Lead Gameplay Software Engineer (Unreal Engine 5)
Top Benefits
About the role
Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.
In 2022, we announced that our studio is implementing a four-day work week as well as supporting in-studio, remote within Canada, and hybrid work arrangements as permanent options to our employees.
Location: Vancouver Remote-friendly within Canada(Pacific-time overlap required)
Experience: 7+ years professional game-development
Employment type: Four-day work week, full-time permanent
About the role:
Blackbird Interactive is seeking a lead engineer to own and drive the moment-to-moment fun in our Unreal Engine 5 projects. As a lead, you’ll set technical direction, shepherd features from prototype through ship, and mentor a team of engineers while deepening studio-wide mastery of UE5.
What you’ll tackle
- Gameplay vision & execution – Architect, implement, and iterate on movement, interactions, AI behaviours, and progression systems in C++ and Blueprints, ensuring they align with product goals.
- System design at scale – Build modular, data-driven gameplay frameworks that perform across PC and console SKUs, with extensibility for live-ops.
- Technical leadership – Guide a team of gameplay engineers: define coding standards, perform code reviews, and provide career-growth mentorship.
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration – Partner with design, art, and audio to translate high-level concepts into shippable, performant features; champion pragmatic iteration development loops.
- Performance & stability – Establish profiling targets, drive optimisation initiatives, and uphold automated test and performance coverage for the game.
- Process & tooling – Identify workflow bottlenecks, propose engine/tool improvements (e.g., GAS, MassEntity, Chaos).
You’ll thrive here if you
- Deliver production-quality C++ in Unreal Engine 5 with 7+ years of professional game-development experience and at least one shipped AA/AAA title featuring your leadership.
- Hold a BSc in Computer Science or related (or demonstrate equivalent professional experience).Excel at balancing product vision with technical constraints in rapid-iteration environments.
- Communicate clearly across disciplines and foster a collaborative culture.
- Are fluent with Perforce, Git, modern debugging/profiling tools, and CI/CD pipelines.
Bonus XP
- Expertise with the Gameplay Ability System, Replication graph, Nanite, and/or Lumen.
- Proven record of improving build pipelines, automated testing, or live-ops telemetry for gameplay code.
About Blackbird Interactive
Blackbird Interactive (BBI) is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent studio - behind such games as Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, and the upcoming Homeworld 3, Minecraft Legends, and Crossfire: Legion. Founded by Rob Cunningham, Yossarian King, and Aaron Kambeitz in 2010, the award-winning Vancouver studio boast its own internal CG cinematics department, led by the founder of Pixar Canada, and has also been involved in various game-adjacent projects over the years - such as Project Eagle with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other initiatives with the eatART Foundation and Sanctuary AI. BBI was listed among the fastest growing Canadian companies by revenue in 2020 and 2021 by The Globe and Mail and Deloitte.
Lead Gameplay Software Engineer (Unreal Engine 5)
Top Benefits
About the role
Blackbird Interactive is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent game studio where the best talent in the industry can find long-term careers to help grow their abilities while working on a wide range of projects, which encompass world-class IPs as well as our own creations across multiple genres.
In 2022, we announced that our studio is implementing a four-day work week as well as supporting in-studio, remote within Canada, and hybrid work arrangements as permanent options to our employees.
Location: Vancouver Remote-friendly within Canada(Pacific-time overlap required)
Experience: 7+ years professional game-development
Employment type: Four-day work week, full-time permanent
About the role:
Blackbird Interactive is seeking a lead engineer to own and drive the moment-to-moment fun in our Unreal Engine 5 projects. As a lead, you’ll set technical direction, shepherd features from prototype through ship, and mentor a team of engineers while deepening studio-wide mastery of UE5.
What you’ll tackle
- Gameplay vision & execution – Architect, implement, and iterate on movement, interactions, AI behaviours, and progression systems in C++ and Blueprints, ensuring they align with product goals.
- System design at scale – Build modular, data-driven gameplay frameworks that perform across PC and console SKUs, with extensibility for live-ops.
- Technical leadership – Guide a team of gameplay engineers: define coding standards, perform code reviews, and provide career-growth mentorship.
- Cross-disciplinary collaboration – Partner with design, art, and audio to translate high-level concepts into shippable, performant features; champion pragmatic iteration development loops.
- Performance & stability – Establish profiling targets, drive optimisation initiatives, and uphold automated test and performance coverage for the game.
- Process & tooling – Identify workflow bottlenecks, propose engine/tool improvements (e.g., GAS, MassEntity, Chaos).
You’ll thrive here if you
- Deliver production-quality C++ in Unreal Engine 5 with 7+ years of professional game-development experience and at least one shipped AA/AAA title featuring your leadership.
- Hold a BSc in Computer Science or related (or demonstrate equivalent professional experience).Excel at balancing product vision with technical constraints in rapid-iteration environments.
- Communicate clearly across disciplines and foster a collaborative culture.
- Are fluent with Perforce, Git, modern debugging/profiling tools, and CI/CD pipelines.
Bonus XP
- Expertise with the Gameplay Ability System, Replication graph, Nanite, and/or Lumen.
- Proven record of improving build pipelines, automated testing, or live-ops telemetry for gameplay code.
About Blackbird Interactive
Blackbird Interactive (BBI) is a creative-fueled, future-driven, independent studio - behind such games as Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, Hardspace: Shipbreaker, and the upcoming Homeworld 3, Minecraft Legends, and Crossfire: Legion. Founded by Rob Cunningham, Yossarian King, and Aaron Kambeitz in 2010, the award-winning Vancouver studio boast its own internal CG cinematics department, led by the founder of Pixar Canada, and has also been involved in various game-adjacent projects over the years - such as Project Eagle with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other initiatives with the eatART Foundation and Sanctuary AI. BBI was listed among the fastest growing Canadian companies by revenue in 2020 and 2021 by The Globe and Mail and Deloitte.