Skydance Media

Senior Gameplay Engineer

Skydance Media · California (Remote)
California (Remote) Remote $150K–$180K Posted 2026-07-15
Salary
$150K–$180K
Type
Full-time
Experience
7+ yr

Skydance Games, a division of Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, is building the future of franchise-driven interactive entertainment. As part of a global storytelling company defined by iconic worlds and multigenerational fandom, we see gaming not as an extension of our brands, but as one of the most powerful ways their stories come to life and evolve alongside the audiences who love them.

Through creativity, collaboration, and trust, we empower our teams to push boundaries and turn bold ideas into experiences that resonate with fans around the world.

Do you want to craft games that challenge expectations and inspire players? Come build something extraordinary with us.

For more information on how we process your personal information, please review the Privacy policy located at https://privacy.paramount.com/recruitment-privacy-notice.

  • --

Skydance is looking for a Senior Gameplay AI Engineer skilled in working with creative teams to build key NPC gameplay features and frameworks.

Currently for this role, we can hire remote candidates with legal residence in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington.

The annual salary range for this position in Los Angeles is $150,000 – $180,000. The salary offered may vary based on the candidate’s location, qualifications, experience and relevant expertise, among other factors.  The range indicated is for base salary only and does not reflect the total compensation package, including bonus, benefits, etc.

We realize that skills and expertise can come from many different experiences and paths, and we encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all of the requirements as written in the job description.

#Games #LI-hybrid #Remote

Paramount, a Skydance Corporation is a diversified media company creating high quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The Company brings to life stories of immersive worlds across its feature film, television, interactive/games, and animation divisions.

Recruitment Fraud Alert
It has come to our attention that there may be fraudulent activity by individuals impersonating our Talent Acquisition team. Skydance will only contact you from an official “@skydance.com” email address. If you suspect that you are being contacted by an unauthorized person or believe that the correspondence you have received is suspicious, please do not click on any links or attachments in such emails and submit any questions or concerns to our information security team at https://skydance.com/report-suspected-fraud/.

  • Lead the design, architecture, and implementation of core gameplay AI systems
  • Drive technical direction for NPC gameplay systems and AI frameworks
  • Own large-scale AI features from concept through ship
  • Identify and resolve performance, scalability, and technical design challenges across gameplay systems.
  • Partner closely with Design, Animation, Audio, and Production to define and drive AI feature goals
  • Provide technical leadership and guidance across cross-functional gameplay initiative
  • Help establish engineering standards and improve team-wide AI development workflows
  • 7+ years of professional gameplay/AI engineering experience
  • Proven experience owning large gameplay or AI systems in a production environment.
  • Experience architecting and implementing AI simulation systems and features from scratch using a combination of C++, Blueprints, and other tools.
  • In-depth knowledge of industry standard gameplay AI simulation systems, techniques and frameworks (e.g, Behavior Trees, FSMs, Utility AI)
  • Demonstrated collaboration with designers, artists, and audio developers to iterate on and refine key AI behaviors and system tunings.
  • Ability to take ownership of major systems, maintain development schedules, and drive major implementation tasks.
  • Extensive experience with Unreal Engine, using and understanding the different gameplay AI authoring tools, modifying and creating custom tech to extend the base engine feature sets.
  • Experience with animation techniques driving AI characters (e.g, Animation Blueprints, Montages, Control Rig, MotionMatching)
  • Self-motivated and self-directing, willing to pitch in areas of development beyond direct responsibilities.
  • A passionate eye towards delivering quality and highly-tuned game feel.
  • Experience mentoring and supporting other engineers through code reviews, technical guidance, and best practices – helping them stay on track and true to the overall vision of the game.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
  • Strong problem-solving skills.
C++
$110K — 10th pctl $260K — 90th pctl
This role’s midpoint $165K vs. market median $180K for Engineering roles
-10%
below median
Based on 17,000+ Engineering roles with disclosed salary ranges tracked on NewJob.
O
Audio Lead
Santa Monica, CA Remote
Operations
$125K–$165K
E
Senior Core Tech Project Manager
Santa Monica, CA Remote
Engineering
$125K–$156K
M
Senior Marketing Project Manager -
Santa Monica, CA Hybrid
Marketing
$100K–$145K
See all roles at Skydance Media →
2
Senior Gameplay Animation Software Engineer
2K Games Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Engineering
$96K–$142K
C
Senior Gameplay Engineer
CD PROJEKT Vancouver, Canada
Engineering
$127K–$209K
H
Senior Gameplay Engineer
Hasbro United States Hybrid
Engineering
$154K–$232K
S
Senior Gameplay Software Engineer
SkyBox Labs Burnaby, British Columbia Hybrid
Engineering
$125K–$170K
See all Engineering roles →

Interested in this role?

Apply directly on the company site — no recruiter middleman, no account required.

Apply now →
Apply on company site