{"id":3910761,"url":"https://alion.io/job/gardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer","title":"Gameplay Engineer","company":{"id":1877279,"name":"Gardens Interactive","domain":"gardens.dev","url":"https://alion.io/company/gardens-dev","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":null},"role":"Games","role_family":"Games","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":{"label":"UTC-8 – UTC-5","utc_offset_min":-8,"utc_offset_max":-5},"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":["US","CA"],"hiring_countries_total":2,"salary":{"min":155000,"max":171000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":171000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Unreal Engine","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-07T06:14:45Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-07","last_verified_at":"2026-11-07T06:59:47Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":0,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":0},"description":"At Gardens Interactive, we're building games centered on connection, collective adventure, and emergent stories. We believe the spirit with which we build games is reflected in the experiences our players have. The way we collaborate, solve problems, navigate uncertainty, and care for one another ultimately shapes the worlds we create. We're creating magical, shared experiences that bring players together and we know those experiences come from teams that are curious, resilient, ambitious, and deeply committed to one another.\nWe're a fully remote studio that embraces collaboration, thoughtful iteration, and the courage to explore new ideas. If you're excited by ambiguity, enjoy solving difficult problems with kind, talented teammates, and want to help build worlds where friendships flourish, we'd love to meet you.\nAs a Gameplay Engineer, you will craft tactile and immersive gameplay systems that will fuel the adventure and enable the stories within our games. You will partner with designers to understand the vision and intent behind game features, realize those features in Unreal using C++ and Blueprints, and apply your architectural expertise to enable the iterative development and evolution of our game. You will be a key player in connecting our players to the game world and enabling them to explore, interact and create memorable multiplayer moments.\nA Day in the Life:\nApply your expertise with the Unreal Engine (C++ and Blueprints) to own the implementation of gameplay mechanics in close collaboration with the design team.\n\nDevelop flexible, scalable systems designed for iterative development that facilitate emergent game interactions.\n\nPlaytest regularly with the team to prototype new ideas and ensure gameplay is progressing in accordance with our game’s pillars.\n\nWhat You’ll Do:\nOwn the technical architecture and implementation of multiple gameplay features across the game, partnering closely with design and production to achieve creative intent and balance development prioritization.\n\nAdvocate for excellence in tactile, immersive game feel across the project and the studio.\n\nCollaborate closely with design, art and animation to align with game vision and provide technical expertise and perspective on decisions and alternatives.\n\nContribute to the stability of the game by proactively assisting in the identification and triage of issues in game systems, collaborating on solutions, and identifying and reducing friction in the development process.\n\nWhat You’ll Bring:\n5+ years of experience building game mechanics across one or more projects.\n\nDeep expertise in Unreal’s gameplay frameworks, including character/camera controllers, behavior trees, Blackboard and the Gameplay Ability System.\n\nSolid understanding of Unreal’s multiplayer framework, including replication RPCs, and the ability to incorporate the implications of a networked multiplayer environment into feature implementation.\n\nClear communication, strong collaboration, and the judgment to work independently, recognize constraints, and seek support when needed.\n\nNice to Haves:\nPrevious experience on shipped multiplayer titles using Unreal Engine.\n\nPrior experience owning the decision-making and implementation of significant portions of control/camera systems, NPC AI/behavior, combat or ability/action features in a multiplayer context.\n\nExperience profiling and optimizing gameplay systems for large-scale content.\n\nThe Team:\nYou will report to the Lead Gameplay Engineer.\n\nYou will join a team of gameplay engineers who work closely with other disciplines to champion the values that our games are centered on.\n\nHow We Work\nWe believe great games are built by people who care deeply about both the work and one another. Our values guide how we collaborate, solve problems, make decisions, and grow together. They're practical behaviors, not slogans, and they're part of how we hire, give feedback, and support one another every day.\nWe're looking for teammates who are excited to:\nStay curious and ask thoughtful questions.\n\nAdapt when plans change.\n\nExercise good judgment rather than chase perfection.\n\nCare for the success of the whole team, not just their own work.\n\nPursue ambitious goals while remaining humble enough to keep learning.\n\nCommit fully to the shared adventure we're building together.\n\nYou'll Thrive Here If...\nYou enjoy asking questions before jumping to conclusions.\n\nYou adapt comfortably when priorities evolve.\n\nYou balance ambition with pragmatism.\n\nYou communicate thoughtfully and seek feedback.\n\nYou care about helping your teammates succeed.\n\nYou embrace uncertainty as part of creating something new.\n\nPlease Note: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States or Canada. Gardens cannot assist with work authorizations or work visas. Applicants must also be willing to work within North American time zones (EST-PST).\nOur Interview Process\n(all interviews are 1 hour video calls on Google Meet unless otherwise noted)\nStep 1: People Operations Introduction\n\nStep 2: Hiring Manager Interview\n\nStep 3: Panel Interview (3 - 1 Hour Sections)\n\nStep 4: Gardeners Debrief\n\nStep 5: Offer\n\nLife at Gardens\nGardens is a fully distributed game studio founded by creators behind titles including Journey, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blaseball, Dustforce, Ashen, Guild Wars 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more.\nWe're developing our flagship project: a multiplayer fantasy adventure inspired by the friendships, discoveries, and unforgettable stories that emerge when people explore together.\nWe believe the best ideas come from teams with diverse experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, and ways of thinking. Every Gardener helps shape not only what we build, but how we build it.\nEach of us arrives by a different path, bringing unique experiences, perspectives, and ways of seeing the world. That range is part of what makes our games and our studio better than any one of us could build alone.\nGardens Offers:\nCompetitive salaries and pay transparency\n\nStock options\n\nMedical, dental, and vision coverage (100% for individuals, 90% for dependents)\n\nLife insurance, short-term and long-term disability, and additional benefits\n\n401(k) contributions (U.S.) / RRSP + DPSP contributions (Canada)\n\nPaid parental leave\n\nA fully distributed remote studio across North American time zones\n\nBenefits and perks listed may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Gardens and the country in which you work.\nPhysical Requirements: This is a primarily sedentary, remote role requiring the ability to remain stationary and perform computer-based work for extended periods, including sustained use of monitors, keyboards, mice, and game controllers for a minimum of six hours per day. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role. Gardens is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.\nEncouragement: We believe that diverse perspectives make our team stronger and our games better. If you're excited about this role but don't meet every single qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway.\nResearch consistently shows that talented people, particularly women, people of color, and those from historically underrepresented communities are less likely to apply unless they meet every listed requirement. We care far more about curiosity, growth, and a willingness to learn than checking every box.\nScam Note: Unfortunately, scammers have impersonated Gardens Interactive by offering fake employment opportunities intended to collect financial information.\nOfficial communication from our team will always come from a @ gardens.dev email address. We will never ask for financial information during the hiring process.\nIf you're ever unsure whether a message is legitimate, please contact us directly through LinkedIn or ","description_format":"text","description_chars":7933,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Life insurance","Parental leave","Stock options"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"},{"name":"Canada","iso":"CA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Game Development"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-07T06:59:47Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":0,"expected_fill_days":35,"reasons":["conf:3","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-11-07T10:10:09Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":171000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/gardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/gardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-07T10:10:09Z","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":8836,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-08T00:00:00Z"}},"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":1877279},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1877279"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fgardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer"},{"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%2Fgardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer"},{"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%2Fgardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer"},{"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/gardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fgardens-interactive-gameplay-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3910761}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"gardens.dev","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3910761},"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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