Unreal Systems Developer

Allen Control Systems•Austin, TX

About The Position

Allen Control Systems (ACS) is a cutting-edge defense startup founded by two former Navy electrical engineers with a proven track record in robotics and software. We are developing an autonomous gun turret using advanced computer vision and control systems to precisely detect, track, and neutralize enemy drones. With an engineering-first culture, ACS values technical excellence and innovation. Backed by our founders' successful exits from two previous ventures acquired for a combined $180M in 2022, we are committed to ensuring that the groundbreaking technologies we develop will have a real-world impact. We are seeking a highly experienced Unreal Engine developer with a strong foundation in C++ and real-time rendering to support the development of cutting-edge defense simulation systems. This role sits at the intersection of high-fidelity visual simulation and robotics integration — you'll be building the environments and tools our autonomous systems use to see, train, and operate in the world. Candidates with deep experience in rendering, shaders, technical art, or C++ Unreal Engine development are encouraged to apply.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum 2 years of experience with Unreal Engine with strong C++ development skills.
Hands-on experience writing material shaders in UE5.
Proficiency with Niagara and Niagara Scratch Pad for real-time visual effects in UE5.
Demonstrated experience optimizing Unreal Engine projects for games or virtual production, including content pipeline development, scene complexity reduction, profiling, and graphics settings tuning.
Proficient in debugging, profiling, and optimizing C++ code for real-time applications.
Familiarity with networking, multiplayer systems, or parallel processing in Unreal Engine environments.
Comfortable with Git and collaborative version control workflows.

Nice To Haves

Shader programming experience in HLSL or GLSL.
Experience with Vulkan or DirectX 12 programming.
Familiarity with Houdini or Maya for asset creation and pipeline integration.
Experience with Substance Designer and Substance Painter for material and texture authoring.
Direct experience integrating simulations with real-world autonomous systems.
Unreal Engine C++ Plugin development experience.
Background in robotics systems.
Professional experience from a AAA development studio, VR game development, or virtual production environment.

Responsibilities

Lead the development and integration of real-time systems in Unreal Engine 5 for defense simulation and robotics projects.
Author and optimize material shaders in UE5, including complex surface, environment, and sensor-simulation shaders.
Build and maintain Niagara particle systems and Niagara Scratch Pad scripts to simulate real-world visual phenomena relevant to defense environments.
Implement and optimize high-performance C++ code to ensure smooth and responsive simulations under constrained hardware conditions.
Own UE5 performance optimization end-to-end: develop content guidelines and workflows, reduce scene complexity, profile memory and GPU performance, and adjust project graphics settings to hit target hardware goals.
Identify and fix assets and environments to bring them to production quality on targeted hardware platforms.
Apply appropriate texture compression methods and manage tradeoffs across quality, memory, and performance.
Work closely with electrical engineering and machine learning teams to integrate real-world data and control systems into Unreal simulations via AirSim.
Conduct extensive testing, debugging, and optimization to ensure reliable and efficient system performance.