Summary
We are looking for an experienced AI Engineer to join our early stage team. In this role you will build systems and features that support a rich open world in Unreal Engine 5. We are looking for someone who is excited by the unique challenges of open world AI systems and who loves working in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment.
Core Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and maintain AI systems, features, and tools that support a dynamic and reactive open world.
- Collaborate with design, animation, and gameplay teams to prototype, iterate, and deliver new AI behaviors, abilities, and systemic interactions.
- Develop and support AI authoring tools that enable designers to efficiently create, test, and tune behaviors at scale.
- Build performant, well-architected C++ systems optimized for large-scale simulation and open-world streaming.
- Debug and optimize AI performance across multiple platforms, ensuring stability, scalability, and responsiveness.
- Contribute to long-term technical planning for AI systems, including architecture, workflow improvements, and new technology initiatives.
- Provide technical mentorship and support to designers and other developers who use the AI systems you build.
- Collaborate with technical leaders to uphold engineering best practices, coding standards, and documentation quality.
Core Qualifications
- 1+ year of professional experience working in Unreal Engine.
- 5+ years of professional experience working on large scale games.
- Strong working knowledge of Unreal Engine 5 AI tools and systems, such as the following:
- Navigation (NavMesh)
- Behavior Trees
- State Trees
- EQS
- Perception System
- AI Controllers, Blackboards, and related frameworks
- Expertise in modern C++ with strong software architecture, debugging, and optimization skills.
- Proven ability to design complex systems that are scalable, maintainable, and content-friendly.
- Demonstrated experience collaborating across departments and leading cross-functional initiatives involving design, animation, and gameplay engineering.
- Excellent communication skills and a collaborative, solution-oriented mindset.
Plus If...
- Experience building AI for open-world, systemic, or sandbox games.
- Familiarity with Mass Entity, crowd systems, or large-scale AI simulation.
- Knowledge of animation systems (Montages, Motion Matching, Control Rig) and how they intersect with AI behavior.
- Experience developing AI debugging tools or in-editor visualization tools.
- Background in machine learning, utility systems, or experimental AI techniques.
- Passion for emergent gameplay, systemic design, and building living worlds.
Description
- Full time job with benefits.
- Role is on-site in San Rafael, CA.
- Office is located near downtown San Rafael – near transit stations and freeways.
The base pay range for this position is $160,000 to $190,000 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.