Senior Gameplay Engineer – Studio Sirens

Snail Games USA•Loveland, CO

4h•$135,000 - $155,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We recently released an expansion for an existing UE5 product; the next phase is to transition the expansion into a fully-fledged standalone product. We are seeking a Senior Gameplay Engineer with strong Unreal Engine expertise to lead the transition effort. This role owns the architectural and systemic transition from expansion-based integration to an independent, stand-alone, commercial game experience. You will serve as the technical lead for gameplay systems during this transition, defining the refactoring strategy, establishing technical standards, and mentoring other engineers to excel in the craft. In parallel, you will support targeted efforts to improve the player onboarding experience and balance gameplay to broaden audience accessibility while preserving the IP’s core identity. Studio Sirens operates as a lean, high-ownership team where engineers frequently operate across system boundaries and contribute beyond narrowly defined roles. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong Unreal Engine expertise, fluency in C++ and Blueprints, sound architectural judgment, and the ability to collaborate with high ownership in a fast-moving, production environment.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
6+ years of professional game development experience, through the full software development lifecycle, and shipped titles with Unreal Engine 4 or 5.
Strong proficiency in C++ and Blueprint‑based workflows.
Experience working with multiplayer games, replication, and client‑server architectures.
Solid understanding of software design patterns, clean architecture, and scalable system design.
Demonstrated experience refactoring established and mature production codebases.
Experience leading technical direction within a feature area or gameplay pillar.
Ability to operate with high ownership and experience collaborating closely with designers, artists, and cross‑disciplinary teams.
Proven ability to manage memory, performance budgets, and computing resources responsibly.
Strong debugging and profiling skills across gameplay and engine-level systems within complex production codebases.
Experience supporting and mentoring other engineers.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing for multiple platforms.
Experience shipping games to consoles.
Familiarity with Ark Modkit workflows or similar large-scale mod ecosystems.
Experience converting integrated content into independently deployable products.
Experience improving new player experience (NPE) or accessibility-driven balance adjustments.
Familiarity with survival, or sandbox-oriented gameplay.
Experience supporting standalone build and packaging workflows in UE5.

Responsibilities

Lead the architectural transition of an existing UE5 expansion into a standalone product, defining the technical roadmap for system decoupling and stabilization.
Guide sequencing of technical work, surface risks early, and propose pragmatic solutions to production challenges.
Partner with art, design, engineering, and QA to ensure gameplay systems align with creative and technical goals.
Identify and resolve cross-system dependencies to ensure the integrity of core gameplay systems and product packaging.
Define, document, and uphold engineering best practices across C++ and Blueprint workflows to ensure maintainability, clarity, and performance.
Diagnose and remediate technical debt exposed during system separation and refactoring.
Debug, profile, and resolve complex gameplay and performance issues across the stack to ensure shipping-readiness for a standalone release.
Maintain clear documentation of architectural changes and system boundaries.
Mentor and support other gameplay engineers, providing technical guidance, code reviews, and architectural insight.