{"id":3170645,"url":"https://alion.io/job/absurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay","title":"Senior Software Engineer, NPC/Gameplay","company":{"id":669423,"name":"Absurd Ventures","domain":"absurdventures.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/absurdventures","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":null},"role":"Games","role_family":"Games","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["San Rafael, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":170000,"max":190000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":190000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Unreal Engine","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T17:29:55Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-23","last_verified_at":"2026-10-29T17:09:46Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":6,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":6},"description":"Summary \nWe are seeking a Senior NPC/Gameplay Engineer to build game features that bring characters to life in Unreal Engine 5. You will work on how both the player and NPCs behave: how they move, act, react, and interact with the world and with each other, and how those behaviors turn into believable, responsive animation on screen. \nThis role sits where NPC behavior, gameplay, and animation meet. You will work across a wide range of Unreal systems and partner closely with animators and designers to take a feature from idea to polished, in-game result. The ideal candidate cares as much about how a character looks and feels while doing something as about the logic that made it happen. \nCore Responsibilities \nDesign, implement, and maintain gameplay features built around character behavior, for both the player character and NPCs. \nConnect gameplay and NPC logic to character animation, so that movement, traversal, combat, interactions, and reactions look natural and feel responsive. \nWork closely with animators to build and integrate locomotion, contextual actions, and reaction systems, and to define clean workflows for bringing new animation content into the game. \nCollaborate with design to prototype, iterate on, and ship new behaviors, abilities, and character interactions. \nBuild tools and debugging features that help designers and animators create, test, and tune character behavior. \nWrite performant, well-structured C++ and debug and optimize gameplay, NPC, and animation performance across multiple platforms. \nContribute to technical planning, code reviews, coding standards, and documentation. \nCore Qualifications \n10-15 years of professional experience as a gameplay or NPC engineer, including shipped games. \n5+ years of professional experience working in Unreal Engine. \nStrong working knowledge of a wide range of Unreal Engine 5 systems, such as: Gameplay: Gameplay Ability System, Character Movement Component or Mover \nAnimation: Montages, Motion Warping, Root Motion, IK and Control Rig \nNPCs: Navigation, State Trees, Smart Objects \n\nA track record of shipping player and NPC features where the result depended on tight integration with character animation. \nExpertise in modern C++ with strong debugging and optimization skills. \nAbility to design systems that are maintainable and easy for designers and animators to work with. \nExcellent communication skills and a collaborative, solution-oriented mindset. \nPlus If… \nExperience with combat, melee or close-quarters character interactions, or synced animations between characters. \nExperience with player character feel: camera, controls, and responsiveness. \nExperience building in-editor debugging or visualization tools for NPC behavior or animation. \nA background or strong interest in animation itself, and a good eye for motion quality. \nDescription \nFull time job with benefits. \nRole is on-site in San Rafael, CA. \nOffice is located near downtown San Rafael - near transit stations and freeways. \nThe base pay range for this position is $170,000 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.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3488,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":10,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Life insurance","Parental leave","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Film Production","Game Development"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-23T18:27:38Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":5,"expected_fill_days":36,"reasons":["conf:1","velocity","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-29T05:49:05Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":190000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/absurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/absurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-29T18:23:13Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"search","counted_by":"address","units_charged":0,"used_today":0,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":null,"resets_at":"2026-10-30T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":669423},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=669423"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fabsurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fabsurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fabsurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/absurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fabsurd-ventures-senior-software-engineer-npcgameplay"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3170645}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"absurdventures.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3170645},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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