Principal Engineer - Game Innovation

Hard Rock Digital•United Kingdom, ENG

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

Hard Rock Digital is building the next generation of in-house casino content through an AI-assisted development pipeline. This role will be the technical lead for this effort, designing and implementing the pipeline to create various game formats faster. The goal is to establish a new method for game creation and develop innovative game types. The position is a hands-on principal engineering role focused on technology and building. The engineer will be responsible for designing and standing up the AI-assisted game development pipeline, owning the architecture from concept to live deployment, and building games using the pipeline. This involves writing code, making architectural decisions, and setting engineering standards for AI-built games in a regulated environment. The core challenge is to build a robust framework that can consistently produce high-quality games for real-money play.

Requirements

10+ years in software engineering, with significant experience building games.
Director-level or principal-level scope as an individual contributor, comfortable operating without direct reports.
Shipped real-money casino games.
Direct experience with game clients and game servers, math and paytable implementation, RNG integration, and the certification process (GLI, BMM, or equivalent) in regulated US or European markets.
Deep game development experience across the stack: modern engine/framework for client (e.g., Phaser, Godot, Unity, Cocos, PixiJS) and server-side services for game logic and outcomes.
Hands-on, demonstrated expertise using AI-assisted development tools and agents as a core part of building software.
Track record of defining conventions, guardrails, and workflows for AI-assisted development, ideally applied to game development.
Real enthusiasm for AI in game production, with a point of view on its capabilities and limitations.
Experience standing up development infrastructure: version control strategy, CI/CD, containerized environments, artifact management, observability, and reproducible builds.
Understanding of RGS and RNG integration, wallet operations, and reporting/audit requirements for real-money play.
Track record of shipping multiple titles or platform releases.
Comfort working within compliance requirements in a regulated industry and minimizing architectural costs for jurisdiction-specific rules.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Low ego, high ownership mentality; ability to unblock oneself and pair well with product.

Nice To Haves

Bonus points if you have built a game with AI on your own time.

Responsibilities

Design and build the AI-assisted game development pipeline, including version control, CI/CD, AI agents for math, art, sound, and animation, automated evaluation gates, and playable builds.
Set the architecture for the game client and back-end game server, covering round lifecycle, bet validation, outcome mapping, RNG integration, wallet operations, reconciliation, RTP reporting, and audit trails.
Lead the integration with Fingenuity (RGS and RNG) and manage the process of turning a candidate build into a certifiable, shippable title across jurisdictions.
Stay hands-on by prototyping mechanics, building game clients and servers, and shipping real titles through the pipeline.
Define how AI-assisted tools and agents are used in game development, including conventions, guardrails, human review gates, and automated checks.
Make build, buy, and partner decisions on engine, tooling, and infrastructure to support AI-assisted development and the client/server model.
Partner with platform engineering, compliance, RGS, and third-party partners, and collaborate with studio talent to maintain quality and speed.
Mentor new engineers, establish code review culture, and document patterns to ensure the pipeline's longevity.