development, debugging, creative problem solving and collaborative game design skills to solve problems related to how the player character feels to control, how the game camera navigates to frame the action, how combat and traversing the game world flow together. You can look forward to not just creating compelling moment-to-moment experiences, but doing so in a way that takes everything about the player experience from the appeal of the controls to their accessibility into consideration.

At Undead Labs, we work in highly collaborative, cross-discipline teams because we understand that the best ideas are ones we generate together. We are creators of the hit survival-fantasy franchise State of Decay, played by millions, and we operate independently as part of a network of first-party Microsoft studios. We have a proven IP, a sound business model, and a talented team intent on creating a world class experience.

Responsibilities:

• Write and maintain production-quality C++ code focused on addressing core loop moment-to-moment gameplay.
• Collaborate directly with the design team on the definition of game features.
• Work collaboratively with your colleagues to prototype, iterate on, and deliver solutions.
• Apply your knowledge, critical thinking skills, unique perspective and ideas to the production of our games.
• Make pragmatic and player-experienced-focused decisions about your work through prototyping, analysis of player feedback and telemetry, and design consultation.

Basic Qualifications:

• Proven and recurring success in a software engineering role.
• Proficient with C++ and familiar with software development methodologies.
• An understanding of character locomotion and control problem sets and potential solutions.
• Familiarity with third-person camera movement systems and techniques related to accessibility problems (such as mitigating motion sickness).
• A self-starter with the ability to make progress in the face of ambiguity by gathering data and performing analysis needed to make and justify decisions.
• An ability to communicate effectively across disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Unreal Engine.
• Experience with console game development.
• Experience working with animators to support and ensure high-quality character animation in all aspects of moment-to-moment gameplay.

Benefits & Perks

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Undead Labs and the state in which you work.

• 100% Medical, dental, and vision health insurance (Dependents and partners included).
• Unlimited PTO and 18 company holidays & closure days
• 401k plan with 50% matching
• Subsidized transportation to and from work
• Professional growth resources
• Discounts on the Microsoft Games store

The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $117,000.00 - $178,000.00 per year.

The range above reflects the potential base pay across the U.S. for this role (except as noted below); the applicable base range will depend on various factors, such as complexity and responsibility of the role, job duties/requirements, and relevant experience and skills. Base pay ranges are reviewed and typically updated each year. Offers are made within the base pay range applicable at the time.

At Undead Labs, certain roles are eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases and an annual bonus. These awards are allocated based on individual performance. Benefits/perks listed here may vary depending on the nature of employment with Undead Labs.

Physical Requirements

Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Close vision to monitors and screens, consistently working on computer equipment such as keyboards and monitors, long periods of sitting.
• Noise levels are low to moderate in the work environment.