Senior Expert Gameplay Engineer

Job Title:

Senior Expert Gameplay Engineer

Requisition ID:

R028132

Job Description:

Your Mission

The Senior Expert Gameplay Engineer will work closely with Gameplay Design, Systems Design, Technical Art, Animation, and other disciplines to translate creative concepts into responsive, scalable, and maintainable gameplay systems. This role will take ownership of complex gameplay features from technical design and prototyping through implementation, iteration, optimization, and polish.

This role is expected to operate with a high degree of autonomy, provide technical guidance to other engineers, and help establish engineering practices and patterns that improve the quality and efficiency of the broader team. At the Senior Expert level, this role will also influence technical direction and resolve ambiguous, cross-system problems across major gameplay initiatives.

Responsibilities

Priorities can change in a fast-paced environment, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and maintain complex gameplay systems and features using modern game development practices.

• Own significant gameplay initiatives from technical discovery and prototyping through implementation, iteration, optimization, and final polish.

• Translate gameplay and design goals into robust technical solutions while identifying technical constraints, dependencies, trade-offs, and opportunities early.

• Develop systems that are performant, scalable, maintainable, and flexible enough to support evolving design requirements.

• Collaborate closely with Gameplay Designers and Systems Designers to develop mechanics that are responsive, intuitive, and satisfying for players.

• Work across disciplines to integrate gameplay systems with animation, AI, UI, audio, physics, networking, and other game technologies.

• Investigate and solve complex technical problems that span multiple systems or disciplines, providing technical direction when solutions are ambiguous.

• Profile, debug, and optimize gameplay systems to maintain performance, scalability, and stability across target platforms.

• Lead technical design reviews and influence architectural decisions affecting gameplay technology, reusable patterns, tools, and frameworks.

• Build prototypes and technical experiments to validate new gameplay concepts and reduce technical uncertainty.

• Provide thoughtful code reviews, document technical approaches and dependencies, and serve as a technical resource for complex gameplay questions.

• Mentor and support other engineers through technical guidance, code reviews, design discussions, and hands-on problem solving.

• Break down, scope, and sequence complex gameplay initiatives in partnership with production and engineering leadership.

Player Profile

Minimum Qualifications

• Typically 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, including significant experience developing games, or equivalent demonstrated scope and expertise.

• Experience building and shipping gameplay systems for at least one PC and/or console title.

• Deep proficiency in modern C++ and strong software engineering fundamentals, including game architecture, real-time systems, performance, debugging, and optimization.

• Demonstrated ability to independently own complex gameplay systems from concept through implementation, optimization, and polish.

• Ability to diagnose and solve ambiguous or technically complex problems with limited direction while balancing player experience, performance, maintainability, and delivery priorities.

Knowledge & Skills

• Experience translating gameplay concepts and design requirements into effective technical solutions.

• Strong understanding of gameplay fundamentals and what makes systems feel responsive, intuitive, and enjoyable.

• Experience working closely with game designers and other engineering and non-engineering disciplines.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, influence technical decisions, and raise the technical quality of a team.

• Clear, inclusive communication and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience shipping a game that includes multiplayer or online gameplay.

• Experience with replication, networking, and multiplayer gameplay architecture.

• Experience with AI, navigation, physics, animation systems, or character technology.

• Experience building gameplay frameworks or reusable technology used by multiple teams or systems.

• Experience with gameplay scripting or other methods of enabling rapid designer iteration.

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?

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! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

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 [email protected]. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

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 https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.

In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $149,100.00 - $275,876.00 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.