{"id":800226,"url":"https://alion.io/job/absurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems","title":"Lead Engineer, Game Systems","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":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Santa Monica, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":170000,"max":195000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":195000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":7,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Lua","optional":false},{"name":"Unreal Engine","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-05-20T14:18:01Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-06","last_verified_at":"2026-11-08T15:37:04Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":172,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":171},"description":"Summary \nWe are seeking a highly experienced and collaborative Lead Engineer, Game Systems to help drive the design, architecture, and implementation of core gameplay, progression, and economy systems. As Lead Engineer, Game Systems, you are passionate about developing scalable, performant, and engaging systems that empower designers and enhance the player experience. Direct a team of gameplay engineers and work closely with design, production, and other engineering teams to bring a rich, responsive, and immersive world to life. \nCore Responsibilities \nLead the architecture, development, and maintenance of core gameplay systems, including but not limited to player control, NPC behavior, traversal, mission logic, progression, economy and inventory. \nCollaborate with designers and other stakeholders to translate design goals and specs into robust, extensible technical solutions. Design and develop a suite of tools to meet design workflow needs. \nMentor and guide a team of systems engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and knowledge sharing. \nOwn systems performance and memory footprint, working to ensure functionality and compatibility across multiple platforms, as well as long term extensibility. \nDefine and enforce best practices for coding standards, documentation, and architecture within the game systems team. \nOversee tools and workflow for game systems. Coordinate with design leads on tool and workflow design. \nParticipate in technical planning, task estimation, and milestone reviews. \nDebug and resolve complex game systems issues and contribute to ongoing game stability and polish. \nCore Qualifications \n7+ years of professional game development experience with a focus on gameplay or systems engineering. \nShipped at least one AAA title in a senior or lead systems engineering role. \nExpertise in C++ and strong knowledge of modern software engineering practices. \nStrong understanding of game engine architecture and modern gameplay systems development. \nExcellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. \nExperience leading technical teams and managing cross-disciplinary collaboration. \nPassion for crafting exceptional player experiences through gameplay systems. \nPlus If... \nExperience with Unreal Engine 4 or 5. \nFamiliarity with multiplayer game systems, replication, and network optimization. \nKnowledge of scripting languages (e.g., Blueprint, Lua, Angelscript, etc.) and their integration with game systems. \nPrior experience with open-world games or systemic gameplay projects. \nDescription \nFull-time job with benefits. \nRole is on-site in Santa Monica, CA. \nOffice is located near downtown Santa Monica - near metro and freeways. \nThe base pay range for this position is $170,000 to $195,000 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":3215,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":7,"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":"2026-09-12T07:21:38Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":10,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.365,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":171,"expected_fill_days":31,"reasons":["conf:2","velocity","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-11-08T05:47:12Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":195000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/absurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/absurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-08T19:04:00Z","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":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":39865,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-09T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"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%2Fabsurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"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%2Fabsurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"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%2Fabsurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems"},{"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/absurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fabsurdventures-lead-engineer-game-systems"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":800226}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"absurdventures.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":800226},"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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