Senior Lead Unreal 5 Engineer - UFC-style fighting game

Job Description

<h3>Job Description</h3><p>Job Description<p><p><strong>Location</strong>: Hybrid / Remote – Montreal, QC Preferred</p><p><strong>Employment</strong> Type: Full-Time<br /><strong>Reports</strong> <strong>To</strong>: CTO</p><strong>Role Overview</strong><p>We are seeking an experienced Senior Unreal5 Engineer to help architect and lead development of a next-generation UFC-style fighting game. You will help define the project’s technical vision, and drive delivery of performant, visually stunning, and highly responsive combat gameplay across console and PC platforms.</p><p>This role blends hands-on engineering, requiring deep Unreal expertise, strong architectural instincts, and a passion for combat gameplay fidelity, animation, physics, and multiplayer experiences.</p><strong>Core Responsibilities</strong>Technical Leadership<ul><li>Help Define and maintain the technical architecture for all game systems, tools, and pipelines.</li></ul><ul><li>Help define the engineering roadmap, aligning milestones with production and design goals.</li></ul><ul><li>Partner with Art, Design, and Production leadership to define content pipelines and asset standards.</li></ul><ul><li>Evaluate and integrate cutting-edge UE5 features (Nanite, Lumen, Chaos, Control Rig, Motion Matching).</li></ul><ul><li>Set and enforce performance, stability, and memory budgets for console and PC SKUs.</li></ul><ul><li>Drive adoption of AI-driven animation blending, motion matching, and advanced combat systems.</li></ul>Hands-On Engineering<ul><li>Architect and prototype core systems in C++ and Blueprints.</li></ul><ul><li>Implement deterministic combat loop, rollback networking, and animation blending layers.</li></ul><ul><li>Collaborate with designers and animators to ensure combat feel and responsiveness.</li></ul><ul><li>Integrate and optimize AI/ML runtime inference (ONNX Runtime, PFNNs) for real-time motion.</li></ul><ul><li>Establish CI/CD pipelines, Perforce branch strategy, and automated build systems.</li></ul>Cross-Team Collaboration<ul><li>Work with Art/Animation teams to optimize performance for Nanite/Lumen and animation streaming.</li></ul><ul><li>Partner with Design to translate gameplay concepts into efficient technical systems.</li></ul><ul><li>Collaborate with QA and DevOps for automated testing, performance tracking, and telemetry.</li></ul><p><strong>Required Qualifications</strong></p><ul><li>10+ years professional experience in game development, with 5+ years in Unreal Engine (UE4/UE5).</li></ul><ul><li>Shipped at least one AAA title as a Lead or Technical Director.</li></ul><ul><li>Expert in C++, Unreal Gameplay Framework, and Animation/Physics subsystems.</li></ul><ul><li>Deep understanding of combat systems, animation graphs, and motion pipelines.</li></ul><ul><li>Experience with multiplayer systems, network determinism, and rollback architectures.</li></ul><ul><li>Proficiency with build automation (Jenkins, GitHub Actions) and version control (Perforce).</li></ul><ul><li>Proven ability to recruit, lead, and inspire engineering teams.</li></ul><ul><li>Strong cross-disciplinary communication and production collaboration skills.</li></ul><p><strong>Preferred / Bonus Skills</strong></p><ul><li>Experience with AI-driven animation systems (Motion Matching, Neural Networks, PFNN, DeepMimic).</li></ul><ul><li>Familiarity with machine learning inference in real-time environments (ONNX, TensorRT).</li></ul><ul><li>Experience optimizing across PS5 / Xbox Series X / PC platforms.</li></ul><ul><li>Background in fighting, sports, or action gameplay mechanics.</li></ul><ul><li>Experience with Chaos Physics, Control Rig, Motion Warping, and MetaHuman integration.</li></ul><ul><li>Working knowledge of DevOps and CI/CD in Unreal-based pipelines.</li></ul><ul><li>Prior leadership in startup, mid-size, or cross-studio collaboration environments.</li></ul><strong>Success Indicators (First 6-12 Months)</strong><ul><li>Functional core combat loop prototype demonstrating AI-driven blending and animation fidelity.</li></ul><ul><li>Scalable tech architecture supporting multiple fighter archetypes and network play.</li></ul><ul><li>Stable build automation and dev pipeline with profiling, crash reporting, and telemetry in place.</li></ul><ul><li>Delivery of Alpha milestone (Month 12) with performance and determinism targets met.<br><br></li></ul></p></p>