Lead Software Engineer, Original Game (Unreal Engine 5)

Blackbird Interactive•Vancouver, BC

1d•CA$136,000 - CA$170,000•Remote

About The Position

Blackbird Interactive is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to drive the technical direction and execution of a new original game being developed in Unreal Engine 5. This role involves bootstrapping the project and leading engineering efforts across core gameplay systems, AI, platform support, and build/delivery pipelines to ensure a polished, performant, and fun experience. The position is remote-friendly within Canada, requiring overlap with Pacific Time. Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio offering long-term careers and opportunities to work on diverse projects across multiple genres. They operate as a remote-first workplace with flexible work arrangements and are only able to hire candidates legally eligible to work in and residing within Canada.

Requirements

5+ years of professional game development experience, with demonstrated technical leadership through project ownership, mentorship, and setting engineering standards.
Strong professional experience with C++ and Unreal Engine, including gameplay architecture, runtime systems, debugging, and optimization.
Enjoy being jack-of-all-trades, getting your hands dirty and solving problems across all engineering spectrum including engine, gameplay, build systems, automation.
Deep experience building and maintaining gameplay systems that are responsive, scalable, and designer-friendly.
Comfortable working across systems boundaries, collaborating with multiple disciplines, and balancing short-term production needs with long-term technical health.
Bring a strong ownership mindset, practical decision-making, and a focus on helping teams move effectively under production constraints.

Nice To Haves

Experience with the modern Unreal Engine 5 systems, like Metahuman, Nanite, Lumen.
Shipped at least one title on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and or Nintendo hardware, especially in platform, performance, or engine roles.
Familiarity with Perforce, Jenkins, Unreal Build System, Unreal Gauntlet.
Experience with Linux.

Responsibilities

Be the first engineer on the project - establish pipelines and workflows for engineering and art, pick which technologies to use and help guide artists and designers to achieve project goals.
Lead the technical direction and implementation of core gameplay and runtime systems in the engine.
Partner closely with design and content teams to build high quality and fun experiences.
Drive engineering quality across gameplay code, emphasizing performance, maintainability, extensibility, and production-readiness.
Establish engineering best practices for Unreal Engine 5 development, including code review standards, debugging workflows, profiling habits, and technical planning.
Collaborate with technical leadership to break down risks, define implementation strategies, and align engineering execution with project goals and production timelines.
Mentor engineers through design reviews, hands-on problem solving, and day-to-day technical guidance. Contribute to hiring, onboarding, and raising the overall quality bar of the team.
Communicate clearly with stakeholders about technical constraints, trade-offs, dependencies, and execution plans.