Senior Engine Programmer at Rushdown Studios

<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Founded by games industry veterans, Rushdown was created with a simple philosophy in mind: We believe that when talented developers are consistently challenged and given clear ownership of their work, extraordinary things will happen. As a co-dev game studio, we now focus on solving some of the most difficult problems that face multiplayer games — and we bring our experience working on games like PUBG, League of Legends, and Rocket League with us. We truly love the work we do and we want to funnel our passion and expertise into features and games that billions of players will enjoy worldwide.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Our Role</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Rushdown Studios is looking for a Senior Engine Programmer to join us in support of our partner studio! In this role, you’ll work alongside our team to build, optimize, and maintain central technologies capable of servicing multiple games with unique needs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our ideal candidate is a self-motivated and demonstrated team player with the ability to juggle and jump between different tasks as necessary. Prior game development experience is required for this role, but we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements listed below!</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Work Location: Rushdown Studios is based in Saratoga Springs, NY and we have a strong preference for local candidates willing to work from our office on a hybrid basis (i.e., Tuesday-Thursday) or fully remote candidates in the Eastern United States. However, we're always open to expanding our list of remote-eligible states for the right candidate, as well.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Disclaimer: Please note that this is not a gameplay engineering role.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Responsibilities</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Design, develop, and maintain core game engine systems using modern C++.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Write clean and intuitive code that can easily be understood by external developers and extended in the future.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Evaluate new technologies and tools capable of improving software development workflows, engine capabilities, and runtime performance.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Collaborate with external programmers to enable their features to run as quickly and efficiently as possible.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Solve crashes, performance bottlenecks, and other problems on both PC and console.</span></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Requirements</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Four (4) years of professional experience with C++, including industry experience building and maintaining proprietary game engine technology.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Experience developing and shipping commercial games, as well as the broader ability to write clear, maintainable, and portable code.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Strong understanding of mathematics, analytics, and computer science fundamentals (e.g., data structures, algorithms, concurrency).</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Familiarity with real-time rendering systems and GPU/CPU performance profiling, analysis, and optimization.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Experience with multithreaded programming, synchronization, and parallel processing.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Willingness to selflessly put player experiences first — before even your own code and ego.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Proactive approach to communication, particularly when it comes to unblocking yourself and navigating obstacles as part of a team.</span></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Nice-to-Haves</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Experience with multiple game engines, including Unreal Engine.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Knowledge of 3D graphics, animation, game AI, or gameplay tooling.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Familiarity with scripting languages (e.g., Python, Lua) for game development.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Experience with console development, including optimizing for specific platforms and navigating related performance constraints.</span></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Benefits:</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Compensation: $100,000-150,000/year. Please note that final base pay will ultimately depend upon a combination of factors, including your prior experience, general qualifications, and broader skill set.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">9 Paid Holidays plus Flexible PTO and Annual Winter Break Closure</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Annual Video Game Budget</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">401(k) Retirement Plan</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paid Parental Leave</span></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>EEO Statement</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At Rushdown Studios, we believe that we're made better by each of the different perspectives that our team members bring to the table. We said it above, and we'll say it again: We want to hear from you, even if you don't meet all of the requirements for a specific role.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We're also an equal opportunity employer and we do not discriminate on the basis of race; color; ancestry or national origin; religion; physical or mental disability; age; sex, including pregnancy; sexual orientation; gender, gender identity, or gender expression; medical condition; genetic information; or marital, military, or veteran status.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>