Building Gaming Pc Jobs (NOW HIRING)

At Blizzard, we craft genre-defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations - only made possible by building a work environment that nurtures the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people.

As ourLead NPC Gameplay Engineer, you will manage the development of NPC behaviors and combat mechanics as part of our project's larger gameplay team. You will lead a small team of engineers, provide technical guidance and direction, collaborate withdesignand project leadership teams, and help define strategic initiatives and break down clear and achievable goals for your team. When particularly hard problems arise,you'lldraw upon the team's collective creativity and experience to define andexecute upona technical vision that meets the project's needs.

This role offers a flexible hybrid work week from our Irvine, CA studio location, with a mix of remote and on-site days. While hybrid is the standard arrangement, you're also welcome to work on-site full-time if you prefer.

Responsibilities

Priorities can often change in a fast-paced environment like ours, so this role includes, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities:

• Define and champion the long-term technical vision forNPC andcombatAI architecture, balancing flexibility, performance, and maintainability.

• Lead, manage, and mentor the engineers on the NPC gameplay team.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for NPC mechanics development, partnering with gameplay teams, design, project leadership, and engine teams to define requirements and drive execution.

• Partner with the production staff and thebroaderleadership teamonmilestone planning, prioritization,and developmenttrackingprogress.

• Author andmaintaintechnical design documentationthatoutlineskey project architectural decisions, features, milestones, and technical risks.

• Enabledesigners, artists, and other engineers to deliver the vision of the game anddeliver compelling player experiences.

• Optimizeteam productivity by supporting content-creation pipelines, tool development, and workflow improvements.

• Champion Blizzard's core values.
  

MinimumRequirements

• 8+ years of experience in gameplay engineering, or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

• Experience leading team efforts to deliver real-time NPC gameplay and combat features, including work with ability systems, animation, navigation, and traversal mechanics.

• Experience shipping AAA game features on PC and modern consoles, including optimization, polish, and post-launch support.

• Strong C++ programming skills, with the ability to write, debug, andoptimizeproduction-quality code.

• Ability to make frequent, well-structured, and well-tested code commits.

• Strong understanding of NPC authoring workflows and designer-friendly tooling.

• Strong knowledge of modern gamecombatAI paradigms.

• Strong communicationskills, with the ability to clearly articulate vision, ideas, and learnings, and provide meaningful feedback.

• Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills.

• Proven ability to mentor others, shareexpertise, and support the growth of engineers.

• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams and people with diverse perspectives.

Bonus Points

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, physics, ora relatedfield.

• Experience using Unreal Engine, including both C++ and Blueprint.

• Prior experience leading a team of engineers in a collaborative environment.

• Experienceoptimizingperformancefora high number of active NPCs.

• Experience building tools or workflows that empower designers and other disciplines.

• Passion for games and game development, with a particular appreciation for high-quality, immersive NPC behavior andimplementation.

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which wasacquiredby Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry's most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, witha track recordthat includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

ActivisionBlizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media,technologyand entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, Candy Crushand Bubble Witch. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to buildimmersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrivein order toconnect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical,emotionaland financial well-being for 'Every World' -we'vegot our employees covered!

The video game industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all the qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonableassistanceto individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com.

General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.